A wide range of musical styles and instruments will bring DeVos Hall alive when Hope College presents its 16th annual Musical Showcase concert on Monday, March 1 at 8 p.m. in Grand Rapids.
Hope College students take the stage for this fast-paced, musical spectacular, in which audience members hear everything from opera to jazz.
The hardest part for audience members is containing their enthusiasm - at least at first. In the tradition of the quick moving musical event, the audience is asked to hold its applause until intermission and the end of the performance.
The concert unveils the gifts of all Hope College's major musical groups, along with soloists, chamber groups, and small ensembles.
The evening will open with concerto for trumpets by Antonio Vivaldi performed by trumpet players Alisa White, a senior from Sterling, Ill., and Ryan Winningham, a senior from Saline, while junior Laura Ellis of Aurora, Ill., accompanies them on piano.
Faculty member Jennifer Wolfe will then direct the Women's Chamber Choir in Stephen Hatfield's "Overture to Semiramide."
A quick shift will lead to sophomore Lisa Walters from Channahon, Ill., and pianist Erika Byker, a sophomore from Hudsonville, performing Ernesto Lecuona's "Malaguena," from the Spanish suite "Andalucia" arranged by Luis Sucra.
A viola and piano piece, Carl Stamitz's "Rondo" from "Concerto for Viola in D major, Op.1," will be performed by Titus Munteanu, a senior from Brasov, Romania, and Joe Turbessi, a junior from Nunica.
Hope's Flute Choir will continue the program with "Simple Gifts," arranged by Ricky Lombardo under the direction of Julie Sooy, followed by junior Jill Pinter from Belleville, who will perform Kent Kennan's "Prelude: Allegro con Fuoco" on the piano.
Showcase will continue with a clarinet piece, "Presto from Konzertuck No. 2 in D minor," featuring sophomore Laura McLaughlin of Ann Arbor and junior Kate VanOss of Zeeland, and pianist Jennifer Wolfe.
Baritone Matthew Farmer, a senior from Bangor, and pianist Emily Parkhurst, a senior from Lansing, will bring Broadway to Grand Rapids with "Razzle Dazzle" from the hit musical "Chicago."
Jazz will then take over as Brian Coyle's Jazz Chamber Ensemble I performs Dave Holland's "Conference of the Birds."
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's "Vado, Ma dove?" will be performed by senior soprano Sara Luneack of Alma and senior pianist Heidi Dykema of Grand Rapids.
A change of pace will turn the program to Steven Ward's Wind Symphony, which will perform Paul Hindemith's "March from Symphonic Metamorphosis."
All that in just the first half of the show.
The second half of the performance will open with Ivan Hrusovsky's "Rytmus," presented by the Chapel Choir under the direction of Brad Richmond.
Flute and piano will take center stage with junior Cari Chapin of Midland, freshman Carol Beth Steiner of Rochester, and senior pianist Heidi Dykema of Grand Rapids, performing Franz Doppler's "Allegro maestoso from Concerto in d minor for two flutes." Junior David Bellows of Rochester, N.Y., will perform Johann Sebastian Bach's "Prelude in G major, BWV 541," on the organ.
The Percussion Ensemble, directed by Greg Secor, will present Mantle Hood's "Implosion." Opera will take over with Carl Maria von Weber's "Act II, scene I from Der Freischütz."
Brian Coyle will return with Charles Mingus's "Moanin'" by the Jazz Ensemble, followed by the Woodwind Quartet in Malcolm Arnold's "Movement I from Three Shanties for Woodwind Quartet," led by Steven Ward.
Senior Daniel Ebeling, a countertenor from Ann Arbor, will be joined by pianist Lisa Walters, a sophomore from Channahon, Ill., in the "Ombra mai fu from Xerxes" by George Frederic Handel.
Pianist Carol Guess, a junior from Fort Wayne, Ind., will perform Alberto Ginastera's "Accents-Tribute to Aaron Copland from Twelve American Preludes."
The evening will end with the Symphonette, under the direction of Richard Piippo, performing Ludwig van Beethoven's "Adagio molto-Allegro con brio from Symphony No. 1 in C major."
Tickets for Musical Showcase are $10 each, and may be ordered through the Office of Public Relations at Hope College. The office, open from 8 a.m. to noon and 1-5 p.m. Monday through Friday, is located on the second floor of the DeWitt Center and may be called at (616) 395-7860.
Tickets may also be purchased over the counter at the Grand Center Ticket Office, which is open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
In addition, tickets may be ordered by phone through Ticketmaster by calling (616) 456-3333. A service fee is added to the cost of each ticket purchased this way.