Wine & Roses Choir Concert to feature LMC choral groups Oct. 17

Event: Wine & Roses Choir Concert
When: Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024, 7 p.m.
Where: Lake Michigan College Mendel Center Hanson Theatre, 2755 E. Napier Avenue, Benton Harbor, MI 49022
Tickets: Tickets not required for this free general admission event

BENTON HARBOR, MICH. – Romantic ballads and familiar standards will fill the Lake Michigan College Hanson Theatre at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 17, when the LMC Visual & Performing Arts department presents Wine & Roses Choir Concert. This free event will feature two student choral ensembles, LMC Vocal Chamber and the newly formed Vox LMC, under the direction of Rebecca Derbas-Selvidge.

Lake Michigan Vintners, the College’s teaching winery, will also be on hand to provide free tastings of choice wines from their collection to those 21 and older.

Among the planned selections to be performed by Vox LMC are “Alfie,” a Burt Bacharach tune arranged by Darmon Meader; “From the Start,” by Laufey and arranged by Jed Scott; “Days of Wine and Roses,” a piece by Henry Mancini and arranged by Steve Zegree; “Fly Me to the Moon,” the Frank Sinatra classic arranged by Rosana Eckert; and Van Morrison's “Moondance,” arranged by Eric Van Cleave.

The LMC Vocal Chamber set list includes “Wisdom of the Moon” by Susan LaBarr, “Tábortűznél” by Hungarian composer Lajos Bárdos, and the iconic Harry Connick Jr. jazz piece “It Had to Be You” arranged by Steve Zegree.

Vox LMC is a new vocal jazz ensemble that incorporates the study of contemporary American music with music technology. Music technology students learn about the uses of microphones, monitors, and speakers with guidance from TPC Technologies, Inc., the LMC Mendel Center’s production partner, while the student singers and instrumentalists work through the complex harmonies and rhythms of vocal jazz.

Vox LMC performers are Ella Harris (Watervliet), Danielle Jacobson (Stevensville), Lauriebelle Radin (Savannah, GA), Ingrid Kublick (Coloma), Elisa Sypian (St. Joseph), Wyatt Arms (Hartford), Ethan Bowman-Hawkins (St. Joseph), Landon Mitchell (Buchanan), Celeste Calel-Jones (Holland), and Brandyn Gifford (Stevensville).

LMC Vocal Chamber is a dynamic student ensemble that performs frequently in concert each semester. Selections performed are drawn from the standard choral repertoire and include madrigals, motets, folk songs, spirituals, and jazz. Ensemble membership is comprised of LMC students, by audition.

LMC Vocal Chamber members include Emalie Nelson (Bridgman), Suzy Markle (Berrien Springs), Celeste Calel-Jones (Holland), Lauriebelle Radin (Savannah, GA), Julia Calel-Jones (Holland), Elisa Sypian (St. Joseph), Val Heppler (Stevensville), Wyatt Arms (Hartford), Brandyn Gifford (Stevensville), Kyle McAndrew (South Haven), Zechariah Childs (Benton Harbor), Renato Recillas (Fennville), and Neil Johnson (Galien).

Tickets are not required for this free general admission event.

About the director
Rebecca Derbas-Selvidge holds a Bachelor of Music in Choral Education degree from Western Michigan University, a Master of Arts degree from the University of South Florida, and a Certificate of Musical Theatre Performance from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City.

She has performed with various ensembles including Lake Effect Jazz Big Band under the direction of Steven Reed, Gold Company under the direction of Dr. Steve Zegree, WMU Chorale under the direction of Dr. James Bass, and VOICES LMC. She has also performed at the International Association of Jazz Educators conference in Toronto and has appeared on several albums including WMU Gold Company’s “Who Could Ask for Anything More” and “30,” Tim Hauser’s “Love Stories,” and “Ditties for Kiddies,” a benefit CD for Little Kids Rock.

She was a founding member of the Three Divas of Southwest Michigan with Carrie VanDenburgh and Katherine Rohwer. Derbas-Selvidge is a proud alum of the Lake Michigan College music department where she received the Steve Sizer Vocal scholarship, the Outstanding Musician of the Year award, and met her husband, Alan. She is mom to their son, Jack, and their family dog, Ginger.

For more information about the LMC Visual & Performing Arts department and performances, visit lakemichigancollege.edu/arts, email mmccaffrey@lakemichigancollege.edu, or call 269-927-8876.

About the Lake Michigan College Visual & Performing Arts Department
The Visual & Performing Arts Department allows students to reach new levels of excellence through classroom instruction and public performance. Many programs, including instrumental and vocal music, theatre, and dance, are based in the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center, the only performing arts center of its kind in southwest Michigan. Here, LMC students have opportunities to study the performing arts in a venue that attracts thousands of patrons annually. Programs including drawing, painting, and graphic design allow students to explore the possibilities in the visual arts.

Auditions are held for select ensembles that perform on the same stages as world-renowned touring acts. Students in any major also have opportunities to audition for Broadway musicals and plays and join two different vocal ensembles, string and wind ensembles, a pop-rock ensemble, and jazz band. One of only two colleges in Michigan to carry the prestigious All-Steinway designation, LMC has a team of highly qualified faculty that bring real-world expertise to the classroom.