Trine choir, wind ensemble close out spring semester

The Trine University Music Program is pleased to present a final duo of concerts for the weekend of April 25-26.

The University Choir will perform Saturday, April 25, and the Wind Ensemble will perform Sunday, April 26.

Both concerts begin at 3 p.m. in the Ryan Concert Hall of the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts. The concerts and parking are free.

University Choir

The Trine University Choir, directed by Geoffrey North, DM, will perform “Songs to Soothe the Soul,” featuring selections from their performance last month in Fort Wayne.

Trine University Choir members are as follows:

Soprano: Mia Diaz, an exercise science major from Goshen, Indiana; Lillian Domsich, a finance major from Carmel, Indiana; Alison Griffin, a biomedical engineering major from Brookville, Indiana; Braya Keen, an elementary education/special education major from Auburn, Indiana; Faith Marshall, a forensic science major from Brookville, Indiana; Linnea Pendley, a forensic science major from Noblesville, Indiana; Jersey Strieter, an elementary education/special education major from Rolling Prairie, Indiana; and Kailey Tirador, an exercise science major from Angola, Indiana.

Alto: Jada Blanchard, a chemical engineering major from Holland, Ohio; Aubrie Dunlap, a psychology major from Crown Point, Indiana; Sarah Goffer, a mathematics education major from Rockford, Michigan; Lillian Green, a software engineering major from Lawrenceburg, Indiana; Abigail Hansen, a chemical engineering major from Frankfort, Illinois; and Avalon Schnelker, an English major from Cromwell, Indiana.

Tenor: Ryder Brown, a communication major from Montpelier, Ohio; Caleb Grasser, a computer engineering major from Metamora, Ohio; Anthony Knecht, a mechanical engineering major from Friedens, Pennsylvania; Brandon Leavitt, a computer science and information technology major from Litchfield, Michigan; and Ryan Sederstrom, an electrical engineering major from Cedar Lake, Indiana.

Bass: Hunter Creger, a software engineering major from Adrian, Michigan; Garrett Dixon, a civil engineering major from Lewis Center, Ohio; Benjamin Hercules, a design engineering technology major from New Franklin, Ohio; and Wesley Parsley, a forensic science major from Martinsville, Indiana.

Wind Ensemble

The Wind Ensemble, under the direction of Brad Jopek, DMA, will perform music that’s “Ah, So Fair!”  Each selection focuses on synonyms and homonyms of the words “fair” or “fare.”

“In creating a theme for the wind ensemble’s second concert of the spring semester, I kept coming back to a play on words with ‘fair,’ ‘fare,’ ‘fairies’ and fan-FARE,” said Jopek. “This was occurring at the same time I was building the Chamber Orchestra’s concert from last weekend of ‘That’s So Suite!’ The word ‘fair’ can mean the weather, an event, type of quality or an event such as a Renaissance or Fall festival. When looking at ‘fare,’ it can mean collecting a toll or payment, but also how a situation is managed in a specified way.”

The concert will also feature guest conductor Rachel Zephir, who is currently concluding her DMA in Wind Conducting at the University of Michigan. She also has been the director of bands at Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Greenbelt, Maryland, where she directed four Concert Bands, Pep Band, Jazz Ensemble and oversaw the chamber music program.

During her tenure, the Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band performed at the Maryland Music Educators State Conference in 2017, the College Band Directors National Association (CBDNA) Eastern Regional Conference at Yale University in 2018 and the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) National Band Directors Consortium Conference in Atlanta, Georgia, in March 2019. The Wind Ensemble Chamber Winds performed at The Midwest Clinic in December 2019.  

Zephir was also the music director of the Rockville Brass Band (Maryland) from October 2020 until August 2023, leading performances at major brass band venues such as the Gettysburg Brass Band Festival, the Dublin (Ohio) Festival of Brass and the Mid-Atlantic Brass Band Festival at Rowan University.  

Zephir is a graduate of the Peabody Conservatory of Music with degrees in trumpet performance, music education and wind conducting. She also completed a Master of Music in music education from The University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

Also conducting during the concert will be Trine University Sound of Thunder drum major Ashley Salas from Goshen, Indiana, who will lead the wind ensemble in John Philip Sousa’s march, “Fairest of the Fair.”

Additional selections for the wind ensemble include: “La Péri” by Paul Dukas, “Harvest Hymn” by Percy Aldridge Grainger, “Faeries” by Mannheim Steamroller, “Fairest of the Renaissance Faire” by Erika Svanoe, “Thus Do You Fare, My Jesus” by Johann Sebastian Bach, “Mare Tranquillitatis” by Roger Zare, “With A Little Bit of Luck” from My Fair Lady, and “Calliope Rag” by James Scott.

Trine University Wind Ensemble members are as follows:

Flute/piccolo: Olivia Geringer-Spagnola, an exercise science major from Beecher, Illinois.

Oboe: Julia Dickinson, an electrical engineering major from West Unity, Ohio.

Clarinet: Oliver Chorpenning, a high school musician; and Madelyn Krout, a forensic science major from Mitchell, Indiana.

Soprano saxophone: Jacob Krebs, a mechanical engineering major from Munster, Indiana.

Alto saxophone: Michael Blessing, a mechanical engineering major from Delta, Ohio; Brody Fox, a civil engineering major from Rushville, Indiana; Estrella Manzano, a forensic science major from Goshen, Indiana; and Ashley Salas, a mechatronics and robotics engineering major from Goshen, Indiana.

Tenor saxophone: Jada Blanchard, a chemical engineering major from Holland, Ohio.

Baritone saxophone: Charles Graham, a mechanical engineering major from Shelbyville, Indiana.

Trumpet: Travis Lehman, a design engineering technology major from Atwater, Ohio; Ryan Sederstrom, an electrical engineering major from Cedar Lake, Indiana; Ethan Swartz, a civil engineering major from Bristol, Indiana; and Jamie Wallace, a management major from Mentone, Indiana.

Horn: Eryn Pikus, a mechanical engineering major from Carmel, Indiana; and Jessica Jopek, a community member.

Trombone: Evan Cole, a mechanical engineering major from Adrian, Michigan; Garrett Mangold, a chemical engineering major from Buchanan, Michigan; Braeden Phillips, a computer engineering major from Shelbyville, Indiana; Shannon Ridley, a mechanical engineering major from Warsaw, Indiana; and John Rubley, an extended reality major from Reading, Michigan.

Euphonium: Evan Cole.

Tuba: Andrew Bassler, a mechatronics and robotics engineering major from Perrysburg, Ohio; and Luke Weintz, a civil engineering major from Fairfield, Ohio.

Percussion: Brayton Moss, a high school musician.