app Magazine Special Music for Faithful Friends
Steve Bell, a Canadian Christian singer/songwriter and longtime friend of app, played with student musicians during the President’s Weekend (October 1-3), a time for donors to connect with leaders at the college. He performed twice, once on Friday night and then on Saturday night with some special guests: the string section of the app Orchestra. Together, they serenaded the guests with beautiful music.
Michael Shasberger, Adams professor of music and worship and conductor of the app Orchestra, began planning the event earlier in the year. He and Bell had hoped to collaborate again after the fall of 2019, when the app Choir — then under Shasberger’s direction — performed with Bell at an earlier President’s Weekend.
The 2021 concert included three of Bell’s original songs that he presented with the orchestra and a performance of Vivaldi’s “Four Seasons” by the orchestra alone. The guests responded with much applause and appreciation. “It was a beautiful setting,” Shasberger says. “Performing for a group of individuals who care so deeply about the mission of the college made it all the more special.”
Though the app Orchestra had never played for the President’s Weekend before, they rose to the occasion. Isaac Siebelink, who performed a viola solo (originally written for violin) in Vivaldi’s “Winter” concerto, says, “I’ve had my fair share of stage fright, but that particular night I had no fear. I was playing music I loved with an ensemble and people that I gelled with. What more could I want?”