Directions, schedules, activity descriptions and online registration are all available at http://merrylea.goshen.edu/. Register by May 9. Weekend registration includes Saturday breakfast and lunch. Saturday only registration includes lunch. Adults pay $5 for one activity, $10 for Saturday and $15 for the weekend. Kids through college students pay $5 anytime.

WOLF LAKE, Ind. – Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center of Goshen College will kick off its annual NatureFest on Friday, May 10 with a Haymow Concert in the Farmstead Barn at 8:30 p.m. The folk group The Nearby Elsewhere will play.

The Nearby Elsewhere is composed of Craig Mast, Kate Truscello and David Kempf, all from the Goshen/Elkhart area. The trio uses the fiddle, guitar, mandolin and banjo to preserve traditional tunes, give new folk-life to cover songs, and play some original material of their own. Merry Lea’s Farmstead Barn has beams, rafters and a few friendly bats to add to the atmosphere.

NatureFest is a family-friendly bash that showcases a wide variety of ways to get closer to the outdoors, from hiking to container gardening, from catching insects to tasting wild edibles. All festivities take place at Merry Lea’s Farmstead Site. This year’s theme, “Nature Nurtures Us All,” includes booths and activities that demonstrate our dependence on the Earth for our food, clothing and shelter.

Woodworker Dave Miller, of Goshen, Ind., a former program director at Merry Lea, is back to demonstrate his favorite hobby. Miller knows what kinds of wood will work best for various human needs and also where those trees grow and what they are like when they are living.

Julie Davidson, of Columbia City, Ind., and her daughter, Elena, own sheep and can transform wool into handcrafted garments. Visitors can watch them spinning and learn about natural dyes.

Merry Lea’s eggmobile

At Merry Lea’s agroecology booth, the program’s new eggmobile will demonstrate the chicken lifestyle at its best. This coop on wheels with portable fencing allows the chickens to graze outdoors on fresh pastures.

What do maple syrup, bison, lavender and apples have in common? They’re all grown on farms in Noble County. Farm to Fork, a program of the Noble County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau that aims to educate the public about its local food producers will also be represented.

At 8 a.m. on Saturday morning, athletes can run the Turtle Trot, a 5-K that follows grassy trails past wetlands, woodlands and prairies. Small prizes are awarded for the fastest male, female and child times and the most unusual nature sighting spotted while running.

Canoeing is one of NatureFest’s most popular activities, offered every year. The nine-acre Kesling Wetland is large enough to provide interesting nature sightings yet small enough to allow families to return to shore promptly when young children get restless. Canoes are provided.

Camping without the need to pack and cook food is a draw for some families. Weekend registration fees include Friday night s’mores and a hot breakfast and lunch. A wild edibles snacking table will supplement the more traditional fare.

For a foretaste of Fancheon Resler’s Container Gardening Workshop, drive by 3100 N. 350 W. Albion, where she practices her art. Participants are invited to bring a container to plant.

A new feature this year at NatureFest is a young adult track. It includes an off-trail hike led by Bill Minter, New Paris, Ind., who teaches land management courses at Merry Lea. Hikers ages 16 to 22 – or those spry enough to keep up with them – will see a perched bog and a ghost forest of tamarack trees. Following the young adult track is a good way to explore interests in environmental science and meet Goshen College professors.

Merry Lea was created with the assistance of the Nature Conservancy and the generosity of Lee A. and Mary Jane Rieth. The 1,189-acre nature preserve is located in central Noble County, midway between Fort Wayne and Goshen, south of Wolf Lake.

Members of the Goshen College Community School of the Arts Rejoice Children’s Choir (left to right) Mackenzie Mast, Priya Sommers, Ava Miller, Abigail Click, Kyle Deal and Allison Sapp rehearse for their upcoming spring concert on May 5 at 4 p.m. in the Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall.
(Photo provided by the Goshen College Music Center)

Concert:  Community School of the Arts Showcase Concert
Date and time:  Sunday, May 5, 2013 at 4 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
Cost:  $7 adults, $5 seniors/students, available at the door. GC students/faculty/staff free with valid ID.

Two Community School of the Arts children’s choirs will be joined by graduating CSA student performers as part of the annual spring Community School of the Arts Showcase Concert on Sunday, May 5 at 4 p.m. in the Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall.

Performing will be Rejoice Children’s Choir (grades 3-5), directed by Kristin Kauffman, and Shout for Joy Children’s Choir (grades 6-8), directed by Sandra Hill. Each choir will perform choral works individually, and then join together forming a 75-voice combined choir.

Graduates from each choir will be recognized and receive awards during the showcase.

The concert will also feature performances by three high school seniors who will be graduating from the Community School of the Arts this spring:  pianist Wade Troyer, of South Bend; and vocalists Aaron Yoder, of Middlebury, and Sadie Gustafson-Zook, of Goshen.

Tickets cost $7 adults, $5 seniors/students, and are available at the door beginning one hour before the concert. Goshen College faculty/staff/students are admitted free with ID, as well as CSA students and their immediate family members.

The CSA children’s choirs will be holding auditions for new members for the 2013-2014 school year on Monday, May 13 and Tuesday, May 14 from 6 to 7 p.m. in the Goshen College Music Center.  New students may reserve an audition time by calling the Music Center Main Office at (574) 535-7361. Singers in the choirs will be registered through the Community School of the Arts. Tuition is $75 per term, plus registration fee. Need-based scholarships are available.

The mission of the Goshen College Music Center is “Enriched lives and enhanced community through quality artistic programming and educational opportunities for all.” The Community School of the Arts serves hundreds of community families each season, offering private lessons, two children’s choirs, five orchestras including the Elkhart County Youth Honors and Intermediate Concert Orchestras, and Music Together classes for preschool children in Elkhart County. Need-based scholarships are available for every CSA activity. For more information, please visit www.gcmusiccenter.org or call 574-535-7361.

All events are open to the public and are free unless otherwise noted.

5              2 p.m. to 4 p.m., Juried Student Art Show reception, Music Center’s Hershberger Art Gallery

Any student who has taken an art class during the past year is eligible to submit work to be selected for this exhibit. Awards and a raffle drawing will take place at 3:30 p.m.

5               4 p.m., Community School of the Arts Showcase Concert, Music Center’s Sauder Concert hall

Two Community School of the Arts (CSA) children’s choirs will perform as part of the spring CSA Showcase Concert. Performing are Rejoice Children’s Choir (grades 3-5), directed by Kristin Kauffman, and Shout for Joy Children’s Choir (grades 6-8), directed by Sandy Hill.
Tickets: $7 adults, $5 senior/students, available at the door one hour before the concert. GC students/faculty/staff free with ID.

6              9:40 a.m., Convocation: “Breaking Down Barriers: The Journeys of the Apostle Paul,” College Church-Chapel

This 30-minute documentary was filmed and produced by Goshen College students in conjunction with FiveCore Media, and takes viewers through the journey of Apostle Paul as he broke down barriers to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Hear about student experiences during the filming in May 2012.

19             7 p.m., Youth Honors Orchestra Concert, Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall

The Elkhart County Youth Honors Symphony Orchestra (grades 9-12), conducted by Goshen College Assistant Professor of Music Christopher Fashun; and the Concert Orchestra (grades 7-9), conducted by Katelyn Truscello, will perform their spring concert. Tickets are $7 adults, $5 seniors/students. Goshen College faculty/staff/students are free with valid ID. Tickets available at the door one hour before the concert

JUNE

2              African Art Exhibit opens, Music Center’s Hershberger Art Gallery

Keith and Ann Graber Miller, owners of Found Gallery, will display works that will consist of parts of Found’s African Collection, which includes mostly West African masks, bronzes, beaded sashes, indigenous mud cloths, Kuba cloths and Kente fabrics, and wooden sculptures. The pieces are mostly from the 1930s through the 1980s, with some made for tribal use and some for trade.
Reception: Sunday, Sept. 22, 2-3:30 p.m. The exhibit will end on Sept. 22.

Goshen College’s Administration Building, Church-Chapel, Good Library, Music Center, Newcomer Center and Umble Center are accessible to people using wheelchairs and others with physical limitations.

Directions to the college and a campus map are available at: www.goshen.edu/aboutgc/map. For ticket information, contact the Welcome Center, at (574) 535-7566, or email welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

The Goshen College Symphony Orchestra (GCSO) will present a concert of orchestral works by American composers in their spring concert, on Friday, April 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall.

The GCSO, conducted by Assistant Professor of Music Dr. Christopher Fashun, will present an “All-American” program, featuring performances of Charles Ives’ The Unanswered Question, Armenian-American composer Alan Hovhaness’ Prelude and Quadruple Fugue, Op. 128, and Howard Hanson’s Symphony No. 2, Op. 30 (“Romantic”).

The ensemble will also celebrate the 90^th birthday of Goshen College Professor of Music Emeritus Mary Oyer with a performance of William Grant Still’s Danzas de Panama, a piece specially selected for Dr. Oyer by Fashun. Birthday cake for all concert attendees will be served following the concert in the Music Center lobby.

Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for seniors/students, and are available at the door one hour before the concert. Goshen College students, faculty and staff are free with valid ID.

Fashun, DMA, also directs the Lavender Jazz Ensemble, oversees the music education program, conducts the orchestras for musicals and opera and teaches applied percussion. In 2011, he became the music director of the Elkhart County Honors Youth Orchestra where he has the opportunity to work with talented high school musicians throughout Elkhart County. Fashun holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from Saint Olaf College in Northfield, Minn., and received his Master of Music degree in percussion performance from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Iowa where he studied conducting with William LaRue Jones and viola with Christine Rutledge.

Performing Arts Series Concert: 

Lea Salonga, a soprano and Tony Award winning singer and actress, will perform at Goshen College in the final concert of the 2012-13 Performing Arts Series on Tuesday, April 23 at 7 p.m. in the Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall. The 2013-14 Performing Arts Series lineup will also be announced at this concert.

Tickets cost $45, $40, $25 and are available through the Goshen College Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566, e-mailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu or visiting www.goshen.edu/tickets.

Salonga, originally from the Philippines, is known around the world for her powerful voice and her presence on Broadway and theater stages. She is most recognized for her roles as Kim in Miss Saigon, as Eponine in Les Misérables and as the singing voice of two official Disney princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin and the title character in Mulan. In addition, Salonga has triumphed over traditional casting barriers by becoming the first Asian actress to play the roles of Éponine and Fantine in Les Misérables on Broadway.

The New York Times describes her voice as “a shiny all-purpose instrument that confidently establishes its dominion over whatever musical setting surrounds it.”

Seating for those with disabilities is available. Tickets are nonrefundable.

The Goshen College Performing Arts Series debuted on Sept. 21, 1997. Since then, the college has hosted more than 100 concerts by some of the world’s greatest performers as part of the program.

Event:

She has played a key role in the publications of two Mennonite Hymnals and numerous song books, collected and recorded traditional music in 22 African countries and has nurtured the musical gifts of countless students in a lifetime of teaching. This month, Goshen College Professor Emerita of Music Dr. Mary K. Oyer turned 90.

Goshen College will celebrate this milestone during a weekend of music and programs. The celebration will begin on Friday, April 19, with a Goshen College Symphony Orchestra concert in the Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall. The weekend will continue on Saturday, April 20, with a hymn sing, discussions on Oyer’s work in Africa and an African-themed dinner, culminating with an evening program with an address by Oyer, music by the GC Women’s World Music Choir, hymn singing led by Eastern Mennonite University Professor of Music Dr. Kenneth Nafziger (1963 Goshen College alumnus and former student of Oyer’s), and a performance by the Goshen College String Quartet.

“This celebration gives us the opportunity to show Mary the community of love and appreciation that surrounds her, and to celebrate how she has made our lives richer,” said Deb Brubaker, professor of music at Goshen College and a former student of Oyer’s. “As a professor at Goshen, she affected the lives of hundreds of students who have taken her Arts and Music classes. She is a professor who teaches the whole person, using the arts as a guide.”

After growing up in Goshen and graduating from Goshen College in 1944, Oyer began teaching music and visual arts at Goshen College in 1945. During her summers, she studied cello at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, where in 1958 she became the first ever string player to earn a Doctor of Musical Arts performance degree from the university.

Oyer taught at Goshen College until 1987, during which time she developed a Fine Arts course that became legendary among students and was instrumental in bringing wide recognition and acceptance of the fine arts in a Mennonite liberal arts education. After she “retired” from Goshen College, she continued teaching for another 10 years at Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary (Elkhart, Ind.) as professor of church music, and then taught for five years at Tainan Theological College and Seminary in Taiwan. She has also served as a visiting professor at Kenyatta University in Kenya. To this day, she still teaches some of the largest and most popular courses in the college’s Lifelong Learning Institute for older adults.

“Her standards as an educator are legendary; she pushed students further than they thought possible to become thoughtful and informed listeners,” said Beverly Lapp, chair of the music department at Goshen College. “Today’s music department thrives in good measure because of those who led before us, and celebrating 90 years of Mary Oyer’s remarkable life is important to our ongoing commitment to music at Goshen College.”

With a history of being a trailblazer, Oyer is credited with ushering in two revolutions in Mennonite worship. The first was her emphasis on the fine arts while teaching at Goshen College, the second was her gift of bringing the sacred music of other cultures into the Mennonite Church.

Oyer is recognized as being integral in shaping what Mennonite music sounds like today. She was instrumental in gathering hymns and songs for the widely used 1969 and 1992 Mennonite hymnals, and for more than six decades has taught those hymns to the wider church in myriad worship settings, including national conventions and world conferences. She is well known for her role in helping establish the hymn “Praise God From Whom,” better known as “606,” as the Mennonite “anthem” after she led it in 1969 at the churchwide assembly in Oregon.

“The Mennonite Church sings as well as it does in large part due to Mary’s efforts of ‘enlivening’ hymnody. She has been at the forefront of bringing cross-cultural hymns to our canon of singing, opening our eyes to the wider church and its worship styles,” said Brubaker.

Her interest in ethnomusicology began in 1969, when Oyer travelled to Africa through a Fulbright grant. Following that experience, she spent many more summers over the next two decades in Africa, experiencing African music firsthand and recording regional music in 22 different countries. The 150 tapes from these visits have now been digitized and, along with various musical instruments that Oyer collected during her travels, are part of the Mary K. Oyer African Music Archive at Goshen College.

In 2006, A book titled Nurturing Spirit through Song: The Life of Mary K. Oyer and a DVD titled Nurturing Spirit Through Song: The Legacy of Mary K. Oyer were produced to record Mary’s contributions to the Mennonite Church.

In honor of Oyer’s 90th birthday, guests are invited by the Goshen College Music Department and Music Center to take part in these events to recognize her extraordinary life and legacy:

Friday, April 19

7:30 p.m., GC Symphony Orchestra Concert, Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
In addition to an exciting program of orchestral favorites, a Brazilian piece chosen for this occasion by Associate Professor of Music Christopher Fashun, and birthday cake for all in the Music Center Lobby highlight the evening. Admission $7 adult $5 seniors and students, GC students free.

Saturday, April 20

1 p.m., Hymn sing, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall
GC professor of music Debra Brubaker, dean of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Rebecca Slough, and GC organ instructor Kevin Vaughn will lead a community hymn sing.

2:30 p.m., Discussion: Musical Instruments as a Window to African Culture, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall
Mary Oyer and ethnomusicologist Roderic Knight will discuss the history and cultural value of musical instruments in Africa while demonstrating various types.

4 p.m., Discussion: Mary Oyer African Music Project, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall
2012 GC alumna Lisa Horst and Mary Oyer will discuss and explain the Mary Oyer African Music Project and its accompanying displays in the Music Center Lobby.

7:30 p.m., Celebration program, Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
This finale program will feature an address by Mary, singing by the GC Women’s World Music Choir, hymn singing led by Eastern Mennonite University professor of music Dr. Kenneth Nafziger and others, and a performance by the Goshen College String Quartet. Tickets are $5; free for all students.

For more details about the weekend’s activities, visit www.gcmusiccenter.org/mko.

Concert: Goshen College Choirs present “EARTHTONES: Songs from Many Cultures”
Date and time: Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m.
Location: Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
Cost: $7 for adults, $5 for students/seniors, available through the Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566, emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu or online.

GC faculty/staff/students free with ID.

Singing music from multiple regions of the world, the Goshen Choirs will again explore the large palette of sounds available to the human voice in the ninth annual EARTHTONES choral concert on Saturday, April 13 at 7:30 p.m. in Goshen College Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall.

Performing will be the Goshen College Chorale, Chamber Choir, Men’s Chorus and Women’s World Music Choir. Subtitled “Songs from Many Cultures,” the EARTHTONES program will feature choral works from a wide variety of composers, cultures and countries, including the African-American spiritual tradition, First Nation chant from Canada, Haiti, India, Venezuela, South Africa, Northern Ireland, Finland and an arrangement of a Balinese Monkey Chant. The program will also feature an original composition by GC student composer Levi Smucker, sung in Arabic. The choirs will perform individually and as a joint chorus. During the concert, the choirs will also recognize graduating senior choir members.

Drawing from powerful melodies of almost every continent, EARTHTONES promises to provide a concert of vitality and tone color in a celebration of World Music.

The Goshen College choirs are directed by choral professors Dr. Debra Brubaker and Dr. Scott Hochstetler, and are accompanied by pianists Christine Larson Seitz and Chara Sonntag.

Brubaker, DMA, is professor of music at Goshen College, where she teaches in the areas of vocal and choral music. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kansas, a Master of Music degree from the University of Northern Colorado, and an undergraduate degree in music from Goshen College. Since coming to Goshen in 1999, Brubaker has directed the Goshen College Chorale and Chamber Choir, and has created the Women’s World Music Choir, which performed in Grand Rapids (Mich.) at the ACDA North Central Regional Convention in February 2008. She and her choirs have collaborated and performed with such noted conductors as Alice Parker, Vance George, Donald Neuen, Gregg Smith and Augusta Read Thomas. Brubaker was assistant professor of music at Bluffton College (Ohio) for ten years, and has also taught choir in public schools in Indiana and Colorado. A focus of Brubaker’s research and teaching explores how the use of singing can become a catalyst for connection between people of differing cultures, faiths and circumstances, also highlighting the role of women as creators and sustainers of art and culture.

Hochstetler, DMA, is assistant professor of music at Goshen College, where he teaches in the vocal, choral and opera theater programs. Under his direction, the Goshen College Men’s Chorus has been selected to perform for the ACDA regional convention in March 2012. He is also the director of the St. Joseph Valley Camerata, an area professional choir. Previous appointments include Western Mennonite School (Ore.), the University of Michigan – Flint, and Corban College (Ore.). As a scholar, his work on Vaughan Williams has been published by The Choral Journal, and he is the co-author of the IPA Pronunciation Guide to Translations and Annotations of Choral Repertoire, German Texts. As a baritone, he has performed opera and oratorio roles and given recitals in Indiana, Michigan and Oregon. Hochstetler holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from Michigan State University, a double Master of Music degree in conducting and voice from the University of Michigan, and a bachelor’s degree in music and biology from Goshen College.

General admission tickets are $7 adults, $5 seniors/students, available online at www.goshen.edu/tickets or via the Goshen College Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566. Goshen College faculty, staff, and students are free with valid ID.

]]> http://www.goshen.edu/news/2013/04/03/goshen-college-choirs-celebrate-world-music-with-annual-earthtones-concert-2/feed/ 0 http://www.goshen.edu/news/2013/04/03/exhibit-to-display-inherited-mennonite-and-amish-quilts/ http://www.goshen.edu/news/2013/04/03/exhibit-to-display-inherited-mennonite-and-amish-quilts/#comments Wed, 03 Apr 2013 13:00:26 +0000 brianas http://www.goshen.edu/news/?p=7230

This appliqued Pennsylvania Mennonite quilt from about 1900 is a Princess Feather Variation. It will be part of the exhibit “Inherited Quilts” which honors the long tradition of Mennonite women meeting regularly to make quilts for relief and service projects. It will be on display in the Goshen College Good Library Gallery from April 10 to July 12. An opening reception will be held in the Good Library on Sunday, April 7 from 3-5 p.m.

Exhibit: “Inherited Quilts”
Dates: Sunday, April 7 to Friday, July 12
Opening reception: Sunday, April 7 from 3-5 p.m.
Location: Goshen College’s Good Library Gallery
Cost: Free and open to the public
Sponsor: Goshen College’s Mennonite-Amish Museum Committee

The exhibit “Inherited Quilts” honors the long tradition of Mennonite women meeting regularly to make quilts for relief and service projects, and includes Mennonite and Amish antique quilts that have been passed down through generations. It will be on display in the Goshen College Good Library Gallery from April 7 to July 12. An opening reception will be held in the Good Library on Sunday, April 7 from 3-5 p.m.

The tradition began in 1916-17 with the organization of the Women’s Mission and Service Commission (WMSC), which gave a church organizational focus and sanction to women’s domestic folk arts, especially the making of quilts. In 2003, WMSC and its successor organizations morphed into Mennonite Women USA.

The exhibit features vintage and antique quilts, mostly Mennonite and Amish, that have been inherited by members of the group Mennonite Women who meet monthly at College Mennonite Church in Goshen to quilt and do other handwork for charitable causes. At their regular meetings on the first Thursday of every month, the women engage in many different activities and handcrafts, including crochet, embroidery, knotting comforters, recycling prescription bottles and postage stamps, making boxes out of greeting cards, and cutting and sewing school bags. But quilting, whether for the Michiana Mennonite Relief Sale or other charities, is still a dominant expressive form for the group.

“Most of the quilters in Mennonite Women learned their skill from a previous generation of mothers, grandmothers, aunts and neighbors,” said Ervin Beck, retired professor of English and exhibit organizer. “This exhibit documents that origin by displaying quilts – full-size, crib, doll – made by ancestors one, two or three generations earlier who taught and inspired today’s quilters. Some of the quilts are in pristine condition, some are used.  Some are stunning in design, others merely beautiful.

“All invoke deep feelings in their owners as they preserve memories of beloved friends and relatives and serve as visual documents of family history.”

The show will also display quilting accessories and templates and an antique Mennonite paint-decorated blanket chest from Madison Township.

The exhibit committee includes Joy Hess, Rebecca Sommers, Barbara Smucker and Ervin Beck, with Rebecca Haarer of Shipshewana consulting. The exhibit is sponsored by the college’s Mennonite-Amish Museum Committee.

The Good Library Gallery, located on the lower level of the Harold and Wilma Good Library on the campus of Goshen College, is open from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday, 1 to 5 p.m. on Saturday and 3 to 11 p.m. on Sunday. Hours vary during academic breaks, summer and holidays. For gallery hours, call (574) 535-7418.

-By Becca Kraybill

1       10 a.m., Convocation: “Women and Islam” with guest speaker Annie Dandavati,
College Church-Chapel

Annie Dandavati is professor of political science and director of international studies at Hope College in Holland, Mich.

3      4 p.m., Science Speakers: “Ecological Agriculture: Good for North America and Good for
         Africa,” Science Building, Room 106

Dale Hess, Merry Lea collegiate program director and associate professor of agroecology at Goshen College, and Luke Gascho, Director of Merry Lea Environmental Learning Center at Goshen College, will speak on the topic of North American and African ecological agriculture.

3       7 p.m., Parables home concert, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall

The Goshen College worship team, Parables, use personal faith stories, original drama and music from across the globe to reflect ideas on the theme “Wherever You Are: Creating Sacred Space.”

5      8 p.m., Spring Mainstage: “The Diviners” by Jim Leonard, Jr., Umble Center

Directed by Tamera Izlar, assistant professor of theater at Goshen College, this marvelously theatrical play is the story of a disturbed young man with an uncanny gift for finding water, and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the early 1930s.

Tickets are $10 general, $5 seniors/students/GC employees. Show tickets may be purchased online at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or by emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

6       4 p.m., Faculty Recital Series: Dr. Christopher Fashun, percussion, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall

Goshen College Assistant Professor of Music Christopher Fashun will present a percussion recital as part of the 2012-13 Goshen College Faculty Recital Series. An incredibly diverse and versatile conductor and performer, Fashun conducts the Symphony Orchestra, directs the Lavender Jazz Ensemble, oversees the music education program, conducts the orchestras for musicals and opera, and teaches applied percussion at Goshen College.

Tickets cost $7 for adults and $5 for seniors/students, GC students/faculty/staff free with ID. Show tickets may be purchased online at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or by emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

6       8 p.m., Spring Mainstage: “The Diviners” by Jim Leonard, Jr., Umble Center

Directed by Tamera Izlar, assistant professor of theater at Goshen College, this marvelously theatrical play is the story of a disturbed young man with an uncanny gift for finding water, and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the early 1930s.

Tickets are $10 general, $5 seniors/students/GC employees. Show tickets may be purchased online at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or by emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

7       2-4 p.m., Senior II Exhibit Reception, Music Center’s Hershberger Art Gallery

Graduating seniors in the Goshen College Art department will present work as part of their senior show. The exhibit runs through April 17.

7       3 p.m., Public Reception: “Inherited Quilts”, Good Library Art Gallery

Sponsored by the Mennonite-Amish Museum Committee, a wide variety of vintage and antique quilts will be on display, mostly Mennonite and Amish, that have been inherited by members of the group “Mennonite Women.” Curated by Rebecca Haarer of Shipshewana, Ind.

7       3 p.m., Spring Mainstage: “The Diviners” by Jim Leonard, Jr., Umble Center

Directed by Tamera Izlar, assistant professor of theater at Goshen College, this marvelously theatrical play is the story of a disturbed young man with an uncanny gift for finding water, and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the early 1930s.

Tickets are $10 general, $5 seniors/students/GC employees. Show tickets may be purchased online at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or by emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

9       12 p.m., Afternoon Sabbatical: International Luncheon featuring travels to Turkey with Merle
and Mary Hochstedler, College Church Fellowship Hall

In the fall of 2010 Goshen College Adult Educational Travel, hosted by Janette Yoder, visited Turkey. Merle and Mary, who have lived in Turkey for 24 years, will give a delightful and memorable view of this very interesting country. Enjoy traditional Turkish food, a glimpse of the Goshen College tour and sharing by the Hochstedlers.

Tickets are $20 before March 30, $25 after March 30. Tickets may be purchased by calling (574) 535-7565.

9       7:30 p.m., Student Chamber Music Recital, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall

Goshen College student musicians will present various works of chamber music. The chamber ensembles are coached by GC Associate Professor of Music Solomia Soroka.

Tickets are $7 adults, $5 senior/students, and are available at the door one hour before the concert. GC students/faculty/staff free with ID.

10     4 p.m., Science Speaker: “Searching for a Connection Between the Insect Circadian Clock
and Seasonal Clock,” Science Building, Room 106

Megan Meuti, a doctoral candidate at the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center in the Department of Entomology at The Ohio State University, explores the connection between the circadian clock in insects and the seasons.

12     4 p.m., Science Speaker: “Classifying Quasars,” Science Building, Room 106

Tina Peters, a doctoral candidate at Drexel University and 2010 Goshen College graduate, will speak about her research into quasars. 

12     8 p.m., Spring Mainstage: “The Diviners” by Jim Leonard, Jr., Umble Center

Directed by Tamera Izlar, assistant professor of theater at Goshen College, this marvelously theatrical play is the story of a disturbed young man with an uncanny gift for finding water, and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the early 1930s.

Tickets are $10 general, $5 seniors/students/GC employees. Show tickets may be purchased online at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or by emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

13     7:30 p.m., Earthtones Concert: Songs From Many Cultures, Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall

The Goshen College Choirs will present the ninth annual Earthtones choral concert, featuring choral works in various languages from a wide variety of cultures and countries. Performing are the Goshen College Chamber Choir & Women’s World Music Choir (directed by Debra Brubaker, professor of music), Chorale & Men’s Chorus (directed by Scott Hochstetler, associate professor of music).

Tickets are $7 general, $5 seniors/students, GC students/faculty/staff free with ID. Show tickets may be purchased at the Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566, emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu or at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or at the door one hour before the concert. 

14     3 p.m., Spring Mainstage: “The Diviners” by Jim Leonard, Jr., Umble Center

Directed by Tamera Izlar, assistant professor of theater at Goshen College, this marvelously theatrical play is the story of a disturbed young man with an uncanny gift for finding water, and his friendship with a disenchanted preacher in southern Indiana in the early 1930s.

Tickets are $10 general, $5 seniors/students/GC employees. Show tickets may be purchased online at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or by emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

19     4 p.m., Science Speakers: “Working to Find Sustainable Solutions in the Midst of Real World
Complexity,” Science Building Room 106

Goshen College Students Lydia Yoder, Krystel Pierre and Karsten Hess will present their work on “Building the future for the Farm-to-Fork Heritage Center.” Hannah Geiser and Jonathan Mark will present their work on “Lawns of Communication: GC and the EPA Campus RainWorks Challenge.”

19     7:30 p.m., Goshen College Symphony Orchestra concert, Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall

The Goshen College Symphony Orchestra will present their Spring Concert in Sauder Concert Hall. The GCSO is conducted by Christopher Fashun, assistant professor of music at Goshen College. In addition to an exciting program of orchestral favorites, a Brazilian piece chosen for this occasion by Fashun, and birthday cake for all in honor of Mary K. Oyer’s 90^th birthday in the Music Center Lobby will highlight the evening.

Tickets are $7 general, $5 seniors/students, GC students/faculty/staff free with ID. Show tickets may be purchased at the Welcome Center by calling (574) 535-7566, emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu or at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or at the door one hour before the concert.

20        Mary K. Oyer’s 90^th Birthday Celebration, Goshen College Professor Emerita Mary Oyer turns 90 years old this April. Guests are invited by the GC Music Department and Music Center to take part in these events in honor of her extraordinary life and legacy: 

1 p.m., Hymn sing, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall
GC professor of music Debra Brubaker, dean of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary Rebecca Slough, and GC organ instructor Kevin Vaughn will lead a community hymn sing.

2:30 p.m., Discussion: Musical Instruments as a Window to African Culture, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall
Mary Oyer and ethnomusicologist Roderic Knight will discuss the history and cultural value of musical instruments in Africa while demonstrating various types.

4 p.m., Discussion: Mary Oyer African Music Project, Music Center’s Rieth Recital Hall
2012 GC alumna Lisa Horst and Mary Oyer will discuss and explain the Mary Oyer African Music Project and its accompanying displays in the Music Center Lobby.

5:30 p.m., African themed meal, College Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall
(RESERVATION REQUIRED) Cost: $25 per person. You may reserve your place and pay by credit card by calling the Music Center office at 574-535-7361, or by mailing your check written and addressed to GC Music Center, 1700 S Main St, Goshen, IN 46526. Please note MKO dinner on subject line of your check.

7:30 p.m., Celebration program, Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall
with an address by Mary, singing by the GC Women’s World Music Choir, hymn singing led by Eastern Mennonite University professor of music Dr. Kenneth Nafziger and others, and a performance by the Goshen College String Quartet. Tickets are $5; free for all students.

23    7:30 p.m., Performing Arts Series: Lea Salonga, Music Center’s Sauder Concert Hall

Known across the world for her powerful voice, Lea Salonga is a Tony Award winning singer and actress, most recognized for her roles as Kim in Miss Saigon, as Eponine in Les Misérables and as the singing voice of two official Disney princesses: Jasmine in Aladdin and Fa Mulan in Mulan. The New York Times describes her voice as “a shiny all-purpose instrument that confidently establishes its dominion over whatever musical setting surrounds it.” The 2013-14 Performing Arts Series lineup will also be announced at this concert.
Tickets are $45, $40, $25. Show tickets may be purchased online at www.goshen.edu/tickets, or by calling the Welcome Center at (574) 535-7566 or by emailing welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

27-28   115^th annual Commencement

 Saturday, April 27
1:30 p.m., Senior nurses pinning ceremony, College Mennonite Church
7:30 p.m., Senior class program, Music Center

Sunday, April 28
11 a.m., Baccalaureate service, College Mennonite Church
3 p.m., Commencement, Roman Gingerich Recreation-Fitness Center
Speaker: “Searching for what’s real in a digital world” by Dan Charles, a food and agriculture correspondent for National Public Radio (NPR)

Goshen College’s Administration Building, Church-Chapel, Good Library, Music Center, Newcomer Center and Umble Center are accessible to people using wheelchairs and others with physical limitations.

Directions to the college and a campus map are available at: www.goshen.edu/aboutgc/map. For ticket information, contact the Welcome Center, at (574) 535-7566, or email welcomecenter@goshen.edu.

Conference:

Goshen College’s 13th annual Conference on Science and Religion will be held April 5-7 and will feature speaker Gayle E. Woloschak, a professor of radiation oncology, radiology and cell and molecular biology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. The conference’s theme is “Becoming Human: Weaving Together Genetics and Personhood.”

Woloschak will offer two public lectures: “Humans in Light of Genetics” on Friday, April 5 at 7:30 p.m., and “Humans in Light of Epigenetics and Environment” on Saturday, April 6 at 10:30 a.m. Both lectures will take place in Goshen College’s Church-Chapel and are free. Woloschak will present a third lecture, “Reflections on Personhood,” on Sunday, April 7 at 10 a.m. for conference registrants.

Woloschak is professor of radiation oncology, radiology, and cell and molecular Biology, associate director of the Radiation Oncology Residency Program, and associate director of the Centers of Cancer Nanotechnology Excellence in the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. Prior to 2001 she and her research group were at Argonne National Laboratory in the Biosciences Division.

Woloschak received her bachelor’s degree in biological sciences from Youngstown State University and a doctorate in medical sciences with a specialization in immunology from the Medical College of Ohio. She did her postdoctoral training in the Departments of Immunology and Molecular Biology at the Mayo Clinic, where she later became an assistant professor. Woloschak’s scientific interests are predominantly in the areas of molecular biology and nanotechnology studies. She has authored over 150 scientific papers and has grants from the National Institutes of Health and the Department of Energy.

She also has theological training, having received a DMin. degree from Pittsburgh Theological Seminary in 2012 specializing in Eastern Christian Studies. Woloschak is past director and currently associate director of the Zygon Center for Religion and Science, director of the Epic of Creation program, member of the editorial board of the journal for religion and science Zygon, and adjunct professor of religion and sciences all at Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago.

The annual Goshen College Conference on Religion and Science is designed to provide discussion prompted by a leading thinker in the dialog between religion and science.

A single invited speaker presents three lectures, two of which are open to the public. Small, moderated discussion sessions provide conference participants an opportunity to address topics from the lectures in conversation with the speaker.

Conference participants include pastors, and interested lay persons, as well as academic scientists, mathematicians, theologians, and students.

Carl Helrich, professor emeritus of physics at Goshen College, serves as conference director. For more information about the conference, visit www.goshen.edu/religionscience.

 -By Becca Kraybill