Band and Vocal Students Among the 'Stars and the Moon'

In 1969, Apollo 11 launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying what would soon be the first men to ever set foot on the Moon. Ohio Christian University will celebrate this historic event with a concert titled Stars and the Moon, featuring Ohio Christian’s band and vocal students. The show will lift off on Nov. 14 at 7 p.m. in the Ministry & Performing Arts Center.

Among the list of selections to be performed is the popular song “Fly Me to the Moon,” melodies from “Star Trek” and “Star Wars,” as well as many others. “We hope it will be a fun night out. Everything should be fun and uplifting,” said Music Department Chair Dr. Brent Nolte.

The show will be an immersive audio/visual production with screens displaying scenes from space throughout the performance. “You can just look up and go into dreamland,” said Dr. Dione Bennett, Director of Vocal and Choral Studies. “For that hour, you can just throw all of your cares away.”

Some of the students performing are not music majors but are interested in expanding their vocal talents. “These are people who you don’t normally get a chance to see on stage as a soloist,” Nolte said. “You get to see some of those hidden talents that people have.”

By doing a performance surrounding the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11, the music department hopes to engage the community in a fresh, exciting way. “We want to be relevant,” Bennett said. “We want to know what’s going on in current events.

Apollo 11 continues to be an inspiring event in American history. “These were people using their God-given scientific abilities to achieve something really profound,” Nolte said. “No matter what your chosen field, vocation, or calling is, it’s something very inspiring for us all to be excellent in whatever we’re doing.”

On July 20, 1969, four days after leaving earth, Apollo 11 landed on the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility. Neil Armstrong took man’s first step on the moon, closely followed by Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin. “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong said as millions of people watched from their televisions.

The concert will be a great celebration of this profound moment in history. “There’s some good music at OCU,” Bennett said. Admission is free and open to the public, so everyone has the chance to experience the good music that Ohio Christian’s music department has to offer.