FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 02/26/2007

Bridgewater Concert Choir Spring Concert Tour

BRIDGEWATER, Va. — The 46-voice Bridgewater College Concert Choir will present a program at 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 15, in the Carter Center for Worship and Music, as part of its spring concert tour. 2007 Concert Choir Tour Schedule

The concert is open to the public at no charge and features, in addition to the Concert Choir, the 23-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. The Concert Choir will perform "O Magnum Mysterium" by Tomas Luis de Victoria, "Machet die Tore weit" by Adnreas Hammerschmidt and Johann Sebastian Bach's "Jesu, Meine Freude." The choir will also sing "O Clap Your Hands" by Ralph Vaughan Williams, "Ain't Got Time to Die" by Hall Johnson and the traditional spiritual, "The Battle of Jericho," arranged by Moses Hogan.

Among the pieces the Choral will sing are "Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal" arranged by Alice Parker, "Sing Me to Heaven" by Daniel E. Gawthrop and "What a Wonderful World" arranged by René Clausen.

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.

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 closing session of the convention of the American Choral Directors Association held this March in Norfolk, Va.

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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 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 seven 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. In July, Hopkins served as choir director for the 2004 Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren in Charleston, W.Va.

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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