Kenyon College Chamber Singers Spring Tour
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The Kenyon College Chamber Singers, conducted by Dr. Benjamin Locke, will be performing on Sunday, March 1, 2026, at the Epworth United Methodist Church, 4855 Central Avenue, Toledo, at 4:00 p.m. The Chamber Singers, consisting of forty-seven undergraduates chosen by competitive audition, is Kenyon's premier touring ensemble. The group is noted for its versatility of vocal style and broad repertoire. The New York Concert Review applauded the artistry of the ensemble, stating “the young members of the Chamber Singers...retain the proper lightness to navigate the translucent textures of Sweelinck’s Cantate Domino and Palestrina’s Sicut Cervus...focused intently on the conductor, the singers kept their audience hanging on every word.”
The Chamber Singers will again present an eclectic mix of a cappella choral repertoire on their 2026 Spring Tour. A centerpiece to the program will be a double-choir setting of Psalm 100 by Johann Pachelbel. Another highlight of the program is a performance of O Nata Lux, composed as part of a larger work, Lux Aeterna, by American composer Morten Lauridsen. The ensemble is noted for its regular inclusion of music from South Africa, which this year includes Shilohini, a Tsonga folksong with a bittersweet backstory from the World War II era. Additional composers represented on the program are Johannes Brahms, Jan Sweelinck, Antonio Lotti, Adolphus Hailstork, Moses Hogan, and many others.
The members of Chamber Singers come from twenty states as well as the countries of England and Botswana. A minority of the singers have declared music as their academic major, with the rest having chosen fields such as history, biology, mathematics, psychology, political science, and English, to name but a few. All the singers value music as an integral part of a liberal-arts education and take great pride in reaching for the highest musical standards in performance.
Benjamin Locke is in his forty-second year as a faculty member at Kenyon. He directs the Kenyon Community Choir, teaches music theory, conducting and voice, and is also the musical director of the Knox County Symphony (based in Mount Vernon, Ohio). He has written several research articles on the choral music of Johannes Brahms and has also published transcriptions and arrangements of South African folksongs. Dr. Locke earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he studied extensively with Robert Fountain.
This concert will be something of a homecoming for Locke who was raised in the Toledo area. His conducting debut occurred in June of 1973 with what is now known as the Masterworks Chorale – at Epworth United Methodist!
Founded in 1824, Kenyon College is Ohio's oldest private college. It boasts a remarkably dedicated faculty, a carefully planned liberal arts curriculum, a highly capable student body, and alumni who have contributed significantly in all walks of life.
Press Release Contact Name: Rebecca Locke-Gagnon
Press Release Contact Email: [email protected]
Press Release Contact Phone: 419-377-6558
Organization Name: Kenyon College
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Organization Address / City / State: Gambier, OH