“This Is Dreaming," featuring special guest and WMU alumna jazz vocalist Aubrey Johnson, is the Gold Company and GCII’s major show this spring. Performances will take place at the Dalton Center Recital Hall on Friday and Saturday at 7:30 PM, and Sunday at 2:00 PM, Mar 21-23.
Greg Jasperse, director of Gold Company, joins Cara Lieurance and Jessi Phillips in the studio to preview the long-planned, highly-produced showcase. "We're delighted to bring to Kalamazoo GC alum Aubrey Johnson," Jasperse says. Johnson, joins the conversation via Zoom. "I think I've only been back a couple times since I graduated, so I'm really excited to go back.”
The concert will showcase a blend of Gold Company and GC2, the program's younger group, with arrangements crafted by the students themselves. "One of the important elements of this show is that all of the numbers that are put together between Gold Company and GC2... are arranged by the students," Jasperse emphasizes.
The students' dedication to the show's production was highlighted by both Jasperse and Johnson. "I don't know if more has ever been demanded of me than was demanded of me during the kind of show we're gonna do this weekend," Johnson says. "It just set me up for success in a life as a musician."
Jasperse also praised the students' initiative. "They're responsible for writing and arranging the production numbers, they're responsible for how they look on stage, where they stand, where they move to, how the stage looks," he said.
Tickets for "This Is Dreaming" are available through the WMU School of Music website, and at the door.
"I'm looking forward to it so much. I think it's gonna be an amazing show," Johnson said. "I'm very honored to be returning to my alma mater."
