The Lake Michigan College Visual & Performing Arts Department invites the public to enjoy an evening of music and art when it presents the Color & Sound Choir Concert at 7 p.m., Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023, in the Lake Michigan College Mendel Center Hanson Theatre on the Benton Harbor Campus.
The multimedia performance will feature the LMC Vocal Chamber and LMC Concert Choir, both under the direction of Rebecca Derbas-Selvidge, in collaboration with the College’s Visual Art program. The vocal groups will perform art-inspired music selections while student artwork and historical standards by well-known painters are projected behind the performers.
Among the planned selections are “Lux Brumalis” by Nate Adams, performed by the LMC Concert Choir, “True Colors” by Saunder Choi, performed by the LMC Vocal Chamber, and a combined choir performance of “Sunday” by Huff.
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 Concert Choir is a mixed-voice choral ensemble comprised of LMC students and community members from throughout Berrien County and beyond. The group performs regularly on the concert stage, both at the Mendel Center and throughout southwest Michigan.
Admission is free, however, donations to benefit Calling All Colors are encouraged. Calling All Colors is a program designed for elementary school-age children in southwest Michigan to interact together in a safe, educational environment while creating new friendships in a small group setting.
For more information, visit lakemichigancollege.edu/arts, email mmccaffrey@lakemichigancollege.edu, or call 269-927-8876.
About the Director
Rebecca Derbas-Selvidge, soprano, holds a Bachelor of Music in Choral Education from Western Michigan University, a Master of Arts 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 is a Music Lecturer at Lake Michigan College.
She has performed with various ensembles including Lake Effect Jazz Big Band under Steven Reed, Gold Company under Dr. Steve Zegree, WMU Chorale under Dr. James Bass, and VOICES LMC, as well as regional and local theatre productions such as Sandy in “Grease!,” Mother in SMSO's “Ragtime,” and Penelope Pennywise in “Urinetown.” She has been the musical director for Twin City Player's “Sound of Music,” Children's Music Workshop's production of “Hairspray,” and CMW TeenStock's summer musical productions including “Les Misérables” and “Spamalot;” and directed “Xanadu.”
Derbas-Selvidge has 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 writer/producer/performer for “A Woman's World Cabaret” at Danny's Skylight in New York City and has performed at such venues as The Cutting Room, The Triad, and Studio One in New York City. Derbas-Selvidge was co-singer/songwriter for the band Stoney End, a backup singer for Erin Hill Band, and 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 Steven Sizer Vocal scholarship, received the Outstanding Musician of the Year award, and met her husband, Alan. She is mom to their son, Jack, and their family dog, Ginger.
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 theatre, instrumental and vocal music, 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 more than 100,000 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, drumline, 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.
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Posted January 25, 2023