FOR THE KIDS – Siloam Music Festival Fall Concert

FEATURING 2009 SSHS GRADUATE Dr. Deborah Caldwell (trumpet) and 2011 SSHS GRADUATE Christopher Barnett (composer, oboe, sax).

Dr. Caldwell is perhaps the only Siloam Springs high school graduate to have completed a doctorate degree in music. We are flying her in from South Carolina to perform perhaps the most famous of the trumpet concertos (Hummel) with a chamber orchestra. The same orchestra will also perform Christopher’s filmography composition, The Blue Mesa.

Both will be conducted by Dr. Robert Mueller from the University of Arkansas, composer and conductor of the UA University Symphony Orchestra. This will be a WONDERFUL opportunity for the Siloam community to come out and show their support for many of our finest local musicians. Together with you this should be a top-notch show!!!

Read the bios of our featured guest musicians below.

WHO ELSE WILL BE PERFORMING? Children’s Community Choir, Adult Community Choir, Big Band, & more.

Siloam CHILDREN’S Community Choir. They will be performing two famous songs for children: John Rutter’s All Things Bright and Beautiful (the Lord God made them all) and John Williams Christmas Star (from Home Alone). Both of these will be accompanied by the chamber orchestra. Rehearsals will be on Monday afternoons starting October 3rd, 4:00 PM, New Life Church, 1611 Cheri Whitlock Dr. Conductor will be Cheri Headrick who has a masters in voice and choral conducting from the UA and is heavily involved in theater in NW Arkansas. All students in grades 2-6 that love music are encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Mark Barnett, producer of the Siloam Music Festival, either by email ([email protected]) or by text/phone (479-549-8910).

Siloam ADULT Community Choir. This amazing choir will also be performing two famous and inspiring choir songs: Tom Fettke’s The Majesty and Glory of Your Name and The Lord’s Prayer, one of the world’s most renowned and loved religious songs. Both of these will also be accompanied by the chamber orchestra. Paul Smith, the outstanding retired Director of JBU’s Cathedral Choir and originator of JBU’s annual Candlelight Service, will be conducting. Choir rehearsals start this Monday evening, September 19th at 6:45 PM in Choir Room at the First Baptist Church. All with good voices are encouraged to attend. Contact Mark Barnett for more information (see contact info above).

Siloam Men’s Chorus. This group of men will be performing Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise, performed by some of the best TTBB men’s choirs in the world. It will also be conducted by Paul Smith, and their rehearsals will be after the adult community choir rehearsal. Men with good voices, come and join in on the fun!

Siloam Big Band. This popular 17-member band (in it’s 2nd year) will be performing four songs: Midnight Train to Georgia (Gladys Knight and the Pips – sung by our own loved Rose Sparrow); Nutrocker (Trans Siberian Orchestra’s version arranged for big band); Chicago’s Questions 67 & 68 (lead vocalist – Gabe Edmondson); and Chicago’s 25 to 6 or 4 (lead vocalist – Gabe Edmondson). These are all really FUN songs and our featured guest trumpet guest, Deborah Caldwell, will be jumping in and joining us on several of them.

Three Other Surprises. You’ll just have to wait to hear the other surprises that we have waiting to perform for our Siloam Community.

BIO: Dr. Deborah Caldwell is currently the Director of Instrumental Studies and Assistant Professor of Music at Erskine College in Dew Point, South Carolina. She is also a former member of Kings Brass, a popular touring sacred brass ensemble. After completing her Bachelors in Trumpet Performance, she went on to get her Masters in the same from from Kansas State University before earning her doctorate from the University of Georgia.

Deborah has worked, performed, and taught at the Territorial Music Institute in Texas, Interlochen Arts Camp, Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, and the Seoul Foreign School in Korea. She was a founding member of the Wabash City Brass Quintet in Kansas and enjoyed performing Ernest Bloch’s Proclamation with the KSU Orchestra as a winner of the Concerto Competition. Deborah enjoys international travel and has played trumpet in seven countries.

BIO: Christopher Barnett obtained a Bachelors in Music Education before earning a masters in Music Composition at the University of Arkansas. He is currently the Kindergarten Music Teacher at Northside Elementary in Siloam Springs, and is a regular keyboardist/vocalist at Fellowship Bible Church in Rogers. He has performed oboe solos for the UA Symphony Orchestra as well as UA’s Schola Cantorum.

About the Siloam Music Festival (SMF): Begun in 2012 by Mark Barnett (1972 graduate of SSHS), the purpose of SMF is to promote and support local musicians by producing live concerts to showcase their expertise at different venues around the city. These settings have included Camp Siloam, First Baptist Church, Community Christian Church, JBU’s Berry Performing Arts Center, SSHS Performing Arts Center, two different home concerts, and the Amphitheater. Audience support for these public events has ranged from 300-800. One hundred-and-eighteen actually showed up at one of the home concerts, not counting the thirteen musicians!

From 2012-2014 SMF produced nine-concerts that highlighted over 230 local musicians. Two of those festivals showcased high school students and their band/choir directors from Siloam Springs, Ozark Academy, and Gentry.

One of the special projects SMF has taken on has been to give young musicians with long-term music ambitions a chance to perform a concerto with a chamber orchestra, something they may never get a chance to do otherwise in their lifetime. Michael Allard, bassoonist, was the first, performing Vivaldi’s Bassoon Concerto. After getting a Bachelor’s degree in Bassoon Performance at DePaul and his Masters at SMU, he is now a bassoonist for the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra.

Christopher Barnett, was the second, performing Mozart’s Oboe Concerto.

As stated above, Dr. Deborah Caldwell is the next to have this honor, and will be performing Hummel’s Trumpet Concerto.

Siloam Music Festival, produced by Mark Barnett