Merry Christmas & Happy New Year

Music Department Faculty and Staff, wishes everyone a Very Merry Christmas.

As the Christmas office prepares to close for Christmas break, we, the faculty, staff, and students, want to pause and wish all of you a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. We want to thank everyone for your support and prayers. You are a vital part of what we do. Remember to continue to check our blog for all news and upcoming events, both on and off campus. The office will re-open on January 4th to begin an exciting Spring semester. Until then, we would like to leave you with this Christmas Blessing:

During this Christmas season, 

May you be blessed 

With the spirit of the season, 

Which is peace, 

The gladness of the season, 

Which is hope, 

And the heart of the season, 

Which is love. 

Somehow, not only for Christmas 

But all the long year through, 

The joy that you give to others

Is the joy that comes back to you. 

And the more you spend in blessing 

The poor and lonely and sad, 

The more of your Heart’s possessing 

Returns to you glad. 

                                                                          ~John Greenleaf Whittier

Faculty and Staff Gathered for a Christmas Party 



Christmas Card to the Community

“Joy Has Dawned” was the theme for this year’s Christmas Card to the Community. On December 13^th, the Branson area community gathered to celebrate the birth of Christ with traditional hymns, carols, and scripture readings. The participating ensembles—the Orchestra, Chapel Choir, Chorale, the Handbell Choir, and Lower School Honor Choir—collaborated to create a truly exceptional concert. Senior C of O student James Zeller, a member of Chorale, said “Singing with such a large ensemble and singing songs with such a rich Christian tradition gave me a great sense of joy, worship, and unity with the body of Christ.”  The Orchestra opened with the prelude “A Christmas Festival,” and after a welcome from President Jerry Davis, the congregation sang “O Come, O Come Emmanuel.” Chapel Choir, under the direction of Dr. Cornish and with soloist Emily Rector, sang “Mary, Did You Know?” and “What Child is This?” The Handbell Choir performed “Go Tell it on the Mountain” and “In the Bleak Midwinter.” The School of the Ozarks students sang “Alleluia Medley.” Chorale, conducted by Dr. Gerlach, followed with “Sir Christemas” and “Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day.” The combined choirs and a soloist Elizabeth Stuart sang “O Holy Night,” which was followed with the candlelit congregational hymn “Silent Night.” The combined choirs and orchestra ended the ceremony with a stirring rendition of Handel’s “Hallelujah” Chorus. The concert was, as Dr. Cornish said, “…a beautiful and worshipful service. Each ensemble’s contribution to the evening combined to create something truly special.”

The College of the Ozarks Chamber Orchestra 

Dr. Powers directing the Orchestra during the prelude

  

The College of the Ozarks Chorale Choir

Dr. Cornish led the choirs and congregation together in worship.

Dr. Gerlach directed the combined choirs and orchestra

Combined Choirs: The College of the Ozarks Chapel Choir and The Chorale Choir

Josh Pruitt's Senior Recital

On Thursday, November 19 at 7:00 PM, percussionist Josh Pruitt performed his senior recital. Josh performed a diverse and eclectic selection of pieces on a wide variety of percussion instruments. The program began with Josh’s own composition, “Life of a Secret Agent,” an upbeat jazz ensemble piece. Seven students joined Josh to create an ensemble including timpani, shaker, tambourine, and bass guitar, and featuring Ryan Moore, Maria Gramm, and Chris White on mallet percussion instruments. Josh took center stage on the drum set for this piece. The audience thoroughly enjoyed his opening number. Josh followed this with “Arithmetic,” a multi-percussion solo by Milton Kaye, and “Eyes Right,” a snare drum solo by Fred Hoey. Following an intermission, Josh commenced his recital with two movements of a playful marimba piece by Alice Gomez entitled Scenes from Mexico. Two pieces by Mitchell Peters followed: “Tribal Serenade,” a timpani solo, and “Sea Refractions,” a mesmerizing marimba solo. Josh’s sense of humor shone through when he played “Keyboard” on vibraphone with Maria Gramm. “Keyboard” is the piece that plays in Saturday Night Live while Jimmy Fallon pens “thank you notes.” Throughout the piece, Josh thanked professors and students who have helped him in his college career, using inside jokes to make the acknowledgements humorous. The recital concluded with the impressive Sonata for Solo Timpani by John Beck. This three movement sonata included a movement using hands instead of mallets and many difficult and quick rhythms. The recital displayed Josh’s diverse talents and hard work, and the audience responded enthusiastically. The Music Department is very proud of Josh’s accomplishment and looks forward to seeing how he uses his talents after he graduates in December.

Maria Gramm's Senior Recital

 

On Sunday, November 15, Maria Gramm performed her Senior Recital in the Newman Recital Hall at College of the Ozarks. The recital began with Maria and fellow percussionist Josh Pruitt playing field drums to Don’t Touch the Sun from Delta Soul Revival. Adding an element of humor, they reenacted an incident that occurred at a music festival in Springfield, Missouri, where a bum danced so close to Maria that her drumstick caught in his pocket. Al Lohman, former C of O Jazz and Pep Band director, played the role of the bum. After the amusing reenactment, Maria and Josh switched to the marimba and were joined by Dylan Coleton on the bells and Lucas Allen on the xylophone for an original arrangement by Maria and Josh of the Theme Song from The Rugrats. Maria and Dylan Coleton played marimba, Lucas Allen xylophone, and Josh Pruitt on vibraphone for Rainbows by Alice Gomez. For Night Piece for Morris Goldenberg by Norman Lloyd, and Four Pieces for Timpani by John Bergamo, Maria played multi-percussion and timpani, respectively. Following the intermission, Maria walked on stage in a vibrant orange gown and played Rocky Rhythm by Sidney Berg on snare drum. She played marimba, Dylan Coleton played vibraphone, and Lucas Allen played xylophone for AMALGATION by Michal Culligan. Maria played marimba for her last piece Gitano “Gypsy” by Alice Gomez. Maria expressed her appreciation of her friends and teachers at C of O, saying “…family isn’t just who you’re related to, it’s the people right here who love and care for you.” The Music Department is very proud of Maria and all she has accomplished, and looks forward to what she will continue to achieve musically.

Walker Boldman's Senior Recital

 
On Saturday, November 14, violinist Walker Boldman performed his senior recital. The recital consisted entirely of classical violin repertoire performed in chronological order. The opening number was the fifth movement of J. S. Bach’s Partita for Violin No. 2 in D minor (“Chaconne”). The “Chaconne” is a technically challenging, fifteen minute long Classical solo which Boldman performed from memory. Fellow students joined Walker on the next two pieces. Kaylen Draschil, a freshman piano major, played the duet part for the first movement of Beethoven’s Sonata for Violin and Piano in F major (“Allegro”). C of O students Thomas Nissen and Collin Hill on violin and cello, and Drury University student Celka Ojakangas on viola joined Walker to create a quartet for the first movement of String Quartet No. 2 in D Major (“Allegro”), a lush, melodic composition by Russian Nationalist composer, Alexander Borodin. After an intermission, Marilyn Dunn accompanied Walker for his last two pieces. Walker performed the first two movements of Ernest Bloch’s Baal Shem, “Three Pictures of Chassidic Life,” a dramatic, lyrical piece. The final piece was Austrian composer Ottokar Novacek’s Perpetuum Mobile, a piece consisting entirely of sixteenth notes played at a rapid pace with melodic themes woven throughout. Walker’s impressive and exemplary musicianship was met with an enthusiastic response from many beloved family, friends, and teachers who did not hesitate in giving a standing ovation. Walker ended the recital on a bittersweet note, playing Meditations by Massenet, the first song he ever performed at C of O, as an encore. Walker will graduate this December with a double major in math and music. He has been accepted to a graduate program in Material Science Engineering at University of Tennessee in Knoxville, where he also has an opportunity to play violin with the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra. The people in the Music Department look forward to seeing how the Lord guides Walker’s path and uses his gift of musicianship.