Central Methodist University

The 2023 Fall Concert Program, titled "With a Voice of Singing," is coming up soon, scheduled for 3 p.m., Sunday, October 1 at Linn Memorial United Methodist Church on the Fayette campus of Central Methodist University. The program will feature various genres of music, from early American music to gospel. The concert will feature performances from the Conservatory Singers and Chorale. Dr. Patrick Dill, CMU's director of choral activities and assistant professor of choral music education, will conduct both choirs. Performers will also be joined by Janet O'Neill as an accompanist.

The first choir concert under the direction of Professor Thomas Clark, new director of choral activities at Central Methodist University, is scheduled for Sunday, September 29. The concert, beginning at 3 p.m. in Linn Memorial United Methodist Church, will feature the voices of the CMU Chorale and Conservatory Singers. The Chorale will perform South Dakota Shadows Suite by composer Jackson Berkey, directed by Clark. A string ensemble will accompany the piece, along with collaborative artists Janet O'Neill on piano and Zachary C. Kierstead on synthesizer. South Dakota Shadows opens with a beautiful love song, setting the scene for this extended choral tone poem. Berkey weaves the words with the music, moving from the Scandinavian choral tradition in Indian Summer and Evening Shadows, to jazz with Mercy Song, country in Turkeys and Badgers, and a powerful choral and piano quintet piece, Requiem for a Pioneer Mother. Also included is a reflective, emotional instrumental highlight, Boxing with Snowflakes. The Conservatory Singers will complete the program with a newly released rendition of Shenandoah. Also featured on the program is Rivers of the Living Water, set to the hymn tune LAQWUIPARLE. This song, known as the "Dakota Hymn," was sung by thirty-eight Dakota prisoners of war as they were led to execution at Mankato, Minnesota, on December 26, 1862. First published in the Dakota Indian Hymnal (1916), the ensemble will be accompanied with instrumentation, including flutes, piccolo, drums, and fiddle. The concert is free and open to the public.

The next show coming to the Little Theatre stage for the 2021-22 season is Anna Ziegler's "Boy," directed for the Central Methodist University audience by Professor Lonna Wilke. Inspired by a true story, "Boy" explores the complicated terrain of trying to find love in a new body, and the inextricable bonds between doctor and patient. In the 1960s, a well-intentioned doctor convinces the parents of a male infant to raise their son as a girl after a terrible accident. Two decades later, the repercussions of that choice continue to unfold. The show will premiere at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 2, followed by 7:30 p.m. shows on Friday and Saturday, and then a 1:30 p.m. show on Sunday. Shows will be livestreamed and open to in-house audiences at the Little Theatre. Call the box office at 660-248-6281 for tickets and more information.

For the first time under the direction of Dr. Patrick Dill, the Central Methodist University Chorale singers will soon set off for a tour of Missouri churches and high schools. The Chorale will set out on Thursday, November 18 and travel to various towns to perform through Monday, November 22. On the program for the tour are three sections: Lamentations and Exultations, Guiding Hope, and Illumination and Transformation, each including a number of songs. Visit https://news.centralmethodist.edu/2021/11/chorale-tour-november-18.html for the full schedule.

The new season at The Little Theatre on the campus of Central Methodist University will kick off next month with a Rodgers and Hammerstein classic, Carousel. Directed by Dr. Mark Kelty with music direction by Dr. Susan Quigley-Duggan, the show will run from October 14-17. Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II's second collaboration (after the successful Oklahoma!) cemented their reputation for soaring music and a riveting storyline. The time is 1873. The place, a small New England fishing village. Billy Bigelow, the handsome and swaggering barker for Mrs. Mullin's carousel, meets Julie Jordan, a lovely young working girl at the nearby mill, when Julie and her friend Carrie Pipperidge come to the amusement park. Billy and Julie fall in love and are soon married, but not happily ever after. Their struggles, in contrast to the agitated bliss of Carrie and her Mr. Snow, carry forward into the afterlife and back.

Weekly chapel events, a staple of student life at Central Methodist University, are already underway for the 2021-22 academic year, with three new chapel bands to lead the music portion. Under the guidance of Dr. David Witter, director of music ministry education, each of the bands will be headed by a student leader. Jack Fender of Columbia, Mitchell Crofton of Springfield, Ill., and Mikayla Kinkead of Fredericktown - all music ministry majors - have been selected as this year's leaders. The bands can be heard every week at chapel, in Assembly Hall at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays.

Central Methodist University's Fine Arts performers and majors were recently recognized for their talents and scholarly work at this year's awards ceremony.

Many Central Methodist University students are heading out of town at the end of the week as the school takes a spring recess, but the members of the Central concert band are hitting the road for a different reason. Under the direction of conductor Skip Vandelicht, the band is going back on tour, with stops at five regional high schools on the itinerary. The band is scheduled to head out on Thursday for a 2 p.m. performance at Westran High School, followed by a noon show at New Franklin High School on Friday. On Monday, the band will visit Glasgow High School for an 8 a.m. performance, and the tour will conclude with two shows on Tuesday, at Fulton High School at 8:15 a.m. and Sullivan High School at 1 p.m.

The latest play coming to the Little Theatre is an adaptation of the timeless classic, The Little Prince, coming to the stage at the beginning of March. The spring performance will be guest directed by Christopher Oliver and will be shown to a live theatre audience and on an online livestream from March 11-14. Shows will be at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, 10 a.m. on Friday, 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, and 1:30 p.m. on Sunday.

After a successful first run with performing to a live and online audience, the players of the Little Theatre are back this month with a pair of short plays in a show titled Haunted Lives. The show will run from November 12-15, with the Thursday through Saturday shows beginning at 7:30 p.m. and the Sunday matinee will take place at 1:30. As with the previous show, in-person seating will be available on a limited basis for the campus community on evening shows, while Sunday seating will be invitation only. Livestream tickets will soon be available for purchase at https://www.showtix4u.com/event/42482. The November plays will be directed by professor Lonna Wilke, who will also serve as the scenic and light director. Terri Rohlfing is the costume designer, and Paul Byland is the scene shop foreman. Poppy Garner of Saint Charles, Mo. will be the assistant director and stage manager, while Harley Dohrman of Slater, Mo. is the assistant stage manager.

The annual GEMS of Vocal Literature Recital will be presented to a limited live audience and over livestream at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, October 23. Fourteen Central Methodist University vocal students under the direction of Dr. Susan Quigley-Duggan and Dr. Kristin Newbegin will present a varied program of Italian, German, French, English, and contemporary American songs. Selections include songs by composers such as Handel, Mozart, Schubert, Mahler, Bizet, Rorem, Thiman, Bernstein, and Quilter. Limited space will be available for physically distanced seating, open to CMU students, faculty, and staff wearing masks. The performance will also be streamed live online here: https://centralmethodist.hosted.panopto.com/Panopto/Pages/Viewer.aspx?id=d4f27710-13b2-4dcb-b0c8-ac55011b203a.

The show will go on at Central Methodist University's Little Theatre this year, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The first play of the season, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, will be performed from October 8 to 11. The musical comedy, with book and lyrics by Robert L. Freedman and music by Steven Lutvak, tells the tale of Monty Navarro, the black sheep of the D'Ysquith family, who finds out he is ninth in line to inherit a dukedom and decides to eliminate the other eight heirs standing in his way. Under the leadership of Dr. Mark Kelty, professor of theatre, this year's plays will be rehearsed, produced, and performed in new ways with the safety of all involved at the forefront. One of the biggest changes is that the performances will be livestreamed online, rather than staged in front of a live audience at the Little Theatre. More details on where to find the stream will be released closer to the show's opening night.

Central Methodist University's new Praise Ensembles, a staple of the weekly Chapel activities in Linn Memorial United Methodist Church, are beginning to take their places as leaders in faith for the campus community. There will be four ensembles this year, selected by David Witter, director of music ministry education and assistant professor of music.

A school year's worth of outstanding performances and hard work by Central Methodist University students was recognized on Saturday as the Fine Arts Division held its annual award reception. Students, faculty, and other guests "attended" the event in the form of a Zoom conference. Dr. Dori Waggoner, chair of the Fine Arts Division, began the event by welcoming all to the meeting and congratulating the students on all they accomplished this year. Professor Skip Vandelicht then took over to announce the award winners for the division, complete with virtual certificates and applause sound effects.

The Central Methodist University Concert Band will soon set out for a tour across the state, during which the musicians will perform at a number of schools, churches, and performing arts centers. The 2020 tour marks the 94th year of the annual tour. Missouri Music Educators Association Hall of Fame inductee Roy "Skip" Vandelicht will once again conduct the band, which features 50 musicians ready to put their talent on display. The band will perform more than a dozen times from Thursday, March 19 through Tuesday, March 24.

Linn Memorial United Methodist Church and Central Methodist University will host a performance by the University Band at 4 p.m. on Sunday, February 23. The free concert on the Fayette campus is open to the public. Professor Skip Vandelicht will conduct the band, with Steve Litwiller serving as guest conductor for the concert. Litwiller will conduct two selections on the program, "Windgate Festival" by Claude T. Smith and "Choreography" by Robert Sheldon. Also on the program for the afternoon will be "Coat of Arms" by George Kenny, "Sure on This Shining Night" by Samuel Barber (arranged by Richard Saucedo), "Songs of Old Kentucky" by Brant Karrick, and "Memor Vita!" by Brant Karrick.

Rehearsals will soon begin for a number of Central Methodist University student actors, as the March production by The Little Theatre is right around the corner. Love/Sick, a series of nine short plays by John Cariani, will debut March 5. Directed by Myriah Araiza, the show will be staged four times from March 5-8. The opening show on Thursday will begin at 4:30 p.m., the Friday and Saturday shows at 7:30, and the Sunday performance at 1:30.

It's almost time to take the show on the road, as the Central Methodist University Chorale is preparing for its annual tour. From November 21-26, CMU's traveling talented Chorale will visit more than half a dozen high schools and as many churches. Dr. Claude Westfall, Chorale director, and Keaton Denney, choir manager, will lead a group of 31 students on the tour.

Music lovers on and around the Central Methodist University campus will soon have a chance to take in the great talent of the Chorale and Conservatory Singers at a Sunday concert open to the public. The performance will take place at 4 p.m., Sunday, October 27, in Linn Memorial United Methodist Church in Fayette. Dr. Laura Wiebe, Assistant Professor of Music, and Dr. Claude Westfall, Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music, are the conductors for the two groups performing. On piano with the Conservatory Singers will be Mrs. Janet O'Neill, while Dr. Melissa Simons will accompany Chorale on piano.

Participants in this year's Central Methodist University Worship Band were announced by Dr. Ryan McLouth, music ministry program director. A total of 37 students will be involved for the Fall 2019 season.

The November play scheduled to grace the stage at The Little Theatre is the perfect show to get the Central Methodist University community in the holiday spirit. Director Mark Kelty and the theatre department will put on 'Twas the Night Before Christmas at 7:30 p.m. on November 16 and 1:30 p.m. November 17. The show is open to all ages and tickets will be available at the door.

As it does at the end of every academic year, the Central Methodist University Division of Fine and Performing Arts recently celebrated student honorees. Together, the music and theatre departments honored 71 students for outstanding performances and accomplishments during the 2018-19 year.

The choir was carefully selected as one of six in Missouri invited to sing for the 40th anniversary celebration of the Robert Ray Gospel Mass at the National American Choral Directors (ACDA) Convention. This will take place Saturday, March 2 at the Kaufman Center in Kansas City.

Each fall, Central Methodist University's elite singing group, the Chorale, sets out on tour - visiting schools and churches to share their passion for music and performance. This year's choir tour runs for just under a week beginning Thursday, Nov. 15 and wrapping up on Tuesday, Nov. 20.

The Department of Fine and Performing Arts at Central Methodist University named their top students in a celebration on May 6. Included were music and theatre students.

Central Methodist University's Praise Bands have decided to branch out into the community and reach people who would not otherwise receive their message of Christian love.

The Central Methodist University Jazz Band is presenting its spring concert on Tuesday, May 1, at 7:30 p.m. in Linn Memorial United Methodist Church on CMU's Fayette campus.

The members of the Little Theatre at Central Methodist University will present Neil Simon's comedy with a heart, Brighton Beach Memoirs, Thursday, April 26 through Sunday, April 29 at the Little Theatre on the campus of CMU.

The annual American Music Recital (AMR), sponsored by Beta Mu Chapter of Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia and Theta Omicron Chapter of Sigma Alpha Iota, will be held in Linn Memorial Church on the Central Methodist University campus at 7:30 p.m. on April 6.

As final exams wind down and students pack up for Christmas break, Central Methodist University offers its final music concert of the fall semester. The Concert Band will perform on Sunday, Dec. 10, at 4 p.m. in Linn Memorial Church on the Fayette campus of CMU.