Students Raise Voices for Choral Festival

» "Westmont College Choir, with director Michael Shasberger. © Brad Elliott."

Seven regional high school choirs will practice and perform with Westmont’s four choral groups in the fourth annual Fall Choral Festival at First Presbyterian Church, Constance and State Street, Friday, Oct. 24, at 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.

Westmont Men’s and Women’s Chorales, Chamber Singers and College Choir will perform along with high school students from across Southern California. Choirs from Clovis West High School in Fresno, Vista Murrieta High School in Murietta, Royal High School in Simi Valley, Santa Maria High School, Pasadena High School, Santa Ynez High School and Lompoc High School will hone their repertoires with Westmont choral directors at a workshop before the performance.

For the finale of the evening concert, the groups will join as a mass choir of over 250 voices to sing “My Lord What a Morning” by H.T. Burleigh.

“The Festival is an exciting day of encouragement and affirmation for young singers and audiences alike,” says Michael Shasberger, Westmont’s Adams professor of music and worship and the coordinator of the choral festival. “We hope our high school guests will be mentored by our faculty and inspired by the college choirs. Seeing young people at the next step in their musical journey can be a powerful motivator.”

Workshop clinicians include Shasberger along with faculty members Steve Hodson and Rebecca Leftwich and guest artist Dale Noble.

The College Choir will sing works from Benjamin Britten, Moses Hogan and several contemporary American composers.

For more information, contact Helen Park in the music department at (805) 565-6040 or hpark@westmont.edu.