As part of a September day spent working with area high school students, Tim Pahel led the college's choral students in a selection. The Fall Choir Concert will be held October 4
MONMOUTH, ILLINOIS (September 29, 2025) — The Fall Choir Concert and the first Maple Leaf Community Concert Series event of the season are both on tap for early October at Monmouth College. Both concerts will be held in the Kasch Performance Hall of Dahl Chapel and Auditorium.
Fall Choir Concert, 7:30PM, October 4
"We are doing some fantastic music on this concert," said Monmouth music professor Tim Pahel, who directs the 47-member Chorale and the Chamber Choir. "Chorale is going to sing a piece called 'Hold Fast to Dreams,' which is a setting by Joel Thompson of two Langston Hughes poems and has so much power and passion in the music as well as a highly-virtuosic and dramatic piano part played by [music faculty member] Solee Lee-Clark."
Another highlight will be an early American folk song called "Bright Morning Stars" by Shawn Kirchner, with solos by Monmouth students Kent Huth and Colin Kreipe.
"Chamber Choir is performing a fast and somewhat wild arrangement of a Philippine folk song, a catchy and jazzy Cuban piece called 'El Almuercero,' and 'Sicut cervus,' a beautiful Renaissance motet by Palestrina," added Pahel.
Kaitlyn McCullough leads the Concert Choir, which will sing an arrangement by Mac Huff of "Sanctuary," a song by Jason Robert Brown, and "Aqui te amo," a beautiful setting of a Pablo Nerudo poem by Bruce Tippette.
"The concert is free, but donations to support our spring break trip to New Orleans will be appreciated," said Pahel.
Related to raising funds for that trip, the Chorale will host its annual spaghetti dinner on November 1, 5-7PM, at Faith United Presbyterian Church, just south of Monmouth's campus.
MLCCS: Young Original, 7PM, October 7
The 2025-26 season of the Maple Leaf Community Concert Series will kick off October 7 when the group Young Original (above) takes the Dahl Chapel and Auditorium stage. Individual and membership tickets for the concert series can be purchased at the Buchanan Center for the Arts in downtown Monmouth or at the door.
Young Original is an acoustic band with a passion for breathing new life into classic American music through a unique fusion of jazz, classical, folk, and pop influences. Since forming in 2022, the group has delighted audiences across the country with their riveting live shows and dynamic performance videos that have racked up millions of views online.
Their original songs, "Doubt Your Love" and "Perfect World," were featured in NPR's Tiny Desk Top Shelf, and their powerhouse live show has taken them on a nationwide Christmas tour with legendary pianist Jim Brickman. The band features a striking combination of instrumental mastery and equally stunning vocal harmonies.
Each member of Young Original is an accomplished performer in their own right: Benjamin Morren is a firebrand pianist and composer who plays too many instruments to count. Josie James is a stunning vocalist possessed of a seemingly infinite vocal range. The prodigious Silas Johnson started cello lessons at age three and has performed with The Johnson Strings to sold-out crowds in Branson and abroad. Joe Xiques is an inventive music producer who has traveled the world playing folk music on a plethora of instruments.
