The Wichita State University Summer Choir will present its annual concert, "Have a Little Hope," at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, June 25, in Wiedemann Concert Hall. Music for the volunteer choir performance centers on hope in nature, life and religion, and features special guest Randy Lacy, assistant professor of voice at WSU's School of Music.

The 90-voice WSU Summer Choir features singers from local high schools, representatives from a dozen departments across the university, area teachers and a wide community of people who love to sing. Under the direction of Tom Wine, professor and WSU director of choirs, the concert is the culmination of an intense rehearsal process.

Hope is a frequent topic for composers during the past century. The program will feature popular tunes from the 1930s, such as “Night and Day” and “Get Happy,” along with a lyrical setting of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken.” Highlights from “A Chorus Line” and the bluesy “God Bless the Child” round out the first act. The second half of the concert will feature re-invented church anthems with saxophone (“I Want Jesus to Walk with Me”), trumpet (“One Faith, One Hope, One Lord”), a gospel selection and an opportunity for audience participation.

Lacy, a tenor, and pianist Jian He will perform three selections to complement the program’s theme, “Comfort Ye” and “Every Valley,” from Handel’s “Messiah,” Rachmaninoff’s “Uzh ty, niva maya” (“Sing to me no longer” – a song about the loss of hope), and “Ah, mes amis, quelle jour de fête,” from Donizetti’s opera, “The Daughter of the Regiment.”

Tickets for the event can be purchased at the Fine Arts Box Office in the lobby of the Duerksen Fine Arts Center or online. General admission is $7, with $3 tickets for students. WSU students are eligible for one free ticket (not available online, details here). For ticketing assistance, please contact the Fine Arts Box Office 10:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday, at 316-978-3233 or fastickets@wichita.edu.