In the News

The Barefoot Movement Comes to Dyck Arboretum on January 29

On Sunday, January 29, 2023, at 4 p.m. in Hesston, The Barefoot Movement will play for the first time at the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains Prairie Window Concert Series. The concert will take place in the Prairie Pavilion at the arboretum overlooking the lake.

Tickets are by reservation at https://dyckarboretum.org/arboretum-event/the-barefoot-movement or by calling 620-327-8127. Cost of tickets is $30 for adults and $20 for children, plus tax. Proceeds benefit the arboretum’s mission to cultivate transformative relationships between people and the land.

Acclaimed Americana group, The Barefoot Movement, is the brainchild of founding members Noah Wall and Tommy Norris. Emerging on the acoustic scene in 2011, they have continually navigated the alt-bluegrass waters through the years while refining that which gives them their particular sound. Invigorating and infused with a captivating honesty, The Barefoot Movement transports audiences to a place of complete enthrallment.

In North Carolina, 2006, front woman Noah Wall met mandolinist Tommy Norris in high school and discovered a convergence of aligned passions. That initial crackle of intensity never waned and instead became the force catalyzing the band through its various iterations. Today, The Barefoot Movement is comprised of Noah Wall —whose powerhouse vocals, songwriting and fiddle playing serve as the backbone of the band — mandolinist, composer and author Tommy Norris and touring guitarist Ben Howington, rounding out their unique blend of charming, modern roots music.

Their most recent release, 2021’s Pressing Onward, finds them exploring new musical territory while still standing firmly on their barefoot foundation: lush harmonies, thoughtful instrumentation and memorable melodies. Chuck Plotkin, the producer behind albums such as Springsteen’s Born in the U.S.A., and Dylan’s Shot of Love, among many others, emerged from retirement to co-produce the EP with Hank Linderman, whose engineering work has been showcased on the Eagles’ Long Road out of Eden and Linda Ronstadt’s Hummin’ to Myself, to name but a few.

In 2022, they began releasing a series of tunes under the banner “Covers for a Cause.” Recorded during the pandemic and previously released on their YouTube channel, the songs have been given a new life on streaming services, with every stream or download supporting the organization Soles4Souls.

Their energetic, joyous and heartfelt live performances have garnered them fans nationwide and beyond, and earned them the 2014 IBMA Momentum Award for Band of the Year.

The Barefoot Movement creates gloriously addictive, instantly memorable tunes shored up by silky smooth bluegrass and Americana harmonies and laced with tantalizing flecks of bluesy grit.

In addition to high quality acoustic music, this concert will feature delicious savory and sweet food options for sale during intermissions, with a menu provided by Crust and Crumb Company. The menu for January 29 includes sausage gravy Danish, spinach artichoke hand pie, date-stuffed Kouign Amann and pistachio orange eclairs. All menu items are $5 each.

Dyck Arboretum of the Plains is a 29-acre public garden and arboretum located in Hesston, Kansas, and operates under the auspices of Hesston College. Its mission is to cultivate transformative relationships between people and the land.

College Announces Fall 2022 Academic Honors

Hesston College Registrar Megan Leary announced the names of full-time students whose Fall 2022 semester grades earned them a place on the Dean’s List (3.90 to 4.00 GPA) and Honor Roll (3.50 to 3.89 GPA).

Dean’s List – first-year students

Connor Bear, Sequim, Washington
Celia Bontrager, Milford, Nebraska
Dawson Duerksen, Goessel, Kansas
Mahdi Essawi, Jaljulia, Israel
Tana Hayworth, Lincoln, Kansas
Akana Nakamura, Hachinohe, Japan
Kylee Ohman, Claremore, Oklahoma
Lauren Payne, Geuda Springs, Kansas
Elias Stoll, Harrisonburg, Virginia
My Tran, Buon Ma Thuot, Vietnam
Kolby Wallace, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Eyael Woldeyes, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dean’s List – sophomores

Kezia Angeline, Semarang, Indonesia
Trenton Canaan, Cheney, Kansas
Alexis Driscoll, Moundridge, Kansas
David Duncan, Wichita, Kan.
Jesse Kanagy, Lancaster, Pennsylvania
Suzannah Karako, Galena, Missouri
Haydon Mead, Eureka, Kansas
Ginny Miller, Rockingham, Virginia
Loribeth Miller, Chouteau, Oklahoma
Sadie Oesch, Caldwell, Idaho
Reese Peterson, Omaha, Nebraska
Lisa Schmidt, Moundridge, Kansas
Samuel Wiese, Omaha, Nebraska
Fikir Yemane, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Dean’s List – juniors

Shelby Bontrager, McPherson, Kansas
Maria Gerber, Garland, Texas
Fortesa Hysenaj, Istog, Kosovo
Trey Lasseter, Valley Center, Kansas
Kelly Miller, Archbold, Ohio
Jessica Raharjo, Semarang, Indonesia
Katherine Robeck, Sweet Home, Oregon
Aidan Swartzendruber, Henderson, Nebraska
Isaac Troyer, Millersburg, Ohio

Dean’s List – seniors

Jennifer Komarek, Sedgwick, Kansas
Kara Longenecker, Rockingham, Virginia
Tobie Plett, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada
Jara Strickland, El Dorado, Kansas
Isabelle Wortz, Hutchinson, Kansas

Honor Roll – first-year students

Hikari Babasaki, Osaka, Japan
Ashlyn Baker, Krum, Texas
Olvin Duron Rivera, San Fransisco do Yojoa, Honduras
Anna Friesen, Halstead, Kansas
Nicolee Friesen, Halstead, Kansas
José Guzman, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Jordan Johnston, Wichita, Kansas
Emma Killingsworth, Liberty Hill, Texas
Deklan Kulaski, Missoula, Montana
Kira Kumada, Hadano, Japan
Pariss Lloyd, Clearwater, Kansas
Luke McGinnis, Andover, Kansas
Andrew Miller, Millersburg, Ohio
Destiny Nuñez, Topeka, Kansas
Larry Ruffin, Choctaw, Oklahoma
Hayden Shepherd, West Jordan, Utah
Rachelle Smith, Moundridge, Kansas
Tengisbold Sukhbaatar, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Skyler Syverson, Grand Forks, North Dakota
Addison Turner, Hutchinson, Kansas
Marinocean Widjaja, Bintaro, Indonesia

Honor Roll – sophomores

Brody Burnette, Richmond, Missouri
Makinzy Cain, Rose Hill, Kansas
Olivier Cruz Camilo, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Samantha Espinoza, Lincolnville, Kansas
Derick Fonseca, San Pedro Sula, Honduras
Mackenzie Grove, Murphy, North Carolina
Luke Huyard, Harrisonburg, Virginia
Malachi Lind, Goshen, Indiana
Kaylee Manning, El Dorado, Kansas
Madelyn Mullet, Milford, Nebraska
Ryan Wilder, San Marcos, Texas
Catryna Winzer, Augusta, Kansas

Honor Roll – juniors

Tahj Burrows, Nassau, Bahamas
Billy Cuesto, Plantation, Florida
Alisha Dorsing, Othello, Washington
Ayden Everett, Clovis, New Mexico
Macy LeGrange, Guymon, Oklahoma
James Peters, Hesston, Kansas

Honor Roll – seniors

Luke Allison, Hurley, South Dakota
Romina Xhari, Lezhe, Albania

Lindsay Lou Returns to the Prairie Window Concert Series January 15

On Sunday, January 15, 2023, at 4 p.m. in Hesston, Lindsay Lou returns to the Dyck Arboretum of the Plains, launching the second half of the Prairie Window Concert Series (PWCS) 2022-23 season. The concert will take place in the Prairie Pavilion at the arboretum overlooking the lake.

Tickets are by reservation at https://dyckarboretum.org/arboretum-event/lindsay-lou-2/ or by calling 620-327-8127. Cost of tickets is $35 for adults and $25 for children, plus tax. Proceeds benefit the arboretum’s mission to cultivate transformative relationships between people and the land.

Lindsay Lou has been making soulful, poignant music for the last decade. An undeniable powerhouse, Lou’s remarkable gifts as a singer, songwriter, musician and performer demand the listener’s attention. Her singing floats over the masterful playing and deep groove of her band with both a fierce intensity and a tender intimacy.

The daughter of a coal miner and the granddaughter of a Rainbow Gathering healer, Lindsay Lou grew up with room in her heart for both blue collar grit and mystical mind expansion. She describes her family as a group of close knit creatives, their lives influenced heavily by her maternal grandmother’s radical ideals and zest for life. Surrounded by the Great Lakes and her musical family, she naturally rooted herself in the Michigan music community.

Raised with this sense of community, Lou recalls always being surrounded by music. So when the time came for her to join a band, for Lou, it felt like finding a home away from home. Her career, like her life, has been full of great moments of kismet. Growing up, Lou built her repertoire by practicing her vocals, and she picked up the guitar so she could play with her Uncle Stuckey. The skills she honed during the days of learning to sing and play with her family led to a wide variety of musical opportunities, singing in choir in high school, attending an elite summer program at Interlochen on scholarship and winning awards for her talents. Before long Lou began to tour the world with a band of her own, The Flatbellys, and later The Sweet Water Warblers. The siren songbird and her band flew down South to take their place among friends in Nashville, Tenn.

The move prompted Lindsay Lou’s fourth album, Southland (released April 2018), which is a transformative and heart-wrenching ten-song stunner. Lou’s voice and its unique ability to create an expansive, almost physically tangible soundscape carries each song on Southland forward. Produced by Sam Kassirer (Josh Ritter, Lake Street Dive, Elephant Revival), Southland expanded on her 2015 crossover album, Ionia, which had staked her unique sound apart from the more bluegrass stylings of her earlier releases.

Today, touring nationally and internationally year round, Lindsay Lou and her band continue to collect a mass of friends and fans along the way. Notable U.S. festival plays include Telluride Bluegrass festival, Merlefest, Stagecoach, Redwing, ROMP, GreyFox and a slew of others. Abroad, they have appeared at Scotland’s Shetland Island Folk Fest and the Celtic Connections tour, Australia’s National Folk Festival and others. Of the live show, Roots Magazine reviewed “…(Lindsay Lou is) the most affectingly expressive singer since Amy Winehouse, backed by the new Punch Brothers.” The Boot, who featured Lindsay Lou Band as a “Can’t Miss Act” at AmericanaFest 2018, says “…Lou brings introspection and masterful vocal work to her live show.”

A trailblazer in the music community, Lou’s recent set of singles, The Suite Sweets, make it clear that she can’t be pigeon-holed into any prefabricated formula.

In addition to high quality acoustic music, this concert will feature delicious savory and sweet food options for sale during intermission, with a menu provided by Crust and Crumb Company. The menu for January 15 includes sweet options – galette des rois, lemon drop kouign amann – as well as savory – chicken salad on croissant and brie and mango on walnut wheatberry sourdough. All menu items are $5 each.

Music Department Presents January 14 Masterworks Concert: I Believe

The Hesston College Music Department will present a Masterworks Concert titled I Believe on January 14, 2023, at 7 p.m. at Hesston Mennonite Church. This performance during Martin Luther King Jr. Day weekend will feature works by Black composers William Dawson, Robert Owens and Margaret Bonds.

Performers will include the Masterworks Choir made up of Hesston College students and community members along with professional orchestra members. Evan Julius Nelson, baritone, Dr. Carren Moham, soprano, and Dr. Holly Swartzendruber, soprano, are featured soloists.

Albany, Ga., native Evan J. Nelson appeared in the roles of Guglielmo in Mozart’s “Cosí fan tutte” and Polyphemus in Handel’s “Acis and Galatea” with the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory Opera in addition to being the baritone soloist for Margaret Bond’s “Credo” with the UMKC Conservatory’s combined choirs and orchestra in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. His operatic credits also include Masetto in Mozart’s “Don Giovanni,” Mr. Gedge in Britten’s “Albert Herring,” Aeneas in Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” and Prince Yamadori in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly.”

Dr. Carren Moham, Hesston College’s vice president of academics, has highlighted virtually unknown and unpublished art songs of African-American composers through two concert series “Songs by African American Composers” and “Songs by African American Women.” She has performed these concerts and given lecture recitals and master classes on this topic in several venues throughout the United States, Europe and South America. She was invited to perform “Songs by African-American Composers” for a National Endowment of the Arts program for President Bill Clinton and First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton during their White House tenure.

Hesston College music professor and Sunflower Performing Arts Director Dr. Holly Swartzendruber’s work includes soprano solos in Handel’s “Messiah,” the Brahms “Requiem” and Mozart’s “Requiem.” In addition to her work at Hesston, Swartzendruber offers private lessons and classes to high school students locally and statewide.

The composers chosen for this performance bring their own history to the forefront. William Dawson was recognized for his contributions as a composer to both orchestral and choral literature. He is best known for his arrangements of and variations on spirituals and his Negro Folk Symphony gained notoriety at its 1934 world premiere.

The work of Robert Owens draws heavy inspiration from the poetry of Langston Hughes. Owens met the poet in 1955 and continued correspondence with him for several years. His works can be heard broadcast on Bavaria Radio and several have been recorded for Naxos, Cinnabar and Albany record labels. Owens taught at Albany (Georgia) College, The University of Michigan (Ann Arbor) and Southern Methodist University (Dallas, Texas).

Margaret Bonds was a lifelong advocate for racial and social justice and was influenced by the philosophy of W.E.B Du Bois. By the time she was 8 years old, Bonds had played the piano for several years and written her first composition. In 1933 and 1934 she earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in piano from Northwestern University (Evanston, Ill.). She would go on to become such a renowned musician that in 1967 Chicago mayor Richard J. Daley made January 31 of that year the city’s official Margaret Bonds Day.

John Fullbright Returns to the Prairie Window Stage December 11

Tulsa-based John Fullbright will return to the Prairie Window Concert Series (PWCS) stage on Sunday, December 11, 2022, at 4 p.m. in Hesston at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains. The concert will take place in the Prairie Pavilion at the arboretum overlooking the lake.

Tickets are by online reservation or by calling 620-327-8127. Cost of tickets is $25 for adults and $15 for children, plus tax. Proceeds benefit the arboretum’s mission to cultivate transformative relationships between people and the land.

In addition to high quality acoustic music, this concert will feature delicious savory and sweet food options for sale during intermission, with a menu provided by Crust & Crumb Company. The menu for December 11 will include: mushroom vegetable dressing, ham and cheese on cranberry bagel, a holiday cookie selection and joyful almond croissant.

Dyck Arboretum of the Plains is a 29-acre public garden and arboretum located in Hesston, Kansas, and operates under the auspices of Hesston College. Its mission is to cultivate transformative relationships between people and the land.

Artist bio by Becky Carman

“If you can’t say it, you don’t have to,” sings John Fullbright on “Bearden 1645,” the opening track to his new record “The Liar.”

The song details the GRAMMY-nominated songwriter finding refuge in playing the piano, starting as a child and still today. For fans, it may feel like a bit of a rebuttal to “Happy,” the opener from 2014’s “Songs,” one of several in his repertoire that speak explicitly about mining one’s angst in order to make music. In that way, “Bearden 1645” is also a firm nod to the fourth wall: Fullbright knows you’re thinking about his songwriting. He is, too…but not quite the way he was before.

The public at large hasn’t heard much from the him since the critically lauded “Songs,” a chasm of eight years that seemed unthinkable for someone with so much hype—including a GRAMMY nod, an Americana Music Association Emerging Artist nomination and awards from ASCAP and the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame—surrounding his early career. Why did it take so long?

“It’s been a process of learning how to be in a community of musicians and less focusing on the lone, depressed songwriter…just playing something that has a beat and is really fun,” Fullbright said. “That’s not to say there are no songs on this record where I depart from that, because there are, but there’s also a band with an opinion. And that part is new to me.”

He recorded the album, an exploration of the highs and lows of emotion, the good times and the aftermath, with his band of “usual suspects,” all of them key players in Tulsa’s vibrant music community.

Also in the title track of “The Liar,” we find Fullbright talking to God, again. It’s the soft landing of his lifelong struggle with the concept of God, of accepting tenets of Christianity without believing in its central figure.

He explored this notably in 2012’s “Gawd Above,” where the vengeful title character exacts terror and salvation in equal measure. “Give ‘em wine and song, fire and lust / When it all goes wrong, I’m the man to trust,” Fullbright sang.

In “The Liar,” the power dynamic has shifted. “God, grant me whiskey,” Fullbright sings, “and I promise I’ll be good.” It’s all done with a wink and a nod, less like a prayer and more like a request of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man.”

The sentiment is real, but the words are false. He’s still telling essential truths, which was always his gift, but this time they’re a little more slant. Maybe lying to tell the truth was always the songwriting target. Maybe throwing out some of the rules is what got him there. So is Fullbright, as a songwriter, a liar in his own estimation?

“What I love about songwriting is you’re the hero in your own story, most of the time, and I think that’s very human,” he said. “But short answer: yes.”

College Announces Establishment of Five Endowed Scholarships

Hesston College announces establishment of the following endowed scholarships: RD Snyder Life Sciences Scholarship, Janice R. Brubacher Nursing Scholarship, Sherwyn J. Smeltzer Business Management Scholarship, Doris and Harold Hjelmstad Scholarship and Ventura Family Scholarship.

RD Snyder Life Sciences Scholarship

Dr. Ronald Snyder ’54 began his educational journey at Hesston Academy in 1950. The foundations he gained at Hesston College served him throughout this career. “As it turns out, my college experience was the springboard that eventually propelled me onward to a very satisfying career in medicine,” said Snyder.

A college education was not a guarantee for Snyder. “Coming from an agrarian, small farm background, higher education was not a top priority for my future,” he said. “My hope is that this scholarship will be helpful to the recipients toward achieving their goals in one of the many life-science careers.”

This scholarship will be awarded to student(s) in good standing with the college experiencing financial need who are pursuing studies in nursing, medicine or a similarly affiliated life science field.

Janice R. Brubacher Nursing Scholarship

The Janice R. Brubacher Nursing Scholarship will provide funding for students experiencing financial need and pursuing nursing.

For Janice Brubacher, Hesston College has always been part of her life. Her parents worked for the college for twenty years and her home was just down the street. “We lived near the campus so I grew up riding my tricycle and bicycle on the campus sidewalks,” she said.

Her own educational path started at Hesston Academy in 1962 and led her to pursue a career in nursing. Although her life took direction away from nursing into the field of business management, her passion for the field never changed.

“My parents, now both deceased, always taught me the importance of tithing, saving and giving,” said Brubacher. “May God continue to work through your nursing program to carry out His love to many people.”

Sherwyn J. Smeltzer Business Management Scholarship

Students pursuing a bachelor’s degree in management at Hesston College have the opportunity to benefit from the newly established Sherwyn J. Smeltzer Business Management Scholarship.

The scholarship was established in memory of Sherwyn Smeltzer who graduated from Hesston College in 1984 with an Associate of Arts degree. Sherwyn thrived at Hesston College and loved his years as a Hesston College Lark. These years were foundational for him, his career and his life. His natural desire to serve others was nurtured.

After graduating from Hesston College, Sherwyn went on to complete a Bachelor of Science degree from Eastern Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Virginia, where he majored in accounting. However, he never forgot his transformational START at Hesston College.

Sherwyn’s varied career path, including positions in accounting, school counseling, special education and financial planning, have a common thread of providing the opportunity to Sherwyn to utilize his passion – serving and helping others.

Sherwyn’s life ended tragically when he was killed in a traffic accident in May of 2020. His widow, Deirdre L. Smeltzer, established this scholarship to honor Sherwyn’s memory in the hope that it provides the opportunity for other students to thrive at Hesston College the way Sherwyn did. Her hope is that a management degree at Hesston College and the nurturing environment experienced by her late husband will provide a way for his deep commitment to serving and helping others to continue.

Doris and Harold Hjelmstad Scholarship

The Hjelmstad family is a Hesston family. Doris attended Hesston College 1939-1940, and then her daughters, Shirely (Hjelmstad) Hostetler, and Sharon (Hjelmstad) Marner, attended 1961-1963. Her son, Richard Hjelmstad, attended 1972-1974. Her son, Kenneth, also attended in 1972.

With 80 years of Hesston College history in the making, this scholarship has been named on behalf of this Lark family to support students pursuing nursing. This scholarship will serve those in particular who are experiencing financial need.

Ventura Family Scholarship

Hesston College has provided an academic, spiritual and foundational influence in the lives of the Ventura family since the 1940s. “We are so appreciative to the many Mennonites who had the vision to establish Hesston Academy and College, which provided a Christ centered education and Christian role models,” said John Ventura.

With the help of lifelong friends Lester Hershey, Esther Rose Buckwalter-Graber, Don Driver and the Snyder family, members of the Ventura family were able to study and be nurtured at Hesston. “We pray that this scholarship will provide financial support to minority students who can experience the rich Christian foundation it has brought the Ventura family,” said Ventura.

“I wanted to honor my father and my mother,” said Ventura. “We have hopes that students of Mexican heritage or Native Americans will benefit from the rich Christian education that it has brought the Ventura family.”

Myers Appointed Vice President of Enrollment Management

Hesston College President Joseph Manickam has announced the hiring of Grant Myers to serve as Vice President of Enrollment Management, a new role at the college. Myers was previously Dean of Enrollment Management at Tabor College (Hillsboro, Kan.).

The role of Vice President of Enrollment Management was created as part of the college’s strategic plan, Vision 2025, to increase outreach and meet the challenges ahead. This role is designed to oversee several vital departments involved directly with increasing enrollment. These include admissions, financial aid and marketing and communications.

Myers brings a wealth of experience from his time in higher education as a coach and an institutional leader. He also brings knowledge from the fields of sales and marketing.

“The vision he brings to Hesston College and the future is set to increase enrollment and uplift the values the college holds dear,” said Hesston College President Dr. Joseph Manickam. “After an extensive nationwide search conducted with the help of both the Hesston College campus and an outside firm, Hesston was able to secure the talents of Myers for the job.”

Manickam shared about Myers in a recent announcement to the campus community. “Grant’s excitement was contained in what he observed in us as a community and the strength we collectively have to forge a strong path forward together.”

Myers’ official start date will be January 3, 2023, but will likely pay a few visits to his new home campus over the next couple of months.

SPA Christmas Concert by Calmus Canceled

The Dec. 6 Calmus Christmas concert at Hesston Mennonite Church has been canceled with the hope of rescheduling Calmus or another ensemble for a different program in spring. Single-event ticket holders can request refunds by contacting Brandy Quinn, Bookstore manager, at brandy.quinn@hesston.edu, 620-327-8104. Sunflower Performing Arts will share news of a replacement or rescheduled concert in early 2023.

Sunflower Performing Arts presents Calmus, a German vocal group offering songs from the Renaissance, Baroque and Romantic periods as well as the 20th century. The performance will be held December 6 at 7 p.m. at Hesston Mennonite Church. An earlier performance will take place at Bethesda Home in Goessel.

“I’m excited for the evening performance of international Christmas songs. I am also pleased that the members of Calmus are willing to offer a short program in a neighboring community,” said Sunflower Performing Arts Director Holly Swartzendruber, “and that they have invited Bel Canto Singers to join them during the evening concert for a couple of songs.”

Calmus has won several international prizes and competitions including the OPUS Klassik 2019 for “Best Choral Recording”. This vocal ensemble performs often throughout Europe and North America with more than 50 concerts a year.

Calmus has commissioned and premiered compositions from artists including Paul Moravec, Mathew Rosenblum, Bernd Franke, Stefffen Schleiermacher and many more. In addition, the ensemble has a robust history of collaborations with other musicians and musical groups including the MDR Sinfonieorchester, one of the oldest radio orchestras in the world and the oldest in Germany.

The performance will consist of global Christmas songs performed a cappella. Hesston College’s Bel Canto Singers will share the stage for a portion of the evening concert.“Making music and experiencing it in person are such a wonderful way to make and strengthen connections between people,” said Swartzendruber.

Currently masks are optional, but as the series complies with the masking policies of both Hesston College and Hesston Mennonite Church, audience members should be prepared to wear a mask if required.

Tickets are available at the door, or may be purchased at the Hesston College Bookstore. For more information, call 620-327-8158.

Performing Arts presents It’s a Wonderful Life: The Live Radio Play

Hesston College Performing Arts presents It’s a Wonderful Life: The Live Radio Play on December 3, 2022, at 7 p.m. at Hesston Mennonite Church. The cast and crew are faculty and students alike with performances accompanied by Bel Canto Singers and Global Voices.

This beloved American holiday classic is performed as a live 1940s radio broadcast. With the help of an ensemble that brings a few dozen characters to the stage, the story of idealistic George Bailey unfolds as he considers ending his life one fateful Christmas Eve. This production takes on an exciting challenge with the addition of sound effects occurring live, as they did in radio shows of the past.

“It can be a challenge for actors to have an audience buy-in to something so well known, when characters like George and Mary Bailey have been so iconically portrayed by Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed,” said Director of Theatre Rachel Jantzi. “We are embracing that challenge by telling the story without trying to mimic the film.”

This theatrical performance will collaborate with Bel Canto Singers and Global Voices to incorporate music before, during and after the show. Russell Adrian will conduct the singers and Ken Rodgers will accompany on piano.

The cast includes students – Sam Setiawan, Desirae Rodriguez and Josh Fleming – and faculty and staff members – Joel Krehbiel, engineering professor, and Whitney Douglas, the Title IX and disabilities coordinator. The crew is Alexis Driscoll, Sophia Crawford and Minori Fujioka.

“The actors are working hard to fully flesh out the folks of Bedford Falls, which are many,” said Jantzi, “and they are doing a beautiful job!”

This show is free to the public and will feature holiday refreshments after the event. For more information, call 620-327-8142.

Currently masks are optional, but the performance will comply with the masking policies of Hesston College and Hesston Mennonite Church. Audience members should be prepared to wear a mask if required.