Tag: Music

North Park Chamber Singers to Perform in Final Bach Week Festival

North Park’s Chamber Singers have been chosen to participate in the last ever Bach Week Festival in the culminating May 5 concert.

North Park’s Chamber Singers have been chosen to participate in the last ever Bach Week Festival in the culminating May 5 concert, a performance of Bach’s famous Mass in B Minor.

Over the years, North Park musicians have been invited to perform in dozens of Bach Week Festivals, an event organized by a small group of Evanston-based volunteers. They say that after 50 years of performances, with a few COVID-19-related interruptions, it’s time to retire the beloved festival, which features the Baroque-era work of Bach and his contemporaries.

For their part, North Park’s Chamber singers will perform at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston in a concert led by the festival’s Music Director Richard Webster and featuring a variety of performances by renowned local singers. Webster told WFMT, Chicago’s classical music radio station, “that it’s the right time for Bach Week to bid adieu, and on a high note.” Read more at the WFMT site.

Author Ana SeklerPosted on Categories News, StoriesTags

Music Department Welcomes New Faculty

North Park’s School of Music, Art, and Theatre welcomes several talented musicians to its faculty.

North Park’s School of Music, Art, and Theatre is pleased to welcome several talented musicians to its faculty.

David Govertsen and Sam Handley, both professional singers who have performed with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; and Deb Stevenson, an oboist who performs with many local symphonies and quartets, join the faculty for the Fall 2018 semester. Also coming on board are hornist Anna Jacobson and Barbara Drapcho, a clarinetist, both of whom have performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

“The School of Music, Art, and Theatre is very pleased to welcome these new music instructors,” said Craig Johnson, dean of the School of Music. “They all have strong backgrounds and training to bring to their duties at North Park, and we are confident that the students with whom they work will receive the best possible training.”

Chicago native Govertsen has been singing professionally for 15 years and is known for his portrayal of low-voiced heroes, villains, and buffoons. Mr. Govertsen, who attended Northwestern and Northern Illinois Universities, made his Carnegie Hall debut in 2011 as Herald in Othello. In addition to the Lyric, he has performed as a soloist with the Detroit, Madison, Rochester, and Santa Fe Symphony Orchestras, among others. Govertsen will teach undergraduate applied music.

As a student at Vanderbilt University, Tennessee-born Handley left the field of mathematics to pursue singing opera, concert, and recital. With degrees from University of Wisconsin and University of Houston, Handley has performed across the country and the world, appearing in productions in Beijing, New Hampshire, and San Francisco, and is known for his “rich, burnished” voice. He joins the faculty as a voice teacher.

Stevenson, who will be a lecturer, has been a freelance oboist in the Chicago area for 30 years. In addition to being a member of the Metropolitan and Lake Forest Symphonies, she is a founding member of the Metropolis Quartet and can be heard in numerous recordings, including The Soundstage Sessions with Stevie Nicks. Stevenson studied oboe and English horn at several universities, including Boston and Northwestern, and maintains an active private teaching studio.

Drapcho, who has two degrees from Northwestern University, has performed in Chicago, New York, and Detroit. Jacobson, who holds degrees from Lawrence and DePaul Universities, is a member of several music groups and is also an award-winning fiddler. They will both teach applied instruction.

Author Ellen AlmerPosted on Categories Announcement, StoriesTags , , , , ,