Lipscomb University’s Rush Hour Concerts are aptly named, as people can pop in for a one-hour concert to wait for traffic to clear up before heading home.
Gary Wilson, director of vocal and choral activities, first came up with the idea that soon became a reality last spring.
“The idea was born while looking for a creative way to handle our performance schedule toward the end of the year,” Wilson said.
The department of music sponsors over 100 concerts every school year. These include individual students performing a solo recital as part of their degree requirements, groups of students performing as part of an ensemble such as A Cappella Singers or Wind Ensemble and faculty or guest artists presenting professional concerts.
“At the end of the year, there are so many students needing to give recitals and ensembles wanting to perform that it’s difficult to get everything done,” Wilson said.
“We do not schedule two concerts at the same time, so the Rush Hour Concerts were created to alleviate some of our scheduling issues.”
The first Rush Hour Concert last spring featured the ChamberMen ensemble, Lipscomb’s male choral ensemble that began as a quintet in 2012 and has since expanded to include 11 singers.
This month’s concert featured the AronBerkner Duo, with Jane Berkner and Stephen Aron.
“Rush Hour Concerts have become a very popular part of our concert offerings,” Wilson said. “No one is in charge, but any music faculty member can schedule a performance at this time. Typically, these concerts are less than an hour, and have no intermission, so they’re over by 6 p.m.”
Photo courtesy of lipscomb.edu