Bethel’s small choral ensemble will give a concert Feb. 1 at 4 p.m. at Shalom Mennonite Church (800 E. First St., Newton).
Chamber Singers is an advanced vocal ensemble that primarily performs early music and works from the 20th and 21st centuries, both of which will be featured on Sunday’s concert, which is free and open to the public.
This ensemble consists of singers from the Bethel College Concert Choir, who add an extra rehearsal time to their week, “highlighting their commitment to musical excellence,” said Dr. Russell Adrian, director of choral activities at Bethel.
The Feb. 1 program begins with music from the 18th century, the cantata Erschallet, ihr Lieder, BWV 172, by J.S. Bach.
“I chose [this] because we will be traveling to Leipzig, Germany, this summer on our European Choir Tour,” Adrian said.
“BWV 172 was composed for Pentecost Sunday, the seventh Sunday after Easter [that] celebrates the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus,” he continued. “On May 24, Pentecost Sunday [2026], we will attend the church service at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, 303 years after BWV 172 was first performed there.”
The second half of the program comprises “a collection of works that share a similar thematic thread of hope, assurance and longing for peace,” Adrian said. “Many of the texts originate from a position or perspective of struggle.”
The second half includes pieces by Claudio Monteverdi (16th-17th century) and Robert Lowry (18th century) as well as 20th- and 21st-century composers Matthew Lyon Hazzard, Christopher Aspass, Elaine Hagenberg and Sydney Guillaume.
A chamber orchestra of Bethel students, faculty and guests will join the singers for the Bach cantata.
Chamber singers personnel are: sopranos, Lucy Burch, Newton, Emma Graber, Divide, Colo., Abigail Grittman, Shawnee, Kyra Linenberger, Garden City, and Bethany Schrag, Valley Center; altos, Maddie Anderson, Maize, Anna-Joy Jones, Lockhart, Texas, Abby Koontz, Newton, Faith Peterson, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., and Dalaina Schutte, Halstead; tenors, Caleb Garber, Newton, Riley Hartvickson, Goessel, Liam Ortman, Freeman, S.D., Jacob Schrag, Goessel, and Timothy Schrag, Goessel; basses, Seth Balzer, Freeman, S.D., Henry Harrington, Halstead, Ben Janzen, Henderson, Neb., and Ethan Wilcox, Halstead.
Bethel is a four-year liberal arts college founded in 1887 and is the oldest Mennonite college in North America. Bethel is ranked #25 in U.S. News & World Report’s Best Regional College Midwest for 2026. Bethel was the only Kansas college or university to be named a Truth, Community Healing and Transformation (TCHT) Campus Center, in 2021. For more information, see www.bethelks.edu
Chamber Singers 2025-26 photo by Violet Hatten
