Ouachita Stories

Ouachita Baptist University will host the Ouachita Singers in concert on Thursday, Oct. 20, at 7:30 p.m. in McBeth Recital Hall. The concert is open to the public and admission is free.

The concert program will include “Clap Your Hands” by Edwin Fissinger, “O vos Omens” by Tomas Vittoria, “Vidi aquam” by Michael McCarthy, “With a Voice of Singing” by Kenneth Jennings, “Alleluia” by Ralph Manuel, “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing” by Duane Blakley, “Reap What You Sow” by Pepper Choplin, “Be Still and Know” by Victor Johnson, an arrangement of Billy Joel’s “Lullabye,” “I Carry Your Heart With Me” by David Dickau, “Love is the Key” by Zebulon Highben, “Fare Thee Well Love” by James Mulholland, “He’s Got the Whole World” by Ray Liebau and “Jabberwocky” by Sam Pottle.

“For this concert, it will mainly be 20^th century music … both secular and sacred,” said Dr. Gary Gerber, chair of the division of music and director of the choral activities. “Our secular section this year is going to be a grouping of love songs. … We end the concert with a piece called Jabberwocky … based on Lewis Carroll’s poem about Alice and Wonderland. It will be a good closer.”

Ouachita Singers is a choir open to any student on campus through audition in the spring. It includes freshmen to seniors of all majors. This year, there are 47 students in the group.

“Being a part of an excellent collegiate choir is a blast,” said Stephanie Batsel, a senior music and business major from Mansfield, Texas. “Dr. Gerber has extremely high expectations of us, which definitely causes us to be better as a group.”

This concert is one of the many they will be performing this semester.

“We are one of the touring ensembles here on campus,” Gerber said. “Our big tour is spring, where we go to sing for high schools and churches, as well.”

For more information about the concert or Ouachita Singers visit www.obu.edu/music or contact Dr. Gary Gerber at [email protected].

By Lacey Brooks