Music Alumni Concert and Reunion Postponed
Story by student writers Daniel Mullins and Nathan LePere. Photo by Nathan LePere.
The Bluefield University Department of Music has postponed its spring 2022 Music Alumni Reunion.
The Music Department was planning to host the concert and reunion for both BU students and alumni on Friday and Saturday, February 18-19 in Harman Chapel. However, the event had to be postponed to April 22-23 due to COVID concerns, particularly for alumni who are older and more at risk by being exposed to the virus.
Another factor in the cancellation was an issue with a campus boiler that provides heat to the chapel. The boiler is not functioning and has left many campus buildings without heat. The issue is in the process of being fixed, but not until after February 19. Thus, the Music Alumni Concert had to be moved to later in the spring.
“The Music Alumni Concert is one of my favorite concerts that we hold at the University,” said performer Jeff Brannon, “because not only do we get to see our old friends again, but we also get to meet and be led by a guest conductor who is invited and brought in to work with the current students, the community members from Masterworks Chorale, as well as the alumni.”
This year, former Bluefield University music professor Dr. Chris Sheppard, who now teaches at Newberry University in South Carolina, will serve as the guest choral conductor. Dr. Sheppard was a professor at BU from 1998-2002 and previously conducted the Bluefield Singers, Variations, and Masterworks Chorale. He received the Outstanding Faculty Award at Montana State University-Billings, and he was honored twice in Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers. He has been the music director for several church congregations. He served as chorusmaster at the Maud Powell International Opera Institute in Illinois twice and as choral director for an international choir in the World Scholar-Athlete Games in Kingston, RI.
The guest instrumental conductor will be Staff Sergeant Brianna Williams. She is a Bluefield native and currently serves as the first female euphonium instructor at the U.S. Army School of Music in Virginia Beach, VA. She enlisted as a musician in the U.S. Army in 2014. Since, she has conducted many ensembles across the nation and been featured as a soloist in the 399th Army Band, 399th Brass Choir, 392nd Army Band, Missouri S&T Orchestra, and U.S. Army School of Music Brass Quintet. She performs with the Virginia Wind Symphony, Chesapeake Bay Wind Ensemble, and U.S. Army School of Music Brass Quintet and will be featured as a soloist at the International Women’s Brass Conference this spring.
“Reuniting with the Alumni from the Music Department is always a fun time because it brings back a lot of cherished memories of studying with and making music with some of the dearest and closest friends I ever made,” Brannon said.
The Music Alumni Reunion on April 22-23 will be a part of the annual Spring Choral Concert and the university’s centennial celebration.