The Barker Series
Jeff Dwarshuis 4pm Oct 18th
Jeff Dwarshuis is a classical guitarist from Grand Rapids, Michigan with an extensive repertoire in Renaissance, Baroque, Classical, Romantic, and Modern music. He has had extensive consultation with Classical Guitarist Paul Vondiziano on the art of performance, music interpretation, and guitar technique. Mr. Dwarshuis has performed throughout the midwest including the Grand Rapids Art Museum, the Detroit Institute of Arts, Kalamazoo Valley College, and the Feeding the Soul of The City concert series in Saint Paul’s Church of Muskegon.
Mr. Dwarshuis’ program is an exciting set of the most prized pieces for the classical guitar. From beautiful lute transcriptions of the Renaissance to modern day masters, his playing will take you through centuries of guitar virtuosity and beauty. His playing has been described as “sensitive and lyrical” with a “passion for the music [that] shines through the music.”
Mr. Dwarshuis has a B.A. in psychology and a Masters degree in clinical social work.
Todd Wilson 8pm Dec 31st
Todd Wilson is Professor of Organ at Indiana University and organ curator of the Cleveland Orchestra. Wilson studied organ with Wayne Fisher at the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, where he obtained both a B.M. and a M.M. He then studied with Russell Saunders at the Eastman School of Music.
Wilson has won several competitions, including the Grand Prix de Chartres and the Fort Wayne Competition. Wilson has performed with many notable orchestras, including the Cleveland Orchestra, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and he Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. He has performed in Tokyo, Vienna, Slovakia, and extensively throughout the United States.
Mr. Wilson’s numerous recordings include solo organ works as well as performances with a variety of other instrumentalists. The Cleveland Plain Dealer describes him as “… a fabulous virtuoso with fleet feet, a prodigious memory and technique to burn.” A review from Birmingham, Alabama reads, “Wilson … is a master tonal colorist … consistent security on both the manuals and pedals.”
Alma College Choir under the direction of Dr. William Nichols 4 pm March 14th
The Alma Choir is the primary touring choir in the Alma choral program. The Choir’s reputation for excellence, its many traditions, and its ambitious performing, touring and recording schedule attract a group of talented students for whom choral singing is an important part of their lives. About 30% of Alma Choir members are preparing for careers as professional musicians. The other singers are busy preparing for careers in every imaginable area. The common thread that binds these students is the joy — emotional, intellectual and spiritual — found in singing together.
Conductor William Nichols has focused on building the choral program at Alma College since 1983. He also maintains a successful professional singing career. Recently Nichols sang Handel’s Messiah with the Saginaw Choral Society (May) and the Hillsdale Chorale (March) and the Bach Magnificat and Easter Oratorio with the Grand Rapids Symphony Orchestra.
Embellish 4pm April 18th
Embellish is a community handbell ensemble representing the greater Grand Rapids area. Embellish was founded in the fall of 1995 to be a professional level group that promotes the art of handbell ringing by providing a high quality musical experience for diverse audiences.
Embellish has made two mid-west tours, performed at the Directors Seminar in Saginaw, MI, accompanied the Grand Rapids Symphony during their Christmas Pops Concert series, and performed at the 2004 movie premier of The Polar Express. The group represented West Michigan at Pinnacle 2004, a nation-wide handbell seminar to perform a showcase concert. In 2006, Embellish travelled to France for their first international concert tour.
One of the highlights of Embellish’s eleven seasons has been the wonderful array of guest artists included in the annual “Embellish and Friends” performances. Over the years Embellish has hosted some fantastic musical guests from our community including The Resonators (percussion ensemble), Brian Morris (guitar), Dr. Larry Visser (organist), and Rich Ridenour (piano).
Embellish rings six-and-one-half octaves of Malmark handbells and five-and-one-half octaves of Malmark ChoirChimes, totaling over 130 bells and chimes.
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Over the years, Embellish has recognized the importance of community outreach. One way that we accomplish this goal is by offering semi-annual workshops for area handbell ringers. These informative “Tune-up” workshops offer training for handbell ringers in treble and bass ringing technique, conducting, handbell maintenance, repertoire selection, as well as many other topics. Other ways that Embellish reaches the community is through touring, and playing at venues such as the Grand Rapids Festival of the Arts, area churches, the Frederick Meijer Gardens, and the Grand Rapids Art Museum. Through performances at these various venues, Embellish strives to expose the wonderful art of handbell ringing to a wide audience- one that might have never heard handbells before! Embellish debuted a new outreach program in April 2006 for the West Michigan community. The Ringlets concert is a fun, interactive program specifically designed for young children. Embellish has collaborated with the Grand Rapids Children’s Museum to present this concert in 2006 and will again in 2007. |
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The 2004-2005 season marked the 10th anniversary for Embellish. To celebrate this milestone, alumni ringers from all 10 seasons were invited to participate in a reunion concert. As you can see from the photo, many alumni returned to ring in this great event held in February of 2005. We hope that Embellish will celebrate many more years ringing in this community. |
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