Monmouth College

Four concerts in five days as Monmouth College spring semester draws to a close

by Barry McNamara

Monmouth, Ill. (04/29/2026) — April rehearsals bring May concerts - four of them on the Monmouth College campus from May 1-5, to be exact.

All of the concerts will be held in the Kasch Performance Hall of Dahl Chapel and Auditorium and are free and open to the public. Three of the concerts will begin at 7:30 p.m., with the exception being a 3 p.m. start for the May 3 event.

Spring choral concert, May 1

The Chorale and Chamber Choir, both directed by music professor Tim Pahel, and the Concert Choir, directed by Kaitlyn McCullough '23, will start the semester-ending, four-concert series.

Highlights include Chorale performing "Cloudburst" by Eric Whitacre, in which hand chimes, finger snapping and multiple percussion instruments create the sound of a thunderstorm. Chamber Choir will perform a variety of pieces including a vocal jazz song by Anders Edenroth of the Real Group entitled "Chili con Carne." A highlight of Concert Choir's set will be "Alchemy" by Jacob Narverud, featuring a French horn solo played by Riley Kalnins '26 of Lincoln, Nebraska.

The sopranos and altos of Chorale and Concert Choir will combine for what Pahel called "a rousing performance" of the American folk hymn "Will the Circle Be Unbroken," and the tenors and basses will perform "The River" by Susan LaBarr, which also features the style and flavor of a folk song.

Both choirs will combine at the end of the concert to sing "Ain't No Grave," a fast and lively gospel song with a virtuosic piano accompaniment played by music faculty member Solee Lee-Clark. As the composers intended, the song will also feature the singers doing American Sign Language for the choruses.

Wind Ensemble, May 2

"Leonard Bernstein opens the concert, as we will perform a set of pieces based on his works, including West Side Story and MASS," said music professor Justin Swearinger, who directs the Wind Ensemble. "We will honor and recognize seven graduating seniors while playing Kathryn Salfelder's 'Reminiscence.'"

During the performance, photos from the year will be showcased, and the concert will conclude with a "beautiful" arrangement featuring highlights from the Studio Ghibli film, Princess Mononoke.

Monmouth Civic Orchestra, May 3

Under the direction of Rich Cangro - who will hand over the baton to a trio of students for some of the selections -- the orchestra will perform a program of Celtic music. The concert will also include The Jammers, a group directed by Swearinger.

The student conductors are Kelsey Moersfelder '26 of Huntley, Illinois, Becca Nielson '27 of Galesburg, Illinois, and McKenna Rahn '28 of Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The program leads off with "Concert Overture Donegal to Down" and "Three Scottish Melodies." Orin Weiss '29 of Girard, Kansas, who is pictured playing the bagpipes on the cover of the current Monmouth College Magazine, will perform a bagpipe solo. Some of the other selections are "Sir Gawain and the Green Knight" and "Gawain's Dilemma." The orchestra's final piece will be music from Lord of the Dance.

Jazz Band, May 5

The Monmouth College Jazz Band, under the direction of Steve Jackson, will cap off the flurry of concerts with a performance on the eve of the final day of classes for the spring semester.

Media Attachments

KK1_1624swearinger.jpg

Justin Swearinger will direct the Monmouth College Wind Ensemble concert during its May 2 concert, and he also oversees The Jammers, who will perform as part of the May 3 event.

Kaitlyn

McCullough