Texas Youth Choir Performs in Slider Recital Hall

Members of the Duncanville (Texas) United Methodist Church Youth Choir pose with
several members of the Lindsey Wilson Singers in W.W. Slider Humanities Center Recital
Hall. At center is Duncanville UMC Youth Choir Director Steve Sobczak, and at right is
LWC Professor of Music and Religion and Director of Choral Programs Gerald Chafin.

COLUMBIA, Ky. -- A standing-rooming only crowd was treated to a summer-evening concert on Tuesday night in the Lindsey Wilson College W.W. Slider Humanities Center Recital Hall.

More than 100 people packed the recital hall to hear the June 15 concert by the Duncanville (Texas) First United Methodist Church Youth Choir. Under the direction of Steve Sobczak, the 37-member choir performed several modern spiritual selections as well as a medley of songs from recent Disney movies. The choir was accompanied on piano on all but one song by Susan Kheshtinejad.

Tuesday night was the second time the Duncanville UMC Youth Choir has performed in Columbia. The choir also performed in Columbia in 2004 while on its summer tour.

The reciprocal relationship started when LWC Associate Professor of Music and Religion and Director of Choral Programs Gerald Chafin took the Lindsey Wilson Singers to Duncanville UMC on one of the Singers' spring tours. The Singers also performed at Duncanville UMC on last spring's tour.

"We welcome to our campus the Duncanville First United Methodist Church Youth Choir as part of the LWC Choral Concert Exchange Project through our collaborative initiative with Youth Cue," Chafin said. "The grand finale of our exchange is bringing this extraordinary ensemble to our campus. There are few church youth choirs remaining in the United States of their caliber."

This year's summer tour for the Duncanville UMC Youth Choir included stops in New York City, St. Louis, Wichita Falls, Texas, Columbus, Ohio, Pittsburgh and Roanoke, Va. After their Tuesday night performance in Columbia, the choir was scheduled perform in Little Rock, Ark., before heading home to its Dallas suburb for a homecoming concert.

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Click here to see pictures of the June 15 concert.