Alumni brought Broadway to Bethel

This past Saturday, during the Alumni Weekend, four former Bethel students brought Broadway to Bethel's stage. Shawn Holtgren, '95, '97; Heidi Ferris, '01; Jeff Cramer, '01 and Jennie Sophia Grunseth, '02 sang songs from "The Little Mermaid," "West Side Story" and "Ragtime," among other shows. Jim Pickley accompanied on the piano. Shawn Holtgren's voice guided the audience through each section of the show as he gave a little bit of information about each genre of music that was sang. There were also several guest singers, including two of Bethel's assistant professors of music, Dr. Victoria Garret and Dr. Derrick Pennix. For Bethel students, it was very exciting to see Shawn Holtgren singing in an atmosphere very different from the weekly chapel services. "Hearing the different dynamics of some of our alumni's voices was fascinating," said junior Chuck Zook. "Especially Shawn, since he is the one that everyone is familiar with. To see him in his theatre element was fantastic. I also appreciated the inspiration it gave to a lot of people in the audience." The evening was a great time to reminisce on days gone by for several of Bethel's faculty. Dr. Robert Ham, the Music Department Chair and Choir Director, related to each of the alumni performing in a special way. "An extra blessing to me were the memories that flooded my mind as they performed," said Ham. "Each of them was part of the musicals Doc and I directed, part of the choir and various other music ensembles and events." In the words of Dr. Ham, "This was an event done with class. Excellence should always be our goal and the performers reached that in elegance, technique and performance. Bravo!"