Westmont Choir Tours San Joaquin Valley

The Westmont College Choir tours Central California April 10-12 with performances in San Luis Obispo, Chowchilla, Visalia and Santa Barbara. The choir of 60 student singers will perform a selected repertoire from their entire concert season, especially works by emerging American composers.

“We’re delighted to present a stunning new work by American composer Eric Whitacre,” says Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship. “It’s a radiant mixture of storytelling and music that shimmers like the famous windows of Saint Chapelle (in Paris).” The program includes other American composers, such as Jake Runestad, Connor Koppin, Shawn Kirchner, Deeann Matthews, and a sprinkling of works by Bach, Palestrina, Christiansen and other timeless masters.

In the past, the choir has toured Scotland, England, Guatemala, Costa Rica, the Southwest and the Northwest. “The choir grows the most as a unit during a tour,” Shasberger says. “Even a few days shared together in travel, song, worship and recreation — a little bit detached and free from the other distractions of college life — give the ensemble a renewed sense of identity.”

Shasberger says he is looking forward to spending time in the community with his musicians. “Their personal and musical growth is always my primary goal and my chief delight,” he says. “Taking a few days to focus on our work as a choir enhances the intensity and quality of the ensemble in a way that no other experience can.”

The Westmont Chamber Singers, under the direction of Grey Brothers, will perform sacred and secular works from the 16th century to present, including a meditative setting by Cecelia McDowall of William Blake’s “Joy and Woe are Woven Fine,” a recent composition by Ojai composer John Biggs of Ben Johnson’s “Hymn to the Nativity,” and a new setting by David Burks of “Midsummer,” a poem by Paul Willis, Westmont English professor and former Santa Barbara poet laureate.

Performance dates and locations are:

• Friday, April 10, at 7 p.m.
  Concert at Grace Church SLO
  1350 Osos St, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401
• Saturday, April 11, at 6:30 p.m.
  Concert at Cornerstone Community Church
  208 Fig Tree Road, Chowchilla, CA 93610
• Sunday, April 12, at 10 a.m.
  Morning Worship at First Presbyterian Church of Visalia
  215 N. Locust St. Visalia, CA 93291
• Sunday, April 12, at 7 p.m.
  Concert at First United Methodist Church
  305 East Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara, CA 93101