Trine music groups in concert on Oct. 26

The Trine University Department of Music will present its first concert of the 2025-2026 academic year, featuring the Trine University Choir and Chamber Orchestra, beginning at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 26.

The performance, which is free and open to the public, will be held in the Ryan Concert Hall at the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts.

The Trine University Choir, directed by Geoffrey North, Ph.D., will present a wide range of musical selections, including the winner of the 2022 Cantus Composition Prize and 2024 Top 10 best-selling concert choral work for J. W. Pepper, “Time,” by Jennifer Lucy Cook.

In addition, the choir will perform an uplifting work fusing the rhythms of African, American and Latin cultures with Swahili and Spanish texts in “Sililiza (Hear Me).”  Other pieces include music from Ragtime, a traditional Native American Lyric, and an original gospel composition by Stuart Chapman Hill.

Haunting performance

The Trine University Chamber Orchestra's Halloween “Haunt-cert” will feature music from favorite film and TV shows such as Scooby-Doo, Ghostbusters, Harry Potter and The Nightmare Before Christmas.

The orchestra also will perform Sergei Rachmaninoff's ominous “Piano Prelude in C-sharp Minor” arranged for Chamber Orchestra by Trine University's Music Director, Brad Jopek, DMA.

“I hope [the concert] provides our students and ensembles an opportunity to explore music outside of the traditional classical music repertoire and its influence on pop culture,” Dr. Jopek said of the concert. “It also includes bringing a little insight on how a Hollywood or Nashville studio orchestra rehearses and records music for films and TV series."

Those who would like to financially support Trine’s music programs of the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts can visit https://advancement.trine.edu/register/giving, select "Other Fund" and designate their gift in the Comments section to either the Music Program or the T. Furth Center for Performing Arts.

Choir and chamber orchestra members

Members of the Trine University Choir are as follows:

Sopranos: Jada Blanchard, a chemical engineering major from Wauseon, Ohio; Mia Diaz, an exercise science major from Goshen, Indiana; Lillian Domsich, a finance major from Carmel, Indiana; Alison Griffin, a biomedical engineering major from Brookville, Indiana; Braya Keen, an elementary education/special education major from Auburn, Indiana; Faith Marshall, a forensic science major from Brookville, Indiana; Linnea Pendley, a forensic science major from Noblesville, Indiana; Jersey Strieter, an elementary education/special education major from Rolling Prairie, Indiana; and Kailey Tirador, an exercise science major from Angola, Indiana.

Alto: Abigail Bachmann, an exercise science major from New Carlisle, Indiana; Aubrie Dunlap, a psychology major from Crown Point, Indiana; Sarah Goffer, a math education major from Rockford, Michigan; Lillian Green, a software engineering major from Lawrenceburg, Indiana; Abigail Hansen, a chemical engineering major from Frankfort, Illinois; and Avalon Schnelker, an English major from Cromwell, Indiana.

Tenor: Ryder Brown, a communication major from Montpelier, Ohio; Caleb Grasser, a computer engineering major from Metamora, Ohio; and Brandon Leavitt, a computer science and information technology major from Litchfield, Michigan.

Bass: Adam Buening, a computer science major from Indianapolis; Hunter Creger, a software engineering major from Adrian, Michigan; Garrett Dixon, a civil engineering major from Lewis Center, Ohio; Jayden Folkerts, a cybersecurity major from Batavia, Illinois; Matthew Gierke, a health and physical education major from Fort Wayne, Indiana; Benjamin Hercules, a design engineering technology major from New Franklin, Ohio; and Wesley Parsley, a forensic science major from Martinsville, Indiana.

Trine University Chamber Orchestra members are as follows:

Violin I: Nathan Del Guanto, a mechanical engineering major from Union, Michigan; Allayna Gue, an elementary education major from Portage, Indiana; Landon Murdock, a mechanical engineering major from Fort Wayne, Indiana; and community members Megan Knowlton and Jonathan Rupp.

Violin II: Katelyn Brott, a math education major from Sturgis, Michigan; Sudeep Iyer, a chemical engineering major from India; and community members John Hermann and James Miller.

Viola: Micaela Downs, a biology major from Westport, Indiana; Makena Kretz, a forensic science major from Portage, Indiana; and community member Tom Adamson.

Cello: Hannah Slagle, a biology major from Powell, Ohio; Lennox Toney, a design engineering technology major from Norton Shores, Michigan; and community member Richard Rupp.

Flute: Holly Laney, a chemical engineering major from Butler, Indiana; Allison Long, an education major from Goshen, Indiana; and Abigail Schrock, a civil engineering major from Goshen, Indiana.

Clarinet: Alyssa Jones, a psychology major from Angola, Indiana; Andrea Mendoza, a biomedical engineering major from LaGrange, Indiana; and Aubrey Krontz, a pre-nursing major from Angola, Indiana.

Bass Clarinet: Aubrey Krontz, a pre-nursing major from Angola, Indiana.

Bassoon: Emmett Worman, a civil engineering major from Fishers, Indiana.

Trumpet: Nick Treat, a community member.

Horn: Dolan Bush, a biology major from Fishers, Indiana; Ella Penndorf, a forensic science major from South Lyon, Michigan; Olivia Ward, a computer engineering major from Alexandria, Indiana; and community member Jessica Jopek.

Trombone: Reid Deneve, an exercise science major from Claypool, Indiana; TJ Marsalek, a biology major from Toledo, Ohio; and Ryan Sederstrom, an electrical engineering major from Cedar Lake, Indiana.

Tuba: Ryan Sederstrom, an electrical engineering major from Cedar Lake, Indiana.

Percussion: Zane Galliers, a biomedical engineering major from Swanton, Ohio.