To usher in the Holy Season, be uplifted by a program of spiritually inspired choral music – as Allegheny RiverStone Center for the Arts proudly presents the Grove City College Touring Choir in Lincoln Hall in Foxburg on Sunday, April 2, at 2:00 PM. Join us for a refreshing afternoon of music as ARCA celebrates the musical excellence of a preeminent choral group in our region, Grove City College Touring Choir, in a concert of choral music, including classical sacred works, songs of praise and African American spirituals.
Tickets are $10 for Adults, Students and Children under 6 are free. Buy tickets online here or you may call to reserve at (724) 659-3153.
The Choir’s concert in Foxburg follows their annual spring east coast tour to New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. The Choir travels widely and has performed in virtually every state east of the Mississippi River, including New York City, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington D.C., Boston, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Baltimore and Detroit. It dedicates itself to the highest standards of musicianship and expressiveness as a choral ensemble.
ARCA is proud that Emlenton’s own Zak Klassen, a senior at Grove City College, is a member of the Touring Choir and will be performing in the April 2nd Foxburg Concert. Zak is remembered for his leading roles in musicals and solos in choral concerts at Allegheny-Clarion Valley High School. Bring with you all the students and young people you know, for whom admission is free. It will be a memorable afternoon of inspiring music.
In recent years the choir has been invited to perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Erie Philharmonic, the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, and the Wheeling, WV Symphony. In April 2015, the Touring Choir performed the Mozart Requiem with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra and in April 2016, the choir performed Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Verdi’s Te Deum with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Heinz Hall.
A highlight of the Christmas season is the Choir’s musical performance in Grove City College’s annual candlelight services.
Grove City College Touring Choir
The Touring Choir has been in existence since its founding in 1959 by Oscar Cooper, and continues to function as a co-curricular activity on the Grove City College campus. Members are selected by audition, and represent a variety of academic disciplines from across the campus community.
The choir travels widely and has established for itself high standards of musicianship and expressiveness as a choral ensemble. In addition to the annual spring tour, the choir performs for churches in the western Pennsylvania area and at various campus events. A highlight of the Christmas season for the choir members is their musical leadership in the annual college candlelight services.
Performances of the Touring Choir for professional music organizations have included the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association Annual Conferences in 1984, 1986, 1990, 1997, 2004, and 2009; the Music Educators National Conference Eastern Division Conventions in 1987 and 1991; and the Eastern Division Convention of the American Choral Directors Association in 2002. In April of 2001 the choir sang for the Palm Sunday Services at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California.
During recent years the choir has been invited to perform with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, the Pittsburgh Youth Symphony, and the Wheeling, WV Symphony. In April 2015 the Touring Choir performed the Mozart Requiem with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra, and was the featured choir with the Keith and Kristyn Getty Band as part of the Getty’s national tour, and performed again with the Gettys in October 2016. In April 2016, the choir performed Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms and Verdi’s Te Deum with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra in Heinz Hall.
The Choir is directed by Dr. Katherine Mueller.
Concert Program
Hodie Christus natus est Sweelinck
Duo Seraphim (women) Victoria
Lobet den Herrn Bach
Laudate Dominum Mozart
Bogoroditse Devo Rachmaninoff
Let All the Nations Praise the Lord Leisring
Beautiful Savior Christiansen
—- Intermission —-
Abendlied (surround) Rheinberger
Song of Triumph Grotenhuis
The Eyes of All Berger
Non nobis Domine (men) Powell
Sleep Eric Whitacre
Glory, Glory, Glory Hogan
Sometimes I Feel Like A Motherless Child, arr. Page
Ezekiel Saw de Wheel arr. Dawson
God Be in My Head arr. Rutter
About the Artists
Dr. Katherine Mueller
The conductor of the Grove City College Touring Choir is Dr. Katherine Mueller, Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Grove City College. She completed her D.M.A. in Conducting from Shenandoah Conservatory in Winchester, Virginia with Maestro Robert Shafer, and holds a Master’s Degree in Conducting from Carnegie Mellon with Maestro Robert Page, a Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Susquehanna University.
While in Pittsburgh, Mueller was Music Director of the 90-voice Pittsburgh Concert Chorale for five seasons, as well as Choir Director at Fox Chapel Presbyterian Church. Also during this time, Dr. Mueller served as Assistant Conductor of the Mendelssohn Choir of Pittsburgh, the choir of choice of the Pittsburgh Symphony, where she prepared an opera choruses program for visiting conductor Ian Robertson of the San Francisco Opera, and prepared a women’s chorus for The Pittsburgh Ballet’s production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Prior to coming to Pittsburgh, she was the high school choral director and Director of Fine Arts in the Ipswich, MA Public Schools, where her choirs earned numerous awards at the state level which led to performances in Boston’s Symphony Hall and Tanglewood’s Ozawa Hall. Other engagements include the world premiere performance of John Tavener’s final choral/orchestral commission Three Poems of George Herbert at Washington’s National Cathedral, and Music Director and Conductor of Loudoun Lyric Opera’s production of Hansel and Gretel in Leesburg, Virginia. Dr. Mueller recently served as guest conductor of the women’s All-State Festival choir in Akron, NY.
Grove City College Touring Choir Members
Dr. Katherine Mueller, Director
Claire DeArmitt and Evelyn Munson, Accompanists
Choir Officers
Hayley Simpson, President Zak Klassen, Chaplain
Joel Espenshade, Vice-President Emily Bach, Publicity Chair
Claire DeArmitt, Secretary David Tharnish, Social Chair
Luke Lofton, Treasurer Kassaundra Funch, Historian
SOPRANO
JULIA BARNES, Meadville, PA – Music, Fr.
AMANDA CASTO, Hillsborough, NJ – Music Education, Sr.
CHARISSA CODDINGTON, Saegertown, PA – Political Science, Jr.
VIRGINIA FLANDERS, Fairfax, VA – English, Jr.
KASSAUNDRA FUNCH, Eden, NY – Music Education, Jr.
BETHANY KING, Lewisberry, PA – Marketing Management, So.
LAUREN KOSTELNY, Easton, PA – Music, So.
CALLIE ROBERTS, Grand Rapids, MI – Music, So.
ANNA SHOENTHAL, Mars, PA – Music, So.
HAYLEY SIMPSON, Latrobe, PA – Elementary and Secondary Education, Sr.
KIRSTEN WARD, Big Rock, IL – Pre K-4 Education, So.
REBEKAH WILLSON, Beaver Falls, PA – Music, Jr.
ALTO
EMILY BACH, Fox Chapel, PA – Pre-K-4 Elementary Education, Jr.
ALLYSON DAVIES, Macungie, PA – Music Business, Fr.
CLAIRE DEARMITT, Bellwood, PA – Music Education, Sr.
GRACE HERMESMANN, Columbus, NJ – English/French, Jr.
RACHEL KURAK, Avon Lake, OH – Secondary Mathematics Education, Jr.
AMY LIND, Shoreline, WA 0 Biology, Sr.
ANNA MUNSON, Grove City, PA – History, Sr.
EVELYN MUNSON, Grove City, PA – Music, So,
JORDYN PISTILLI, Vienna, VA – History/Social Studies Secondary Ed., Fr.
ALINA SANTIAGO, Warrenton, VA – Music Education, Jr.
EMILY THARNISH, Elma, NY – Chemistry, Sr.
TENOR
ADAM BANNISTER, East McKeesport, PA – Biology, Fr.
COLTON CROSKEY, Gibsonia, PA – Music Education, So.
BENJAMIN DEMERS, Douglas, MA – Marketing Management, Fr.
JONATHAN FISHER, Petaluma, CA – Communication Studies, Sr.
TERIN KELSEY, Hampstead, MD – Music Education, Sr.
LUKE LEONE, Camp Hill, PA – History and Philosophy, Jr.
STEVEN MAKER, South Park, PA – Math Secondary Education, Jr.
DOMINIC RODRIGUEZ, Upper Deerfield, NJ – Electrical/Computer Engineering, Jr.
DANIEL SMITH, Moon Township, PA – Computer Science, So.
JOSHUA TRACEY, Union, ME – Accounting, Jr.
BASS
SAMUEL BEILER, Mifflinburg, PA – Physics/Computer Software, So.
JOEL ESPENSHADE, Lancaster, PA – Communication Studies, Jr.
BRADLEY EVANS, Mill Creek, WA – Political Science, So.
MATTHEW GERVASI, Audubon, NJ – Biology Health, Fr.
NICHOLAS HOLMER, Chicago, IL – Accounting, Jr.
COREY KERSTETTER, Lititz, PA – Music/Marketing Management, So.
ZAK KLASSEN, Emlenton, PA – Music Education, Sr.
LUKE LOFTON, New Wilmington, PA – Computer Information Systems, So.
DAVID THARNISH, Elma, NY – Physics, Sr.
TREVOR TUXILL, Burnt Hills, NY – International Business, So.
AUSTIN ZICK, San Diego, CA – English, Jr.
Grove City College
Founded in 1876, Grove City College stands on its founding ideals of faith and freedom, made possible by an unwavering commitment to Christian principles and rigorous academics at a price within the reach of families with modest means.
Grove City College is a fully accredited four-year coeducational college of liberal arts, sciences and engineering located 60 miles north of Pittsburgh, PA. Its 2,500 students may choose from more than 50 programs of study, including five music-related majors and six pre-professional programs.
The campus of Grove City College comprises more than 150 beautifully landscaped acres, divided into two sections by Wolf Creek. These two areas are connected by Rainbow Bridge, a signature stone arch footbridge.
The students of Grove City College remain at the core of its success. A record number of National Merit Scholars are routinely admitted as freshmen. Each year, the average SAT score of incoming freshmen remains one of the highest in the nation. Studies show that Grove City College education students perform the best on state exams.
A private college striving to remain truly independent, Grove City College is an advocate of the free market economic system and accepts no direct federal funding. Tuition is about half the national average for private colleges.
Grove City College is among the nation’s elite institutions of higher learning, according to Forbes’ 2014 list of America’s Top Colleges. The College has been named a Best Value and a Best National Liberal Arts College by Princeton Review and U.S. News & World Report. The Young America’s Foundation calls Grove City College one of the Top Conservative Schools in the country and it has been honored as a Christian College of Distinction.