Maryville College Concert Choir announces 2026 tour, ‘What Dreams May Come’
Feb. 4, 2026
Whether it’s a packed performance hall or a hushed sanctuary, members of the Maryville College Concert Choir step onto the stage with a particular awareness — that for someone listening, the music they sing may be a graceful introduction … or a poetic valediction.
“It is a truly humbling, eye-opening experience to see how the music we make impacts those who hear it,” said Rebecca Johnson ’26, one of 40 choir members preparing to embark on the ensemble’s annual spring tour. “We are often reminded in rehearsal and before performances that, when we sing a song, some people may be hearing it for the first time while others may be hearing it for the last time.”
That perspective sits at the heart of “What Dreams May Come,” the Maryville College Choir’s 2026 Spring Tour program — a reflective, emotionally rich exploration of hope, longing, sorrow and renewal that will carry the choir across Tennessee in the weeks ahead.
A cherished spring tradition at the College, the annual tour serves as both a musical offering and a living expression of Maryville College’s values: artistry rooted in purpose, community shaped by care, and education that reaches far beyond campus borders.
“This year’s tour is centered around the theme ‘What Dreams May Come,’ inspired by the text of Eric Whitacre’s ‘Sleep,’” said Stacey Wilner, senior lecturer of music and director of choral activities at Maryville College. “In a time that feels both hopeful and uncertain, dreams and challenges exist side by side.”
A methodical musical montage
The program traces that emotional arc with intention and care. Whitacre’s “Sleep” opens the journey in a liminal space — tender, vulnerable and full of quiet promise. From there, the traditional “John the Revelator” (arranged by Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory) frames dreams as prophetic visions, brimming with urgency and truth. Schubert’s “Erlkönig” turns inward, revealing the darker terrain where imagination becomes fear, while Z. Randall Stroope’s “Lamentations of Jeremiah” confronts collective grief and loss with unflinching honesty. The program ultimately resolves with “Over the Rainbow” (arranged by Russ Robinson), restoring a language of hope and longing — a dream of peace beyond pain.
“Works such as ‘Lamentations of Jeremiah’ acknowledge shared human suffering and offer space for reflection, reminding us that music can help us process complex emotions,” Wilner said. “As composer Z. Randall Stroope describes, this kind of music keeps the listener ‘firmly rooted in the soil of life,’ allowing them to experience sorrow in one moment and love in the next.”
For the students who carry this music from city to city, the tour is as formative as it is performative. Over the past four years, Johnson has transformed from a nervous first-year singer to a tour veteran whose heart is filled with emotion at the realization that her time in the ensemble is approaching its end.
“When I was preparing to go on my very first choir tour, I was honestly a bit nervous,” Johnson recalled. “Ultimately, my first choir tour ended up impacting me more than I had ever expected it would.”
What she discovered, she said, was that the choir is “more than a group of people merely making music in the same space.”
“When we perform for an audience, whether it be high schoolers, elderly individuals, families, church congregations, etc., we have the opportunity to use our music to inspire, advocate, inform, and even change ourselves internally,” said Johnson, who also sings in Off Kilter and the Lassies, two of three smaller ensembles within the choir (the other being the Lads).
In preparing for her final tour, the realization that she and her fellow seniors are on the cusp of departure from a place that means so much, and the group that has served as a catalyst for that change, carries extra weight.
“I am a very nostalgic person, so I have been soaking up every single moment this year,” she said. “The feeling is very bittersweet! Part of the beauty of being in organizations like Concert Choir, Off Kilter and Lassies is that the experiences must eventually come to an end. However, knowing that my time in these ensembles is limited has led me to be even more reflective and appreciative.”
That sense of shared purpose and deep connection is also evident from the perspective of those guiding the ensemble, including collaborative pianist Chase Hatmaker ’14 and Dr. Jennifer Olander Anderson ’05, director of the Lads and collaborative pianist for the Lassies. For Choral Assistant Jacob Parauka, who joined the MC faculty in August 2024, last spring’s tour was his first, and from the outset, it was evident how special it is for all involved.
“What impresses me is the spirit of community and cooperation our students share over the course of the trip,” Parauka said. “Each student contributes so much personal effort in making the tour flow properly, and witnessing their fellowship and growth as people is one of the many things that make my job worthwhile.”
Singers serve as ambassadors
Beyond the music itself, the tour serves as a powerful form of outreach. For many audience members, it is their first encounter with Maryville College, and given the rich history of the choir — originally formed in 1917 as the Vesper Choir and renamed in 1954 — those encounters span generations. For more than a century, the ensemble has carried the College’s values into churches, concert halls, and communities near and far, serving as a living ambassador for an institution rooted in service, compassion and care for the common good.
Each performance becomes part of a much larger story: of students who lend their voices to something older than themselves, of listeners who leave changed in ways both subtle and profound, and of relationships forged through shared moments of beauty and reflection. Over the decades, the Maryville College Choir’s tours have touched countless lives — not just through the music sung, but through the members themselves.
“People often share how moved they were — not just by the sound of the choir, but by the sincerity, focus, and humanity of our students,” Wilner said. “In that sense, the choir becomes a living, musical expression of Maryville College and a meaningful bridge between the campus and the wider community.”
That bridge will extend even further in the years ahead. Information will be available during the spring tour about a companion international tour to Scotland planned for May 2027, hosted by Perform-International. The Scotland experience will invite alumni, families, faculty, staff and community members to sing alongside the choir — a fitting continuation of a tradition grounded in shared voices and shared journeys.
As the choir prepares to travel once more, they do so with gratitude — for the host churches that open their doors, for the communities that listen, and for the moments of connection that only music can create.
Because in those moments — fleeting, luminous and deeply human — dreams are not only imagined — they’re heard, and the majesty of the Maryville College Concert Choir stands as the bedrock upon which those dreams are shaped, sustained and shared, echoing far beyond the final note.
“The choir represents Maryville College as a place where students are encouraged to care deeply, work hard and support each another,” Wilner said. “The way the students sing, interact, organize and carry out our events reflects the College’s values in a very real way. These concerts often lead to conversation because the attendees are curious about Maryville College itself — who these students are, where they come from, and what kind of institution supports this level of artistry and character.”
2026 Spring Choir Tour Schedule
Sunday, February 22 | 4 p.m.
Lake Hills Presbyterian Church, 3805 Maloney Road, Knoxville
Tuesday, March 10 | 12:30 p.m.
Harold and Jean Lambert Recital Hall, Clayton Center for the Arts on the Maryville College campus (Send-Off Concert)
Wednesday, March 11 | 7 p.m.
Grace Episcopal Church, 20 Belvoir Ave., Chattanooga
Thursday, March 12 | 7 p.m.
Second Presbyterian Church, 3511 Belmont Blvd., Nashville
Friday, March 13 | 7 p.m.
First Presbyterian Church, 213 Main St., Clarksville
Sunday, March 15 | 10:30 a.m.
Worship Service, St. John’s Episcopal Church, 500 N. Roan St., Johnson City
Sunday, March 15 | 7 p.m. (CST)
Hopewell Presbyterian Church, 812 Hopewell St., Dandridge
Tuesday, March 24 | 7:00 p.m.
Maryville College Homecoming Concert, Nutt Theatre, Clayton Center for the Arts (Admission: $12.50)
Sunday, April 26 | 4:00 p.m.
New Providence Presbyterian Church, 703 W. Broadway Ave., Maryville