FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 02/27/07

Greenville College Hosts 34^th High School Choir Festival

GREENVILLE, ILL. - The 34^th annual Greenville College High School Choir Festival took center stage on Monday, February 26. Sixteen choirs from the southern half of Illinois, with some coming as far as Bloomington and Champaign, joined together under the direction of Dr. Mary Hopper. The 300-voice mass festival chorus, as well as soloist competition finalists, performed to a full house in the James E. Wilson Recital Hall on the Greenville College (GC) campus.

Dr. Jeff Wilson, GC associate professor of music, organized the event. "There is a lack of this sort of thing in our area. To make music at this level is a unique opportunity for these students." Members of the Greenville College Choir and Chamber Singers volunteered their time to host students and monitor rehearsals on top their own performance schedule.

"We are appreciative to the Greenville and Greenville College communities for allowing us to have this event," said Wilson. "It's always a great experience and we are excited to continue this tradition as the festival grows."

This year's guest conductor was Dr. Mary Hopper, professor of Choral Music Conducting at the Wheaton College Conservatory of Music. Her ensembles frequently appear at conventions of the American Choral Directors Association. She is in demand nationally as a guest conductor and clinician. Dr. Hopper holds degrees from Wheaton College and the University of Iowa. She also serves as Minister of Music at Immanuel Presbyterian Church in Warrenville, IL.

Greenville College is a four-year accredited Christian liberal arts school with more than 1450 traditional undergraduate, graduate, and adult degree completion students. Founded in 1892 and affiliated with the Free Methodist Church, the college is located in Greenville, Illinois, 45 miles east of St. Louis.

CONTACT:
Joel Goodman ( This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it )
Assistant Director of Public Relations
Greenville College
(618) 664-6515