Choir Concert Coming March 1

Central Methodist University’s Chorale and Conservatory Singers are scheduled to put on a free concert on Sunday, March 1. The event will be held in the Linn Memorial United Methodist Church and begin at 4 p.m.

Chorale will once again be under the direction of Dr. Claude Westfall, director of choral activities and associate professor of music at CMU, while the Conservatory Singers will be under conductor Dr. Laura Wiebe, assistant professor of music. Dr. Melissa Simons and Janet O’Neill will be the collaborative pianists for the afternoon.

In advance of the show, Dr. Wiebe expressed enthusiasm for the Conservatory portion of the event, which will have a new spin.

“The Conservatory Singers half of the program is in an exciting format that is a first at CMU for a choir concert, because it’s all-Broadway and includes choreography and solo numbers,” she said.

The choir will perform a program entitled “Another Op’nin: Tony-Award Winning Broadway Shows,” with choral, small ensemble, and solo sections from Tony winners of every decade of the awards.

Dr. Joe Geist, Professor Emeritus and Broadway/theatre expert, will serve as guest emcee for the program. Elizabeth Hartwell, esteemed professional dancer and previous Stage Movement professor at CMU, was responsible for the choreography of the program’s opening number, “Another Op’nin, Another Show” from Kiss Me, Kate.

Featured soloists on the program include Abbey Ruggles of Fayette and Rob Brown of St. Peters. Ruggles will be singing and playing guitar on the song “You Oughta Be Here With Me,” from the 1985 musical Big River: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Brown will perform “Being Alive” from Stephen Sonheim’s Company, a song seeing a resurgence in popularity thanks to the 2019 film “Marriage Story.”

Also among selections on the program are songs from Fiddler on the Roof, Rent, Oklahoma!, and more.

On the Chorale side of the program, selections include “O Sing to the Lord” by Dan Davison, “The Preacher and the Bear” arranged by Daniel McDavitt, “O Magnum Mysterium” by Morton Laridsen, “Neue Liebeslieder” by Johannes Brahms, “Flight Song” by Kim André Arnesen, “Cindy” arranged by Mack Wilberg, and “Didn’ my Lord Deliver Daniel” arranged by Stacey V. Gibb.

Chorale personnel includes:

• Soprano – Megan Adams, Cori Bryan, Libby Cueni-Smith, Marissa Dickman, Anna Geurkink, Rachel Martin, Anna Pendergrass, and Hailey Sage
• Alto – KeKona Asi, Taylor Graham, Hannah Guilford, Crystal Kimmi, Joni Lehman, Amanda Lewis, Cassidy Pachner, Kylie VanGundy, and Kennedy Walker
• Tenor – Rob Brown, Ezechiel Daos, Keaton Denney, Joey Mayo, Connor Rich, Joshua Stettes, and Nathan Wren
• Bass – Alex Autry, Isaac Bartholomew, Alec Fields, Zack Kierstead, Ben Pilger, Ian Schmidt, and Nicolas Vick

KeKona Asi serves as the Conservatory Singers Fellow. The rest of the Conservatory Singers personnel includes:

• Soprano – Tayler Allen, Hannah Bailey, Catherine Barnard, Jenney Barnett, Rebecca Dey, Addylyn Gabriel, Anna Geurkink, Emily Greene, Rachel Guilford, Grace Hartford, Erin Hennessy, Sarah King, Mikayla Kinkead, Samantha Reid, Carli Rolfing, Abbey Ruggles, Hailey Sage, and Amanda Schrivener
• Alto – KeKona Asi, Carli Baldus, Kelly Briggs, Mackenzie Duey, Taylor Graham, Hunter Hanson, Joni Lehman, Emilee Nelsen, Sydney Pipes, Lilly Powell, Molly Taylor, Shailey Townlain, and Mikayla Uhlemeyer
• Tenor – Rob Brown, Mitchell Crofton, Ezechiel Daos, Jack Fender, Dominique Jordan, Landon Rothgeb, Ryan Wilburn, and Nathan Wren