BC Chorale to Tour Hungary and Austria



	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 04/30/2008

	BC Chorale To Tour Hungary And Austria

	BRIDGEWATER, Va. — Following commencement on Sunday, May 11, the 25-voice Bridgewater College Chorale will leave May 13 for a 10-day concert tour in Hungary and Austria. The ensemble will perform in prestigious venues in Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg. President and Mrs. Phillip Stone plan on joining the group in Austria. The Chorale is directed by Dr. Jesse E. Hopkins, the Edwin L. Turner Distinguished Professor of Music at Bridgewater. The repertory includes works from the Baroque era through contemporary classical music. Among the pieces the Chorale will perform are two songs, "He, Watching over Israel," from Elijah and "Heilig" by Felix Mendelssohn, "Ave Maria" by Josquin Desprez and "In Peace and Joy" by James Fritschel. The chorale's program also includes two Negro spirituals by Moses Hogan, "Done Made My Vow to the Lord" and "I Got a Home In-a That Rock" and William L. Dawson's "Ezekiel Saw the Wheel." The repertory also includes "Eli, Eli" by Gyorgy Deak-Bárdos, "Psalm 117" by Greg Knauf and Joseph H. Jennings' arrangement of "There is a Balm in Gilead." The Chorale, selected by audition in the spring of the year, prepares two programs a year — a choreographed program of popular music and a sacred concert. Students from a variety of majors and all class levels comprise the ensemble. Each year, the group tours the Eastern United States, performing distinctive choral literature for churches, schools and civic organizations. In May 2003, the Chorale traveled to Germany for its fifth international concert tour, which included performances in Rudesheim, Goslar, Leipzig and Berlin. The Chorale's international tours have also taken the ensemble to Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and the Peoples' Republic of China. Hopkins received a bachelor's degree in music education from Bridgewater College and a master's degree in music education from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Va. In October 1991, he was awarded a doctor of education degree in music education from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. In addition to the concert tours, Hopkins has led study tours for Bridgewater College students in England, France, Italy, Germany, Austria and the Netherlands. On eight occasions, he has taught Polynesian music and culture for Bridgewater students traveling to Hawaii.
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	Since 1973, Hopkins has been director of music at the Bridgewater Church of the Brethren, where he conducts both the Sanctus choir and the adult handbell choir. From 1993-2000, he served as chair of the College Choral Division of the Virginia Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association, and is a life member of the American Choral Directors Association. He has been a member of the Virginia Music Educators Association and the Music Educators National Conference since 1967. He also is a member of the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers. Hopkins will serve as choir director for the 2008 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren which will celebrate its 300^th anniversary this summer. Hopkins was named one of the Outstanding Young Men of America in 1981 and has been listed in Who's Who in Religion, Men of Distinction, Who's Who in the South and Southwest and Who's Who in the Arts. In 2001, Hopkins received the Martha B. Thornton Faculty Recognition Award presented by Bridgewater College to faculty members who "provide caring concern for students well beyond the role as teacher."

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