HILLSBORO, Kan. – The Tabor College Concert Choir has been chosen to perform at the Kansas Music Educators Association State Convention, held Feb. 26-28 at Century II in Wichita. The choir’s 35-minute performance will take place at 2:45 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 27, in the Mary Jane Teall Theater.
Concert Choir Director Brad Vogel is excited to have his students perform at the KMEA Convention for the 6th time in the past 15 years and 3rd time in the past five years.
“To perform for this event, the choir competes with all college and university choirs in the state, both large and small,” Vogel said. “To be selected to perform—and with the regularity of performance the choir has achieved—demonstrates that the quality of our performance is on even par with universities, whose choirs are comprised completely of music majors, as well as with graduate students.”
To audition for this event, a choir must submit a recording of three songs and compete for a spot on the program against other college choirs in Kansas. Including Tabor’s Concert Choir, only three other college/university choirs will be performing at the KMEA convention.
To assist in their preparation, the choir will perform its program on Mon., Feb. 23, at Church of the Blessed Sacrament in Wichita, sharing a concert with the youth choir from the church, who was also selected to perform at KMEA.
“A passion for and commitment to excellence is a hallmark of the Concert Choir, and I am very thankful for both the quality and the character of the students I have the opportunity to direct,” Vogel added.
The Concert Choir’s repertoire for the program features some unique works, including a work accompanied by sophomore harpist Heather Loewen, and the premiere performance of Vogel’s own composition, Bread and Wine, featuring senior Krista Neifert on piano and senior Natalie Wiens on cello. The text for this work was commissioned for the choir from Mennonite poet Jean Janzen.