After Greece, Monmouth music groups perform at home

Jonathan Turner
·2 min read

After their international tour in Greece during Monmouth College’s spring break, the Chamber Winds, Chorale and Chamber Choir are back on campus.

The three ensembles will present a home concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 23 in the Kasch Performance Hall of Dahl Chapel and Auditorium, performing music from their tour. The event is free and open to the public.

Monmouth College music students recently toured Greece during spring break. They are pictured at a theater in Epidaurus, Greece.
Monmouth College music students recently toured Greece during spring break. They are pictured at a theater in Epidaurus, Greece.

“I’m very excited to perform this music at home after such a fantastic trip,” Chorale director and music professor Tim Pahel said in a Wednesday Monmouth release. “These performers have dedicated so much effort to this program and have grown tremendously as musicians since leaving for Greece just over a week ago. I hope to see a full house on Saturday to support our students and celebrate what they have accomplished.”

Directed by music professor Justin Swearinger, the Chamber Winds feature select members of the Wind Ensemble.

The challenges of international travel forced the ensemble to use light instrumentation in Greece, which brings a unique timbre to their selections and breathes new life into their pieces.

At the March 23 concert, the group will perform works reflecting a wide range of genres and moods, from the eerie and contemplative sounds of Sean Klink’s “Constellations” to a fun and bright medley of songs from the film “My Neighbor Totoro.”

The Chorale and Chamber Choir will present an entirely a cappella (without accompaniment) program.

The central piece of the Chorale’s portion is “We Can Mend the Sky” by Jake Runestad, a gripping setting of a poem written by a Somali refugee about her experience fleeing the country, focusing on hope for a better tomorrow, the college release said.

Reviewers described the piece as “a journey of musical genius from beginning to end” and one that “beautifully captures the hopes and dreams of all immigrants – safe haven and opportunity.” Other highlights include an African spiritual and a jazz arrangement of Paul Simon’s “Old Friends.”

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