Enrollment Increases 128% In Six Years - Tiffin University

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Music
STuDENTS pERFORM
wITH ROCk STaR
Nelly Arnett, a Tiffin University
senior from Toledo, and Shanna
Litton, a freshman from Lima,
performed as background
vocalists with rock singersongwriter
Ben Folds in his
concert with the Columbus
Symphony Orchestra.
Arnett and Litton, both Arts
Administration majors at TU,
joined with six other Ohio
singers for a day of rehearsal
with Folds and the orchestra,
and then performed a concert
of his music to a sold-out crowd Nelly Arnett and Shanna Litton
of screaming fans at Veterans
Memorial Auditorium. The appearance was among the final concerts of a
nine-stop, six-week tour that also included gigs with the National Symphony
in Washington, D.C., the Dallas Symphony and the Boston Pops Orchestra.
“It was so exciting to walk onto that stage with a full orchestra and all those
lights and that huge crowd,” said Litton. “I never dreamed I’d have an
opportunity like this, and it’s really got me excited about pursuing a career
in music.”
“The music chosen was really interesting,” said Arnett. “Before this gig, I
wasn’t that familiar with Ben Folds’ music, and I had to do a bit of listening to
get to know his style. What makes Folds’ music so cool is that it works both
in the pop-rock world and with classical musicians. Even his solo rock piano
stuff sounds really orchestral a lot of the time.”
Arnett and Litton are both members of Tiffin University’s award-winning a
cappella group Up in the Air, which is produced and directed by Brad Rees.
“The experience they have with Up in the Air really helped them excel in a
situation like the Ben Folds show,” said Rees. “In one tune they were asked
to mimic Ben’s rock vocals, in another to sound like an old warbly traditional
choir, and in another to imitate a Dixieland band style. The diversity of styles
the girls get to sing at TU made them much more effective on this gig than
most students would be.”
This experience was exactly what Arnett needed, as she plans to pursue
background singer opportunities in Nashville after graduation. “Who knows
what might become of this,” said Arnett. “Ben Folds is based out of Nashville,
as is the conductor of the Columbus Symphony (Albert-George Schram).
You never know where these connections might lead.”
“It was so much fun,” said Litton. “If I had not chosen to pursue music at Tiffin
University, I never would have had this kind of opportunity so quickly. I can’t
wait to see what the next four years bring.”
24 CHALLENGE > Fall / Winter 09
MaRCHINg BaNDS uNITE
The Second Annual Tiffin Columbian-Tiffin University Marching Band Festival
was held in October. The festival, hosted by TU and Columbian High School
also featured bands from Calvert, Hopewell-Loudon, Clyde, and Bucyrus
schools. The festival was a non-competitive event designed to showcase
each band at their best.
HOlIDaY CONCERT
TU’s Concert Band
TU’s Concert Choir
The Tiffin University Musical Arts Program presented its fourth annual
Holiday Concert at The Ritz Theatre in December. The concert was free and
the public was invited. TU’s Concert Choir, Gospel Choir and Concert Band
was joined by the instrumental touring combo Front Street, the a cappella
groups Up in the Air and Higher Ground, two new groups to TU, the vocal
group ENP and the jazz combo Grey Sunday. All proceeds from the concert
were donated to Tiffin’s First Call for Help, and Charity: Water, a global nonprofit
organization that brings clean and safe drinking water to people in
developing nations.