MOUNT VERNON, Ohio — The Mount Vernon Nazarene University Music Department will perform the annual Homecoming Concert on Saturday, November 9, beginning at 1:00 pm in the RR Hodges Chapel/Auditorium. The concert is free and open to the public.

The concert will feature an array of inspiring and entertaining music by the Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Una Voce Chamber Choir, Treble Singers Women’s Choir, Jazz Band, Flute Choir, String Ensemble and Collegians Chorale.

Highlighting the concert will be performances by the MVNU Jazz Band and the Una Voce Chamber Choir, formerly known as the Goliards Chamber Choir, with special guests.

The jazz band will be joined this year by several of our esteemed former MVNU jazz directors and current adjunct music faculty who will be featured as soloists in various selections. Past directors who will perform with the band include Dr. Jeremy Smith, trombone, Mr. Rick Brunetto, drums, Dr. Issac Winland, trumpet and Mr. Andrew Clarkson, guitar. The program will include the famous ballad “I’ll Remember Clifford” by Sammy Nestico, Mark Taylor’s “Love Beams” and “North Shore Morning” by Matt Harris.

The Una Voce Chamber Choir will be joined by alumni to perform three songs that highlight the group’s evolution from early music to contemporary music. In addition, the ensemble will premiere a work by ensemble member Cliff Davis, titled “My Hope is in the Lord.”

To conclude the concert, the combined choirs and wind ensemble will join eight alumni to perform a moving arrangement of the hymn “I Then Shall Live,” lyrics by Gloria Gaither after the beloved Finlandia melody by Jean Sibelius. This powerful arrangement ends with the piercing words, “Bread of life, O may I share with glory, and may you feed a hungry world through me,” followed by a rousing A-MEN. The finale will be directed by Dr. Bob Tocheff (’72).

For more on MVNU Homecoming, visit mvnu.edu/homecoming. For more about MVNU’s music department, visit mvnu.edu/music.

Mount Vernon Nazarene University is a private, four-year, intentional Christian teaching university for traditional undergraduates, graduate students, and working adults. With a 327-acre campus in Mount Vernon, Ohio, MVNU emphasizes academic excellence, spiritual growth, and service to the community and church. MVNU offers an affordable education both onsite and online to nearly 2,100 students from 22 states and 21 foreign countries.

Publisher’s Note: A free press is essential to having well-informed voters and citizens. While some news organizations opt for paid websites or expensive paywalls, The Highland County Press has maintained a free newspaper and website for the past 25 years for our community. If you would like to contribute to this service it would be greatly appreciated. Donations can be made to: The Highland County Press, PO Box 849, Hillsboro, Ohio 45133. Please include “for website” on the memo line.