First Reformed United Church of Christ in Lexington will host a concert by the Catawba Singers at 4 p.m. on Sunday, April 14. The church is located at 104 E. Center Street and members of the general public are invited to attend the concert.
The 34-member strong Catawba Singers from Catawba College in Salisbury will offer several styles of music at the concert although most of the selections will be sacred in nature. Members of the Catawba Chamber Singers, a smaller ensemble group within the Catawba Singers, will sing "Loch Lomond," "My Soul's Been Anchored," "With a Lily in His Hand," a Lithuanian folk song, a Renaissance motet, and "I Thank You God For Most This Amazing Day." The Catawba Singers will sing "Poor Man Lazarus," a jazz tune based on Beethoven's "Fur Elise," "The Road Not Taken," and "Poor Man of Sorrow." Pianist Jacob Hahn will accompany the Singers at this event.
The Catawba Singers is a select choral ensemble open to Catawba students by audition only. Auditions are usually held in August for freshmen and transfer students, and by appointment for present Catawba students. The Singers are very active in performances both on and off-campus, and perform in several major concerts each year. Their repertoire consists of mostly chamber literature, sacred masterworks, and pop, vocal jazz and Broadway literature for a "Cabaret" performance in the spring of each year. Emphasis is placed on the development of good vocal technique, exposure to a wide variety of choral literature, striving for artistry and understanding of performance practice, and the enhancement of reading skills in a stimulating intellectual and cultural environment.
The Catawba Singers are under the direction of Dr. Jim Shepherd, the director of choral music and an assistant professor of music at Catawba College. He joined the faculty in 2012.
Dr. Jim Shepherd is Catawba College's new director of choral music and assistant professor of music. He joined the faculty at the college at the start of the 2012-2013 academic year. He came to Catawba from Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, where he served during the 2011-2012 academic year as assistant professor and director of choral and vocal music. He also served from 2006 until 2011 as associate professor and director of choral and vocal music at Austin Community College in Austin, Texas.
Shepherd earned his Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education and his Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. He holds his Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of Texas in Austin, Texas.
The Catawba Singers include: Allison Andrews of Sherrills Ford; Gerald J. Archer of Candler; Dallas Banks of Lexington; Kenneth M. Blaker of Concord; Gabriella Bressi of Villanova, Pa.; Daniel Brown of Chinquapin; Martha Brucker of Kings Mt.; Shaun Cammack of Lake Toxaway; Michelle Chafee of Holly Springs; Pen Chance of Augusta, Ga.; Jordan Clifton of Raleigh; Abiye Fubara of Anger; Morgan K. Griffin of China Grove; A.J. Gruenewald of Falls Church, Va.; Jacob Jester of China Grove; Hannah M. Lee of Fuquay Varina; Megan I. Loveall of Fuquay-Varina; Richard Lugo of Virginia Beach, Va.; Patrick C. Moore of Concord; Mekaela B. Nance of Linwood; Ashley O'Donnell of Rehoboth Beach, Del.; Shannon O'Donnell of Land O' Lakes, Fla.; Chelsea Retalic of Concord; Danielle M. Rivera of Harrisburg; Jeffrey A. Salerno of Lake Mary, Fla.; Blanche Schwarz of Statesville; Dustin Shelton of Kannapolis; Quashona Smith of Atlantic City, N.J.; Donna R. Steele of Charlotte; Ashton Tibbett of Sanford; Ryan Walker of Alexandria, Va.; Elizabeth J. White of Bluffton, S.C.; Skyler M. Whitfield of Greensboro; and Madeline E. Wyatt of Kannapolis.
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