Performing Groups: 2008 Spring Tours
Concert Choir
About the Concert Choir
The 70-voice Concert Choir, established in 1934, is the principal choir of seven choral ensembles at Seattle Pacific University. The students represent the diversity of majors across the campus — including music, education, business, religion, and the many liberal arts.
The Concert Choir strives to express meaning through their music, integrating faith and learning, which is reflected through performance of unaccompanied sacred music in their annual tour.
Concert Choir Repertoires
The choir prepares large-scale accompanied works, such as their performances of Kodály’s “Missa Brevis,” Brahms’ “Requiem,” and Stravinsky’s “Symphony of Psalms.” The Concert Choir has performed at the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) Washington State Convention, the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Northwest Convention, the MENC Northwest Convention and the ACDA National Convention. Other choral ensembles at SPU include the Chamber Singers, Women’s Choir, Men's Choir, Unlimited (contemporary Christian), Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and the Gospel Choir.
The Chamber Singers
The Chamber Singers is a group whose members are selected from the Concert Choir. The ensemble performs a variety of music from all eras, sacred and secular. They have performed music by Gabrielli, Byrd, Goudimel, Brahms, Schumann, Walton, Stravinsky, many others, as well as 19th century popular song and a variety of folk music from many countries. This ensemble also provide music for a variety of SPU campus functions throughout the school year.
The Director
David Anderson is director of choral activities at SPU, directing the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. He did his undergraduate schooling at Grace Bible College (Grand Rapids, Mich.), Spokane Falls Community College (Spokane, Wash.), finishing at Whitworth College (Spokane, Wash.). He did his graduate work at the University of Oregon.
His conducting studies include work under Helmuth Rilling, Eric Ericson, and Avner Itai. He taught at Shaw Junior High School (Spokane, Wash.), Clarkston High School (Clarkston, Wash.) and West Albany High School (Albany, Ore.). Before coming to SPU, he was choral director at the University of North Alabama.
Anderson is a member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the International Federation of Choral Music (IFCM) and the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). He is active as adjudicator and clinician throughout the region.
SPU Players
The University Players is a seven-member theatre troupe of SPU students. The troupe is known both for dramatic excellence and theological richness. The Players perform original dramas in churches, senior centers, and private schools. They have performed throughout Washington, in Colorado, and in 2008, the troupe will perform in California's Bay area.
The University Players perform two original shows, exploring the ways in which faith affects our daily lives. In 2007–08, the high school show "Winter Requiem" looks at where God is in the midst of loss and grief. "The Variety Show, " the show performed for churches and senior centers, explores God's faithfulness — even during life's difficulties.
For more information, contact the performing group's coordinator, Kyle Feldman, at 206-281-2933 or kfeldman@spu.edu.
The Director
Josh Hornbeck, a former University Player, is a 1999 SPU graduate with a degree in theatre. He is a former member of Seattle's Taproot Theatre Road Company. In addition to the plays Josh has written for the University Players, he has written plays for Taproot Theatre, Westmont College in Santa Barbara, Calif., and Seattle's King’s Junior High. His short fiction has appeared in the Buffalo Carp literary journal.
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