ISSUED: 30 November 2017
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
SHEPHERDSTOWN, WV — The Shepherd University Community Music Program, supported by Younis Orthodontics, will present the Shepherd Community Orchestra, Junior String Ensemble, and Shepherd Youth Chorus in concert at the Frank Center Theater on Wednesday, December 13, at 7:30 p.m.
The Junior String Ensemble, under the direction of Shepherd alumna Renee Shaw, will perform “Fiddler’s Hoedown,” arranged by Robert Gillespie, “Intermezzo” by Pietro Mascagni and arranged by Jack Bullock, and “Classic Bits & Pieces,” arranged by Michael Story.
The Shepherd Youth Chorus, celebrating its 10th season under the direction of Dr. David Gonzol, professor of music, will perform “America the Beautiful” by Katherine Lee Bates, Samuel Augustus Ward’s tune “Materna,” an Ozark folk song titled “Idaho,” and Martin Luther’s Christmas chorale “Von Himmel Hoch da komm’ ich her.” The chorus will close with a Christmas folk song arranged by Jane Frazee, “Pretty Little Baby.” The assistant conductor for the chorus is Angela Weaver, Shepherd alumna and the music teacher at Driswood Elementary School.
The Shepherd Community Orchestra, co-directed by Dr. Scott Hippensteel, associate professor of music, and Dr. Jeannine Sturm, a Berkeley County Schools strings teacher, will perform the second half of the evening’s program. The orchestra will perform Rossini’s “La gazza ladra Overture” from the opera “The Thieving Magpie,” Allegro moderato from Schubert’s “Unfinished Symphony,” “Prairie Song” by Carl Strommen, and “Adagio in G minor” for strings and organ by Albinoni, featuring Shepherd student Nathan Strite, Williamsport, Maryland, on the organ. A Christmas sing-along will close the program.
General admission to the concert is $5 and free for Shepherd students with a valid Rambler ID. Tickets can be purchased at the box office starting 30 minutes prior to the concert. For more information, contact Sherry Sykes, program coordinator, at ssykes@shepherd.edu or call 304-876-5248.
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