• FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 04/03/2008

BC Concert Choir to Perform April 20

BRIDGEWATER, Va. — The 48-voice Bridgewater College Concert Choir will give a concert at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 20, in the Carter Center for Worship and Music, as part of its spring concert tour.

The concert is open to the public at no charge and features, in addition to the Concert Choir, the 25-voice Chorale and the student-directed Handbell Choir.

The Concert Choir and Chorale are 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 Concert Choir will perform are two songs, "He, Watching over Israel," from Elijah and "Heilig" by Felix Mendelssohn, "Ave Maria" by Sergei Rachmaninoff and "In Peace and Joy" by James Fritschel. The choir also will sing 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."

Among the pieces the Chorale will sing are "Eli, Eli" by Gyorgy Deak-Bárdos, "Psalm 117" by Greg Knauf and Joseph H. Jennings' arrangement of "There is a Balm in Gilead."

The Concert Choir is selected by audition each fall and includes students from all four classes at Bridgewater. The group performs at special occasions on campus and each spring presents a series of weekend concerts throughout the eastern United States.

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. The Chorale has completed five international concert tours, performing in Poland, the Czech Republic, Austria, France, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland and Germany. Following graduation on May 11, the Chorale will be traveling to Hungary and Austria to present a series of concerts.

In May 1995, the Chorale made its New York City debut at Carnegie Hall performing Mozart's Mass in C Minor with the Bohuslav Philharmonic Orchestra of the Czech Republic. The ensemble was selected to perform the same Mozart piece at the American Choral Directors Association.

In addition to conducting the Concert Choir, the Chorale and the Bridgewater College Oratorio Choir, Hopkins also is a published composer. During its 1994 spring tour, the Concert Choir

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performed two pieces from a body of work he completed during the summer of 1993 when he was resident composer at the Cité Internationale des Arts in Paris.

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.

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 300th anniversary.

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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