Open and free to the community, the Spring Choral Celebration will include musical programs from Bluefield Singers, Praise Singers, Variations, and Masterworks Chorale.
Under the direction of Susan Allen, instructor of music, Bluefield Singers is an all-female BC choir that performs a variety of arrangements, including folk songs, hymns, spirituals, and popular music.
Praise Singers, also under the direction of Allen, is an auditioned vocal group and band that performs contemporary Christian and gospel music from the most popular performers of today, including Chris Tomlin and Matt Redman. Praise Singers serves regularly in leading campus worship and as a guest worship band at churches in the community.
Variations, directed by Dr. Benjamin Thorburn, assistant professor of music, is a select chorus that performs a variety of challenging choral literature. The group’s Spring Choral Gala program will include selections from Renaissance a capella music to modern sacred choral anthems. In addition to on campus concerts, Variations tours and performs annually for churches, schools and conferences throughout Virginia. In fact, the group has performed at Avery Fisher Hall, The Lincoln Center and Carnegie Hall in New York City, as well as on music mission trips abroad.
Also under the direction of Dr. Thorburn, Masterworks Chorale is a voice ensemble comprised of not only Bluefield College students, faculty and staff, but also singers from the community. Masterworks performs large-scale classical works and selections from the sacred and secular choral repertoire, including Vivaldi’s Gloria, Benjamin Britten’s A Ceremony of Carols, and portions of Handel’s Messiah. For the Spring Choral Celebration, the group will perform The Mass in G by Franz Schubert. This setting of the traditional Christian liturgy is rich in beautiful melodies, and will feature community singers Karen Haggerty, Beth Tinsley, Adam Lowe, and Jim Bartlett as soloists and Harold Brown on piano.
For more information about the Spring Choral Celebration or other events on the Bluefield College Performing Arts schedule, contact the BC Public Relations Office by e-mail at [email protected] or by phone at 276-326-4212.
BLUEFIELD COLLEGE’S VARIATIONS (ABOVE) AND MASTERWORKS CHORALE (BELOW) ARE TWO OF THE FOUR VOICE ENSEMBLES THAT WILL BE FEATURED IN THE SCHOOL’S APRIL 26 SPRING CHORAL CELEBRATION.
