News
Concert Caps Record SMC Choir Camp
Published on July 23, 2026 - 4 p.m.
Southwestern Michigan College’s largest choir camp culminates Friday with a free public concert at 7:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Dale A. Lyons Building.
Some 60 area high school students and a couple dozen students and alumni who serve as counselors will put more than 80 voices on stage, bouncing exuberantly to such gospel numbers as Kirk Franklin’s “Brighter Day.”
Director of Choral Activities David Carew attributes the record turnout to several factors — recruiting as far away as Allegan County, the return of dynamic guest clinician Curtis Gulledge, who went through college at Western Michigan University (1999) and toured Russia with Carew, and the support of SMC alumni who have joined the professional directing ranks.`
Representation from Portage Northern and Paw Paw, for example, each reached double digits.
Gulledge, a Benton Harbor native, is based in Orlando. Fla. He taught vocal music in Covert, 2006-11.
“Usually I have a week to prepare before handing them over to a clinician,” Carew said. “Curtis is the first one I’ve invited back, so he’s been here in residency all week. He was here just a couple of days last year.”
“He wanted to infuse (camp) with his experience and knowledge of gospel music, which is often improvised,” Carew said. “We have music as a reference, but it’s done in a very organic process. The spirit and energy bring something special.”
Carew’s three selections bring a “more traditional choral experience” with a German piece by Robert Schumann of the early Romantic era that depicts people singing and dancing in the forest; a piece by Claudio Monteverdi, a composer of both secular and sacred music who pioneered development of opera and was a crucial transitional figure between the Renaissance and Baroque periods; and “Obey the Spirit of the Lord” to segue into Gulledge’s set.
“He specifically wrote a piece for this show,” Carew said. “There’s no music, it’s just rote, with him teaching the parts.
“It’s a really nice mix of things and the students are doing a great job of being flexible with a variety of choral experiences. He’s such a great artist, I’ve always had a special place in my heart for him.”
