COLLEGE CHOIRS AND COMMUNITY CHORUS PRESENT SPRING CONCERT posted 4/7/05
Awards for Vocal Arts Competition will also be presented

The Lenawee Community Chorus and the Adrian College Choir will join forces on Sunday, April 17 in a performance of Rossini's masterpiece "Stabat Mater." The 120-voice chorus will be accompanied by MaryAnn Balduf and Wendy Neuroth. Winners of the Lenawee Vocal Arts Competition will also be recognized and receive their awards. The winners are Kayla Marsh, Katie Schenck, and Beth Gray, all from Adrian High School. (more on competition)

The "Stabat Mater" is a beautiful example of highly dramatic 19th-century choral music. The work features four soloists. Elizabeth Major, professional singer and voice teacher at Adrian College will be joined by three students from the Adrian College Music Department. They are Rachel Boleski (Celina, Ohio), a senior vocal performance major; Eric Swanson (Grand Ledge, Mich.), a junior music education major; and Aaron Taylor (Lansing, Mich.), a senior vocal performance major. Also appearing in the concert will be the Adrian College Chamber Choir performing a set of pieces ranging from Renaissance madrigals to contemporary jazz.

The work will be conducted by Tom Hodgman, chair of the music department and artistic director and conductor of the Lenawee Community Chorus.

Proceeds from the concert will help pay for the chorus' trip to New York City in March 2006 when they will perform at Carnegie Hall. The concert begins at 3 p.m. and will be held in the Adrian College Chapel. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $8 at the door. College students with ID and all students under 18 are free. If you would like more information please contact the Adrian College music department at 517-264-3868.

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WINNERS ANNOUNCED IN 2005 LENAWEE VOCAL ARTS COMPETITION

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Three high school students were awarded cash prizes for their outstanding performances at the 2005 Lenawee Vocal Arts Competition held March 8 at Adrian College.

The first place of $300 was awarded to Kayla Marsh, a senior at Adrian High School. The second place prize, $200, was awarded to Katie Schenck, and third place prize, $100, went to Beth Gray. Both are juniors at Adrian High School.

Congratulations go not only to these students but also to their fine voice instructors, Barbara Schenck and Michael Yuen, as well as their high school choir director, Steve Antalek. The three winners will receive their awards at the Lenawee Community Chorus Spring Concert on April 17 at 3 p.m. in the Adrian College Chapel.

This is the first Lenawee Vocal Arts Competition to take place in several years. Through the generous funding of the Elizabeth Wilson Foundation and the hard work of several Lenawee Community Chorus members, the competition has been reinstated as an annual event. Tom Hodgman, Artistic Director and Conductor of the Lenawee Community Chorus says this event
fulfills part of the chorus' mission: to support and encourage the performance of vocal music in Lenawee County.

"We had 11 students take part in the competition representing young singers from Adrian, Blissfield, Lenawee Christian and Tecumseh high schools. They all showed tremendous talent. It is our hope that many more students in Lenawee County will participate in the competition next
year," Hodgman said.

The Lenawee Vocal Arts Competition will be held each spring at Adrian College. Participants in the competition must be high school students from Lenawee County in either their sophomore, junior or senior years.

They must also be actively involved in their high school vocal music program. For more information about the Lenawee Vocal Arts Competition, please contact Tom Hodgman at 517-264-3868.