Ankeny DMACC Concert Features Simon Estes, Student Vocalists

ANKENY, IA — Iowa native and renowned opera singer Simon Estes will perform Friday night in Ankeny as part of the holiday program by the DMACC Ankeny Campus Concert Choir and the Ankeny Campus Chamber Ensemble. The free concert begins at 7 p.m. in the Building 6 Auditorium on the Ankeny Campus.

Estes, a DMACC music faculty member, will perform “Joy to the World” by Traditional Carol and “Cantique de Noël (Oh, Holy Night)” by Adolphe Adam. The Concert Choir of four sopranos, four altos, two tenors and three bass students will sing “Clap Your Hands and Sing!” by Mary Lynn Lightfoot, “Who Knows (Where the Wind Blows?)” by Joseph M. Martin, “Sigh No More, Ladies, Sigh No More” by Emma L. Diemer, “Dindirin” by Ruth Morris Gray, and “Comin’ Thru the Rye” arranged by Harry Simeone.

The Chamber Ensemble of 11 students will sing “Oh, Mistress Mine!” by György Orbán, “Three Songs” by Randall Reese, “Je le vous dirai" (Do not dare I say it) by Pierre Certon, and “How Long?” by Kirby Shaw.

Together, at the end of the concert, both the choir and ensemble will sing “For We Wish You Music” by Douglas E. Wagner. Student soloists also will perform during a "potpourri" part of the concert.

A free reception with refreshments hosted by the DMACC Music Program will follow the concert in Building 7. Everyone is invited to attend and meet performers and Estes.

The choral groups will have available a CD of sacred and secular music by Estes for $15 at the reception; $5 from each CD sale to the Simon Estes DMACC Music Program Scholarship Fund. The recently established fund provides two scholarships each semester covering tuition costs for students’ voice lessons.

The Simon Estes Foundation is sponsoring another fundraising event for the fund at 7 p.m. Dec. 19 at the Des Moines Civic Center, where Estes will perform Christmas music, the choral ensembles from DMACC and Ankeny High School and Ankeny Centennial High Schools will perform.

General admission is $25 for adults and $10 for students. Tickets are available through Des Moines Performing Arts.

Jazz Concert Also Planned

The DMACC Jazz Ensemble also will have a concert this season before students head into winter break. The program will be at 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 11, in the Building 6 auditorium.

Along with jazz music, Ankeny resident and former teacher Maggie Voy will be a guest soloist.

The ensemble will perform jazz classics from the 60's: Horace Silver’s “Song For My Father” and Oliver Nelson’s “Moment’s Notice,” which were both small-group recordings but work with small bands.

Voy, who formerly worked with director Scott Davis in Des Moines, will sing two American Songbook classics: “Orange Colored Sky” and “How High The Moon.”

“This is an ensemble of students and adults dedicated to performing this great art form and continuing their love for music," Davis said. "The jazz band is now in its sixth season, so still relatively young, but we’ve seen improvement and growth every year."

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