2024 Bethel Concert Choir tour preview
Dr. Henry Waters announces the upcoming tour's itinerary and theme.
The Bethel College Concert Choir tour is a staple of the school’s fine arts department. It is known for taking generations of Threshers across the country and world to spread their talents and the name of Bethel as a whole.
This year, second-year choir director Dr. Henry Waters has lined up a fun-filled states tour across his homeland: the American South.
Kicking off in the panhandle state, the choir will perform in Oklahoma City before continuing south into Dallas. From there, the choir will travel to the state of Mississippi, with a concert in Jackson and another in Tupelo, before looping back around into Tulsa, Okla., and returning to North Newton.
This week-long tour will also be full of visits to historical places, museums, and landmarks, as well as opportunities to try new foods and music from various cultures and backgrounds.
Waters expressed his excitement of the plans for tour, as well as the theme for the music this year. “The theme for this year is ‘American Identity,’” Waters said. “Is there one way to describe this? No. I purposefully chose music written by composers who were either born in the United States or immigrated to the U.S.”
This also reflects the 43 members of the concert choir who come from all over the U.S: from the East Coast to the Great Lakes regions, from the American Midwest to right here in South Central Kansas.
Waters himself has several high points of the tour, especially when it comes to taking the choir to his home state. “I'm most excited to share my home with the students! I was born and raised in Mississippi,” Waters said. “I'm excited for them to explore the food, the culture, and the music of the South. Mississippi is the birthplace of American music.”
The choir will perform the second half of their tour music sometime later this semester, which consists of several a cappella pieces. They will then add the first half of their tour listing next semester.
The music selections themselves remain unannounced. “We can't tell our audience everything. There needs to be some surprise left,” said Waters when asked about what’s to come.
The Concert Choir will have their opening concert on Nov. 5 at Bethel College Mennonite Church.