(Posted March 8, 2004)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- The Juniata College Concert Choir will perform a program of sacred music to honor a venerated Bucks County music director at 8 p.m., Friday, March 19 at St. Paul?s Lutheran Church in Doylestown, Pa.

Admission to the concert is free, although St. Paul?s Church will accept offerings to cover the cost of the concert. The first $250 collected will cover the cost of the concert andany remaining funds will be donated to the Bucks County Choral Society in honor of Elma Heckler.

The concert will performed in memory of Elma Stine Heckler, a 1950 Juniata graduate and the longtime music director of the Bucks County Choral Society. Mrs. Heckler died June 20, 2001. The concert is sponsored by the Bucks County Choral Society.

The concert choir is comprised of 50 students from Juniata College. Choir members must go through an audition process to join the group. The ensemble is conducted by Russell Shelley, Elma Stine Heckler Associate Professor of Music, at Juniata. Recordings by the Juniata choir are available after the performance.

The choir will perform selections of religious music from many different eras and cultures. The choir?s repertoire includes selections from Bach and Mendelssohn, African-American spirituals, American hymns and excerpts from the works ?Caribbean Mass? and Navajo Blessing.?

The choir will perform the concert a short time after completing its spring tour to engagements in Italy, Croatia and Slovenia. Each spring, the choir tours within the United States or in other countries. In past years, the choir has performed at The Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City; The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C.; Las Vegas, Nev.; Salzburg Cathedral in Austria; Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin, Germany; the Cathedral de Notre Dame Chartres in France; and Trinidad.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.