Riverside, Calif., March, 2000--Riverside, Calif.- The La Sierra Chamber Singers will travel to Florida for a Spring Break singing tour.

The seven-day trip, March 23 to 30, will encompass four performance dates, sightseeing stops and traditional beachcombing activities associated with the Sunshine State. Performances will take place at three Orlando-area Seventh-day Adventist churches and at an Adventist secondary school in Miami.

The Chamber Singers are under the direction of Donald Thurber, La Sierra director of choral studies. Also traveling with the choir will be musicians Aimee Saesim, a sophomore piano performance and elementary education major, and Mindy Leinberger, a senior violin major. The two will accompany the choir on selected pieces.

Chamber Singer student conductors will be Joey Aguilar and Lilybeth Evardome. Soloists are Aguilar, Evardome, Erick Ramirez, Grant Sample and Mark Tatum.

The 35-member choir is a select group of La Sierra students who come from each of the university's four schools. The choir has traveled throughout the United States and to England on performance tours.

During the Florida performance tour, the group will sing from a wide body of genres and musical eras, including works by Renaissance, Baroque and 20th-century composers. The choir will also sing gospel songs and spirituals including "Precious Lord," "Be Thou My Vision" and "Ride On King Jesus."

The performance tour will open with a vespers concert on Friday, March 24, at Walker Memorial Church in Orlando. Performances will follow in the same city on Saturday morning, March 25, at the Florida Hospital Seventh-day Adventist Church and later that day at the Kress Memorial Seventh-day Adventist Church. A concluding performance will take place at Greater Miami Academy on Thursday, March 30.

In keeping with time-honored collegiate Spring Break traditions, the students will also get some time for Disney-related activities in Orlando and general recreation at Miami-area beaches.

While funds for the trip were raised from a March 4 benefit concert, students have also individually contributed toward costs associated with the Florida performance tour. Call (909)785-2036 for more information about upcoming La Sierra Music Department events.

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