Symphonic Band Concert April 23

Symphonic Band ConcertHILLSBORO, Kan. – Tabor Arts presents the Tabor College Symphonic Band home concert on Sunday, April 23 at 4 p.m. at the Hillsboro Mennonite Brethren Church. The public is invited to attend this free event.

The concert includes selections from well-known composers such as Copland, Monteverdi, Mozart and Schubert.

“Our final concert of the year will feature several soloists and include music from the stage and screen,” said Shawn Knopp. “The Symphonic Band will perform music from Les Miserables, Phantom of the Opera, and Disney Film Favorites.”

The concert will recognize three seniors Kaitlyn Rempel, from Fairview, Okla., on flute; Alex Janzen, from Morro Bay, Calif., on euphonium; and Michael Beye, from Inman, Kan., on tuba. Rempel will perform Robert W. Smith’s “In a Gentle Rain” during the concert.

Two special guests will join the ensemble. Glen Litke, a Tabor College alumnus and vocalist, and Kyle Hopkins, director of bands at McPherson College, have extensive experience in Kansas and around the U.S. performing and teaching.

“Glenn Litke will perform selections from Aaron Copland’s Old American Songs accompanied by the Tabor College Symphonic Band,” Knopp said. “The Symphonic Band will accompany Kyle Hopkins as he performs ‘Three Contrasts for Solo Horn and Wind Ensemble’ by Claude T. Smith. This work is cast in three movements: Intrada, Serenade, and Scherzo and was premiered in 1977 with the composer conducting.”

Hopkins has performed with Mannheim Steamroller, Celtic Women, the Topeka Symphony and the Kansas City Philharmonic. Before working at McPherson College, Hopkins worked in McPherson public schools for 12 years and previously taught in Topeka and Shawnee Mission schools. He has been a member of the South Center Kansas Music Educators Association and has served as the district’s jazz chair.

Litke has performed with Nebraska Choral Arts Society, Nebraska Opera Ensemble, Voices of Omaha, Lynchburg Virginia Fine Arts Society and Reno Choral Society in Hutchinson, Kan. He has served as conductor of the Tabor College Chorale and Concert Choir, conductor of the Liberty University Concert Choir in Lynchburg, Va., and director of vocal ensembles at Grace College of the Bible in Omaha, Neb.