Life is a journey to different places and milestones along the way. On Sunday, Feb. 18, Journeys: An LMC Choir Concert will explore some of these moments through the performance of the LMC Vocal Chamber and the LMC Concert Choir under the direction of Rebecca Derbas-Selvidge. This free public event begins at 3 p.m. in the LMC Mendel Center Hanson Theatre on the Benton Harbor Campus, 2755 E. Napier Ave.
The musical journey will include a trip back through childhood with Eric Whitacre's "Goodnight Moon” and Gene Puerling's "Sesame Street Theme Song." Other selections will take the audience down unbeaten paths with Thompson's composition "The Road Less Traveled" and to faraway places with a choral arrangement based on the tune of "Finlandia" by Jean Sibelius.
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.
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.
Derbas-Selvidge has performed with various ensembles including Lake Effect Jazz Big Band under the direction of Steven Reed, Gold Company under the director 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 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, 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 29, 2024