College of Fine Arts and Production

On the heels of performing Handel’s “Messiah” and various faculty and student recitals, the busy GCU Music Department is at it again, this time readying itself for its annual Christmas concert. The Canyon Chorale and Critical Mass will perform everything from Arnesen’s “Magnificat,” which centers around the text of Luke 2 and the birth of Jesus, to a medley of holiday tunes from popular a cappella group Pentatonix. The concert begins at 7 Thursday night at First Southern Baptist Church of Phoenix.

Dancers will look as if they’re walking on walls. They’ll leap elegantly and athletically in the air in classic ballet movements. They’ll create precise lines. All of those stylistic movements will unfurl at Ethington Dance Ensemble’s Winter Dance Concert, to be performed this weekend at Ethington Theatre.

More than nine pipers were piping at Andre House of Arizona in downtown Phoenix on Sunday. Fifteen members of GCU’s Clarinet Studio performed at Andre House, which serves the city’s most needy populations, during dinner service. “I love doing this,” said Clarinet Studio musician and junior biology major Allissa Hernandez. “It’s important to give back you your community — giving your time to give them joy and give them happiness.”

The Canyon Choral Society doesn’t just perform Handel’s “Messiah” every year, it does so on a grand scale. Tuesday’s concert at GCU Arena will feature almost the full version and will include a 110-member choir as well as the professional musicians of the Canyon Symphony Orchestra, four soloists and a high school choir.

Before there was Peter Pan, before there was Tinkerbell, before there was Captain Hook, there was “Peter and the Starcatcher.” GCU’s Theatre Department is bringing the origin story of the boy who refused to grow up to the Ethington Theatre stage. The play opens tonight for a two-weekend run.

Michelle Robinson, Character Look Development Supervisor at Walt Disney Animation Studios, provided an inside look at the making of “Ralph Breaks the Internet” and other Disney animated films during a talk Tuesday at Ethington Theatre. As one student put it, “I’m just so inspired by them.”

In the shadow of Veterans Day, GCU’s Wind Ensemble will perform a hero-themed concert called “Summon the Heroes,” featuring works that celebrate heroes of all kinds, from those who served in World War II to riders of the Pony Express and 18th-century fur trappers and traders. The concert, to be presented at 7 p.m. Tuesday at First Southern Baptist Church of Phoenix, also will mark the debut of the Black Canyon Chamber Winds.

Graduates of the online program at Grand Canyon University always have inspirational stories to tell, and this year they were equally inspired by keynote speaker Gian-Paul Gonzalez’s talk — and by the celebration that is a GCU commencement ceremony.

If the graduates at fall commencement didn’t know about ninth-grade world history teacher and New York Giants chaplain Gian-Paul Gonzalez before they got to GCU Arena, they sure do now. Gonzalez’s keynote addresses at the five ceremonies were a hit every time, and in addition to all the standing ovations he also was descended upon by a sea of thankful listeners when he came out to watch the “tunnel walk” after the Saturday morning ceremony.

The Dance Fall Student Spotlight, scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday evenings in Thunderground, will feature “works inspired by loss, friendship, change and the celebration of life,” according to the Dance department. One of the 19 pieces will be dedicated to Taylor White, the GCU student who was killed while jogging across Camelback Road last spring.