Featured Events

The Department of Music presents a fully-staged performance of J.S. Bach’s masterpiece, The Passion According to Matthew. Blending amazing music, probing words sung in English, and a modern staging allows for a fresh and deeply spiritual encounter with this well-known story. Produced jointly by Charles Reid, Stephen Zork and Claudio Gonzales, this performance is directed by our coordinator of vocal studies, Charles Reid, conducted by our director of choral activities, Stephen Zork, and features an all student cast of soloists, the University Singers, and the Andrews University Symphony Orchestra.

Director Charles Reid remarks, “Out of the past twenty years of my international singing career, one of the genuine highlights was singing in the chorus in a Brooklyn Academy of Music production, led by acclaimed director, Jonathan Miller, of this very work. I simply cannot forget the profound impact it had on the audience and the performers. Peter Sellars, and others have also explored this approach, and it has always been a spark in the back of my mind that I hoped I could revisit someday. This is the day. I hope you will join us for this spectacular journey and come expecting to be impacted in an entirely new way.”

In partial completion of his music degree, Pablo Sanchez presents his junior violin recital. He will be performing works from composers such as Bach, Beethoven, Saint Saëns, Sarasate, and Paganini.

Violinist and associate professor of music at DePaul University of Chicago, Olga Dubossarskaya Kaler will conduct a guest master class for Department of Music students. This event is open for the public to attend. 

Violinist and associate professor of music at DePaul University of Chicago, Olga Dubossarskaya Kaler will conduct a guest master class for Department of Music students. This event is open for the public to attend. 

Charles Pikler joined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a violinist in 1978 and in 1986 was appointed principal violist by Sir Georg Solti. He also played in the Minnesota Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, and Rotterdam Philharmonic. 

He studied violin with Ben Ornstein, Bronislaw Gimpel, and Roman Totenberg and holds a degree in mathematics with high distinction from the University of Minnesota.

He has been featured as soloist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Kingsport Tennessee Symphony, Orchestra of the Pines in Nacogdoches, Texas,  National Symphony Orchestra of Costa Rica, and National Taiwan Symphony Orchestra and served as concertmaster and soloist with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra under Dieter Kober. Other concertmaster positions include the Northbrook Symphony and  Symphony of Oak Park and River Forest.

As a chamber musician, he has been guest artist with the Daniel String Quartet, Vermeer Quartet, and Louisville String Quartet. In 1990, he performed Frank Beezhold’s Viola Concerto, composed for and dedicated to him, with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. He recorded chamber music of Easley Blackwood with the composer for Cedille Records and was soloist on Sewanee Symphony’s recording of Berlioz’s Harold in Italy, Victor Yampolsky conducting. In 1995 and 1996, he served as guest principal violist for the Boston Symphony. Charlie also performs at the Grand Teton Music Festival.

Charlie is on the faculty of Northwestern University and coaches violists with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago and Midwest Young Artists. He is founder and director of I’Solisti, a select chamber orchestra at Midwest Young Artists.

Public high schools from Berrien Springs, Brandywine, Buchanan, Bridgman, Coloma, Cassopolis, and Edwardsburg share their talents through art, band, choir, and drama performances. Over 375 students from the surrounding areas will come together for this showcase.