Missouri Valley College Division of Fine Arts to Present Annual Spring Music Show
The Missouri Valley College Division of Fine Arts will present their annual spring music show on April 12 and 13 at 7:30 p.m. in the Eckilson-Mabee Theatre. The show will feature the MVC Jazz Combo under the direction of Dr. Aaron Wacker and the Valley Connection Show Choir under the direction of Diana Malan. Jay Rozema will be the technical director, and Dyann Rozema the costumer.
“We wanted most of the show this year to be lighthearted and fun, so we’ve tried to choose music for both groups that will hopefully have people smiling, tapping their feet or clapping and singing along,” said Diana Malan, adjunct instructor of vocal music. “We think that our audiences will recognize a number of the pieces that the groups will be performing.”
The MVC Jazz Combo will open the show with a variety of jazz standards including “Blue Monk,” “All of Me,” “Four,” “Autumn Leaves” and “Black Orpheus.” Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and The Jive Aces’ “Bring Me Sunshine” will be two selections that feature the two groups together. “How High the Moon,” “Take the “A” Train” and “Blue Bossa” will conclude the MVC Jazz Combo part of the evening.
“While we structured our show to be predominately light-hearted, I also wanted to share some music that allows the singers to become storytellers and create a range of emotions,” said Malan.
“Blackbird” by Lennon and McCartney, “Bring Me Little Water Sylvie” by Heddie Ledbetter and “Tell My Father” from The Civil War are among those selections. Terrence Mickens III, a graduating senior from Missouri, will be a featured soloist during this section and will perform “Poor Wayfaring Stranger,” a traditional African American spiritual.
The Valley Connection Show Choir will be in Orlando, Florida on May 8 where they will perform on the Disney Springs Marketplace Stage. Over the years, a number of MVC show choir groups have had the opportunity to do performances of this kind.
“It’s always a wonderful experience and provides an opportunity for our students to perform for an audience outside of the Valley community. It also allows them to explore career options with organizations such as Disney,” said Malan.
The spring show will conclude with selections that the group will perform while in Florida. These selections include Kiki Dee’s “I’ve Got the Music in Me,” Pentatonix’s “Na Na Na, Let’s Hear it For the Boy” from Footloose, The Letterman’s “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You,” Elvis Presley’s “Can’t Help Falling In Love” and Broadway Musical Magic featuring cuts from “It’s A Musical,” “Seize the Day,” “Into the Woods” and “
Rounding out the evening are featured soloists Reevaw Lewis, a sophomore from Florida, singing Duke Ellington’s “Hit Me With a Hot Note” and Rosemarie Bennett, a senior from Missouri, singing “With Every Breath I Take” from City of Angels. Featured dancers are Kassandra Milton, a graduating senior from Nebraska, and Miyu Shito, a freshman from Japan. Gracyn Bristow, MHS junior, will be featured on violin. Choreographers for the show are Rosemarie Bennett, Kassandra Milton, Janie Morgan and Bradford Scott ’13.
Admission is $2.00 for adults; free for children 18 and under. All tickets are available at the door and gate money will go towards helping with the expenses for the Valley Connection spring performance trip to Florida. The house will open at 7:00 p.m. for open seating.