Ashland Area Chorus Begins Jan. 8

The Ashland Area Chorus (AAC) welcomes new and returning members to their first rehearsal of the spring 2018 semester scheduled for Monday, January 8 from 7 p.m. to 8:45 p.m. in Room 242 of the Center for the Arts at Ashland University. Rehearsals continue until April 23 on subsequent Mondays.

In its nineteenth season, the AAC is dedicated to a mission of learning great music and singing it beautifully. The chorus is open to all singers from Ashland and surrounding counties and includes Ashland University faculty, staff and students as well as other singers from the wider community. Though no formal audition is required for membership, AAC members must be pitch accurate (sing 'on key') and be able to learn and perform their parts successfully. Previous choral experience is helpful.

This spring, the chorus will perform at the Ashland University Winter Choral Concert on Sunday, March 25 with the AU Choir, Chamber Singers and Women's Chorus. AAC will also sing selections from Handel's Solomon with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra on Saturday, April 28.

Membership in AAC is open to all adults. Students still in high school may also participate with the permission of the school's director. A nominal membership fee of $25 for adults, and $15 for students is requested and payable by the fourth week of rehearsals to continue participation in either ensemble for the semester. The membership fee is payable at the Ashland University Box Office via phone at 419.289.5125 or online at www.ashland.edu/music by clicking on the "Buy Tickets & Memberships" icon.

AU Music Boasts Large Presence at OPCICA

On the weekend of Jan. 20, 21 at The College of Wooster, the annual Ohio Private College Instrumental Conductor's Association (OPCICA) honor bands will rehearse and perform. AU Music once again finds a great number of its students represented in this consortium including:

OPCICA Honors Concert Band
Erica Wheaton bass clarinet
Eric Watts bass trombone
Ariane Hill, flute
Stefan Jonsson, percussion
Jennifer Wigton, trumpet
Brandi Wells, tuba

OPCICA Honors Jazz Ensemble
Derek Rangel, lead tenor saxophone
Jason Wolf, baritone saxophone
Nik Psota, lead trumpet
Frank Stanek, bass trombone

Additionally, Ashland's Joseph Lewis will conduct a selection with the Honors Concert Band, and Dr. Scott Garlock will be one of the conductors of the Honors Jazz Ensemble. The Honors Jazz Ensemble will also be performing one of Dr. Garlock's works "Second in line for Pumpernickel."

Students Place at Ohio NATS Competition

Congratulations to the Ashland University voice students of Denise Milner Howell who participated in the Ohio NATS competition at Youngstown State University. Accompanied by Deb Logan, freshman Gabriella Carr was awarded 3rd place overall in the Lower College Women and Men's Musical Theatre category, and post-secondary student Katie Harrigan was awarded 2nd place in High School Musical Theatre. They are both now eligible to compete at the Great Lakes Regional Competition in March 2018.

Festival of Lights Holiday Services, Dec. 10

Ashland University will officially begin its observance of the holiday season with the 27th annual Festival of Lights on Dec. 10 in Ashland University’s Jack and Deb Miller Chapel, located at the intersection of King Road and College Avenue.

The 7 p.m. candlelight service, which is free and open to the public, symbolizes Christ coming into the world. The story is communicated in verse and song. It will include Scripture readings by Jim and Margaret Hess, traditional carols, and seasonal choral music by the Ashland University Choir and Women’s Chorus, and the Ashland Area Chorus. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.

The Ashland University Choir is under the direction of Dr. Rowland Blackley, director of choral activities and professor of music, while Elizabeth Slade directs the Ashland Area Chorus and Julie Strebler-Renner, the Women’s Chorus. Dr. Timothy Guenther and Susan Gregg will accompany the choirs on organ and piano.

Musical selections will feature original works and settings of carols by a variety of composers including Clausen, Mendelssohn, Rutter, Vaughan Williams, Pinkham, Saint-Saens, and Whalum.

Winter Festival Band Concert, Dec. 9

The Department of Music at Ashland University presents its annual Winter Festival Band Concert on Saturday, Dec. 9, at 7:30 p.m. in Hugo Young Theatre. The concert will feature the Ashland University Symphonic Band directed by Joseph Lewis Jr., Ashland University Director of Bands, and the Ashland Area Community Concert Band (AACCB) under the direction of Leonard Salvo. The concert will offer a program of classic compositions for concert band along with some holiday favorites. The concert is free and open to the public.

The Ashland University Symphonic Band is comprised of the outstanding wind and percussion players at the University. The ensemble begins Saturday's concert with Procession of Nobles, the fifth piece based on the opera-ballet Mldada by Russian composer Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov; followed by Minnesota Portraits by Samuel R. Hazo, which includes three movements depicting snapshots of Minnesota in winter. The band’s third piece is an instrumental adaptation by Eric E. Whitacre of his a cappella choral work Lux Aurumque. The Symphonic Band's program concludes with Leroy Anderson's holiday classic Sleigh Ride.

After a brief intermission, the 65-member Ashland Area Community Concert Band takes the stage. Established in 1993, the ensemble is designed for both university students and members of the Ashland community to continue their musical study and creative activity. The Community Band’s program begins with T'is a Gift by Anne McGinty, which was composed as a tribute to three band members who lost their lives aboard TWA Flight 800; followed by John Philip Sousa’s most melodic and best-written marches, Fairest of the Fair; and the fifth movement of Robert Russell Bennett’s Suite of Old American Dances titled Rag. The Community Band will finish the concert with two collections of some of the most popular Christmas carols and songs in A Most Wonderful Christmas and Christmas Music for Winds, which includes holiday favorites from Jolly Old St. Nicholas to Angels We Have Heard on High, Silent Night and more.

Fall 2017 Honors Recital, Dec. 7

On Thursday, Dec. 7 at 7:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall, the best instrumental and vocal performances of fall 2017 are showcased in this end of the semester tradition. Vocalists include Gabriella Carr, Sami Eron, Alli Lange, Maya Rickard and Rebecca Young. Instrumentalists are Kailyn Buyok (violin), Nikolaus Psota (trumpet), Emily Schordock (horn) and Michael Woode (piano). Free and open to the public.

Student Ensembles Concert, Dec. 5

Several chamber ensembles present the culmination of their semester rehearsals in a joint concert including brass, saxophone, string and percussion ensembles. The Student Ensembles Recital will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 5 at 7:30 p.m. in the Elizabeth Pastor Recital Hall. Free & Open to the Public