Dr. Stephen Bolster will be honored for 39 years of service during the collaborative concert.
(Photo: Jonathan Kemp ’19)
Five musical ensembles from three Kentucky regional colleges and universities will join the Berea College Concert Choir in a collaborative performance Nov. 3 and 4. The concert in Berea will take place Sunday, Nov. 4 at 3 p.m., at Union Church. An identical program will be performed on the main stage at Norton Center in Danville at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday evening, Nov. 3. Both concerts are free to the public.
The Berea College Concert Choir, conducted by Stephen Bolster; the Asbury University Chorale, conducted by Vicki Bell; and the Centre College Choir, conducted by Johann Van Niekirk, will form a 140-voice choir accompanied by a 60-member orchestral ensemble comprised of the Asbury University Orchestra, conducted by Nathan Miller and the Centre College Orchestra, conducted by Robert J. Seebacher. They will perform sections of the Firebird Suite by Igor Stravinsky, conducted by Nathan Miller, and accompany the choirs on the centerpiece of the program, the Schicksalslied, Op. 54 (Song of Destiny) of Johannes Brahms, conducted by Stephen Bolster.
Professor Bolster, who will be honored during the concert for his 39 years of teaching vocal and choral music at Berea College, will also conduct the massed choirs on I’m gonna sing ‘till the spirit moves in my heart, a stirring African-American spiritual arranged by Moses Hogan. Bell will conduct the choirs as they perform the Laudate pueri double fugue from the Vesperae solemnes de confessore by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and David Pegel’s anthem Keep watch, Dear Lord. Johann Van Niekirk will conduct Ecce sacerdos magnus, a motet by Anton Bruckner and Indondana, a South African song.