UNG students, faculty and staff will create harmony this fall through several performances on UNG's Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses. Performing will be bands, orchestras, choirs, musical theater groups, chamber ensembles, and soloists.
Article By: Staff
As an established recitalist, conductor and head of the Department of Music at the University of North Georgia (UNG), Dr. Benjamin Schoening knows music is innate to all people.
"As a performer in an ensemble here at UNG, it is an opportunity to be creative and an opportunity to form a community with a group of individuals who share in a common passion despite the wide range of backgrounds and major interests represented," said Schoening, an associate professor of music. "All are striving toward the same ultimate goal of creating harmony … of creating a unified work of art that they perform to move the audience."
UNG students, faculty and staff will create that harmony this fall through several performances on UNG's Dahlonega and Gainesville campuses. Performing will be bands, orchestras, choirs, musical theater groups, chamber ensembles, and soloists.
These performances also are a chance for the UNG community to show off its talents.
Dr. Lee Barrow, professor of music at UNG, explained students in the musical theater class participate in showcases since they do not present full musicals on the Dahlonega Campus.
"I see the students who are in my class and find performances that will help them develop," he said, explaining about two-thirds of the class is music majors.
This fall, the Musical Theater Workshop will present its production called "A Million Dreams." In the first half, students will perform a one-act play called "The Reluctant Dragon." After intermission, they will perform excerpts from Broadway shows such as "Into the Woods," "Fiddler on the Roof" and "Les Miserable," as well as selections from movies including "The Greatest Showman" and "Tangled."
"These performances give students the opportunity to combine the visual aspect with the music aspect," Barrow said.
For the ensembles, they can share their music and passion with fellow students, faculty and the community, Schoening said.
"It is what the experience is all about," he said.
For students attending the concerts, it will broaden their horizons and allow them to explore new and exciting sounds.
"Live music is interactive in a way that recordings and videos simply cannot be," Schoening said. "Further, music touches the soul. It is motivating. It helps form a sense of community and provides an opportunity to escape the world if only for a couple hours at a time."
Of the roughly 50 performances on tap for the fall, some events of note include:
