The Lake Michigan College Visual & Performing Arts Department presents "Save the Planet!" a vocal music concert featuring the LMC Concert Choir and its chamber ensemble, SoundWaves, at 7 p.m., Friday, Feb. 25 in The Mendel Center's Hanson Theatre on the Benton Harbor campus, 2755 E. Napier Ave.
Under the direction of LMC Visual & Performing Arts Chair and Music Director Kristopher Zook, the choir and chamber ensemble will sing a diverse vocal repertoire. Highlights include Frank Tichelli's "Earth Song"; Sally Lamb McCune's "Silent Sea"; Matti Hyokki's "On suuri sun rantas autius"; and Ray Liebau's arrangement of "He's Got the Whole World."
"In the wake of Bill Nye's message when he recently visited campus, our music students are trying to do their part to raise awareness of environmental concerns," Zook said. "In addition to the introspective and celebratory songs that we will perform, we hope the audience will leave with new or rekindled motivation to be excellent caretakers of the Earth for the generations that will come after us."
The concert will feature the world premiere performance of Zook's composition, "Love in Retrospect," written specifically for LMC's Concert Choir.
"The piece really highlights the inevitable conclusion of what will happen to the Earth if we continue to neglect the planet or take our resources for granted," Zook said. "I am thankful to contemporary poet Jasmin Kaur for letting me set these poignant and inspirational words to music."
SoundWaves features a select group of student vocalists admitted by audition who have a passion for high-quality, advanced choral repertoire. Members are Samantha Alfaro, Shay Beeson, Johnie Bishop, JoAnna Blue, Missy Brooks, Jordan Cooper, Aurelia Davis, Samuel Garrison, Tristin Jeffrey, Ienra Leie, Isabelle Mannell, Shannon Mitchell, Maddie Ostenson, David Ott, Jakob Prillwitz, Chloe Wells, and Jada Willis.
The Concert Choir is a mixed voice choral ensemble featuring LMC students and community members from Berrien County and beyond. The group performs regularly on the concert stage, both at The Mendel Center and throughout Southwest Michigan.
In addition to the students from SoundWaves, the Concert Choir includes Barb Frank, Elizabeth Grow, Harvey Johnson, Jr., Tuija Ojala, Stephanie Pollard, Dennis Wojtczak, Mike Wolske, Cori Wright, and Ken Yates.
Jill Garcia and Alexandra Lee serve as collaborative pianists for the concert.
Admission is free and open to the public. A suggested donation of $5 collected at the door will benefit local animal shelters.
To learn more about this event and Lake Michigan College's Visual & Performing Arts program, call 269-927-8876 or visit lakemichigancollege.edu/arts.
