Feb 12, 2016

Christine Whelchel Returns to Columbia State

(COLUMBIA, Tenn. - Jan. 12, 2016) - - - Columbia State Community College's Lyceum Committee welcomes classical pianist Christine Whelchel to the Cherry Theater Tuesday, Feb. 16 at 4 p.m. The concert will include a variety of selections from different musical stylistic periods spanning the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries.

"Columbia State has previously hosted a concert by Christine Whelchel," said Emily Gaskill, associate professor of music. "She is a talented performer who presents an entertaining and enlightening program. I hope many will plan to attend this delightful, free concert."

Included in the program are composers J.S. Bach, Ludwig van Beethoven, Frederic Chopin and Sergei Rachmaninov, as well as a Children's Corner Suite by Claude Debussy. Under the direction of choreographers Madison Hopkins and Natalie Keane, dancers from the Concordia Arts Academy will join Ms. Whelchel in a collaborative piano and dance performance during two movements of Debussy's work.

Whelchel is music director and co-founder of Concordia Arts Academy, an educational facility for the integration of music, dance, theater and the visual arts, located in Spring Hill. She holds a bachelor's and master's degrees from The University of Memphis.

Whelchel is very active in the community as an accompanist for many ensembles, including the Tennessee Dance Arts Conservatory and various children's choirs. She also serves as church organist and choir director at Redeemer Lutheran Church in Nashville.

Hopkins, a Columbia State special education and foreign language major, is the tap and modern dance director at Concordia Arts Academy and a professional dancer. She toured for two years with the Found Movement group in Nashville and has trained at dance intensives at the Tennessee Governor's School for the Arts, Giordano Jazz Dance Chicago, and Florida State University. She also received a scholarship from the Tennessee Association of Dance.

Keane is the ballet and hip-hop director at Concordia Arts Academy. She attended Vanderbilt University and earned her certificate of dance studies in ballet and modern dance with an emphasis on choreography composition. She also earned her teacher training certification from Ballet Magnificat!, where she received specialized training in curriculum of pedagogy for all levels of classical ballet.

The Cherry Theater is in the Waymon L. Hickman Building, located on the Columbia Campus at 1665 Hampshire Pike. The performance is free and open to the public.

For more information about Columbia State's music department, visit www.ColumbiaState.edu/Music. For information on other Lyceum events, contact the Lyceum Committee by emailing Lyceum@ColumbiaState.edu, or visit the Lyceum calendar on the Columbia State website at www.ColumbiaState.edu/Lyceum.

Columbia State is a two-year college, serving a nine-county area in southern Middle Tennessee with locations in Columbia, Franklin, Lawrenceburg, Lewisburg and Clifton. As Tennessee's first community college, Columbia State is committed to increasing access and enhancing diversity at all five campuses. Columbia State is a member of the Tennessee Board of Regents, one of the largest higher education systems in the nation. For more information, please visit www.columbiastate.edu.

Tennessee's Community Colleges is a system of 13 colleges offering a high-quality, affordable, convenient and personal education to prepare students to achieve their educational and career goals in two years or less. We offer associate degree and certificate programs, workforce development programs and transfer pathways to four-year degrees. For more information, please visit us online at tncommunitycolleges.org.