‘100 Years of Bernstein’ joint effort of Cottey College and NHS choirs

Above: Prof. Theresa Spencer (director of the Chamber Singers) joins the NHS choirs and Chamber Singers in a rehearsal on Wednesday, Oct. 3.

The Cottey College Department of Music will host a “100 Years of Bernstein” celebration concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, Oct. 14, in the Auditorium of the Haidee and Allen Wild Center for the Arts. The performance is free, open to the public, and no tickets are required.

“Theresa brought up that 2018 would have been Bernstein’s 100th birthday,” stated Wind Ensemble Director Dr. Jackie Lordo. “There have been quite a few celebrations — National Public Radio (NPR), for example, has been playing a lot of Bernstein this entire year. I thought that it was exciting and agreed that we should do something.”

The concert will feature the Cottey College Wind Ensemble, the Cottey College Chamber Singers, and the Nevada High School Choirs. Selections will include “Make Our Garden Grow” from Candide, and a 20-minute choral suite version of West Side Story, both by Leonard Bernstein.

“We were looking at music and I saw this piece that fits the choir pretty well and it fits our band remarkably well,” added Lordo. “So, I combined wind and jazz ensemble and we’ve decided to do this. Theresa then reached out to Wes and asked if he’d like to join us for this since we were lacking in male singers. And it all just worked out.”

The Wind Ensemble is under the direction of Dr. Jackie Lordo and Prof. Gary Johnson. Prof. Theresa Spencer is director of the Chamber Singers. Wes Morton is director of the Nevada High School Choirs. The Center for the Arts is located on the northeast corner of Austin Boulevard and Tower Street in Nevada.