Concerts

Give yourself the gift of silence and stillness in the sacred space of the atrium at Mayflower Congregational Church.  We begin at 6:30 with fellowship around the table followed by gentle music and time for silent reflection, prayer. and release.

March 6 – Linda Nelson

Linda Nelson is a Michigan native from a large musical family. Linda grew up in Ohio and received her musical training from the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Playing in the Grand Rapids Symphony has been Linda’s primary performing focus since 1986. Linda enjoys cooking, reading, meditation, fitness training, chamber music and museums.

March 13 – Jeremy Verwys

Jeremy Verwys is a West Michigan musician, instructor and music therapist. He has completed graduate degrees in both Guitar Performance and Music Therapy at Illinois State University where he studied with Dr. Angelo Favis in guitar. He received his Bachelors of Music in performance from Grand Valley State University, studying with Carlos De la Barrera and Associates degree from Grand Rapids Community College with instructors Andrew Bergeron and Brian Morris. Jeremy Verwys has performed with the Grand Rapids Symphony, the Calvin College Choral program, Hope College’s Dance Program, as well as with the dance faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp where he was commissioned in 2015 and 2016 to compose and perform original works. In 2020, Mr. Verwys was also commissioned to compose music for the podcast, Brainfluke. Mr. Verwys have participated in master-classes with renowned guitarists Thomas Viloteau, Marcin Dylla, Rene Izquierdo, Johannes Möller, and Jason Vieaux, along with private studies with Denis Azabagic. Jeremy divides his time performing, teaching, and instructing music at Cornerstone University and Grand Rapids Community College, as well as keeping a private studio in Grand Rapids, MI, and is the co-owner of West Michigan Music Therapy, LLC.

March 20 – Alicia Eppinga

Alicia Eppinga has been a member of the Grand Rapids Symphony since 1989, and Principal Cello since 2011. She recieved her Bachelor of Music from Oberlin Conservatory and Master of Music at the Eastman School of Music.

Alicia performs regularly in chamber music and solo concerts, including the Chamber Music Festival of Saugatuck and The GRAM concert series. She is a member of new music group Ensemble Montage, the Devos String Quartet, and Castalia, a piano quartet that focuses on music of women composers. As soloist, she has performed with the Holland Symphony, Kent Philharmonia and the Grand Rapids Symphony. In 2013, Alicia collaborated with composer Alexander Miller to create the Madame Bovary Concerto for Cello and Orchestra. Alicia lives in Ada with husband Jim and children Leo and Iris.

March 27 – Kristi Burghart

Lyric soprano, Kristen Burghart is an active soloist, recitalist, and performer throughout the Midwest. She has distinguished herself as a singer of modern repertoire in operatic roles such as Madame Euterpova in Menotti’s Help, Help, the Globolinks, as soloist in the world premier of Peter Bannister’s Psalm 96, and recitals of two pieces written for the American Guild of Organists’ Composer-of-the-Year recital honoring Pulitzer Prize-nominated composer, Richard Stewart. It has been her privilege to sing works by Benjamin Britten including the role of Gossip in Noye’s Fludde and as soloist in the Michigan premiere of his The World of the Spirit, as well as The Prayers of Kierkegaard by Samuel Barber and Dona Nobis Pacem by Vaughan Williams of which the Grand Rapids Press wrote “Burghart, a singer with plenty of power, spun her voice beautifully over the orchestra and chorus yet brought the stirring work to a soft and gentle conclusion.” Kristen also loves the concert stage and has been featured in a wide range of works including Beethoven’s Mass in C, Handel’s Messiah, Dixit Dominus, and Utrecht Te Deum, M

endelssohn’s Hear My Prayer and Symphony no. 2, several Bach cantatas, the Magnificat by C.P.E. Bach, and of her solo in Rossini’s Stabat Mater, the Grand Rapids Press wrote, “….she nailed a couple of high notes which were exciting.” She has also had the honor of singing Schubert’s Magnificat in C with a professional choir in Perugia, Italy. She lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan, with her husband and four children.