Timmons Chapel Concerts set for Dec. 3 & 5
Monday, December 1, 2014 2:00 AM
News
Pittsburg, KS
One of Pittsburg State University’s most beloved traditions, the annual Timmons Chapel Christmas Concerts, will continue on Dec. 3 & 5. The annual performances by the PSU Department of Music have been a holiday gift to the community for most of the past half century.
The concerts are scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 3, and Friday, Dec. 5. The concerts are free and open to the public.
David Hurley, professor of music history and oboe at PSU, directs the concerts. He said this year's program is the blend of classical music and traditional favorites with more variety than ever.
“There’s something for everyone,” Hurley said. “The program ranges from ‘It’s Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas,’ to a Wagner overture. The concert will feature, among other things, string ensembles, hand bells, and wind and brass groups.”
From their inception, the Timmons Chapel Christmas Concerts have been a showcase for Timmons Chapel, a Gothic-style, all-faiths chapel completed in 1966 as a gift to the university from longtime benefactor Beth Spiva Timmons. The annual Christmas Concerts were begun in 1968 and for many years, Timmons personally provided the greens and supervised the simple holiday decoration that have become a part of the holiday tradition at PSU.
As always, there is no admission fee for the concerts, but seating in the chapel is limited. For more information, please contact the PSU Department of Music at 620-235-4466.
About Timmons Chapel:
Designed by architect Richard N. Wakefield, the English gothic chapel's Ashler-pattern stone walls are 18 inches thick. The Vermont slate roof weighs 80,000 pounds.
The chapel's bronze bells were cast in Asten, Holland. The chapel's five-rank Wicks pipe organ has 341 pipes that are concealed in the organ loft.
Since its construction, the chapel has been the site for thousands of weddings, which was one of the primary desires of the donor. That purpose for the building is reflected in the design throughout. The chapel's altar, for example, is fashioned of nine wedding rings. The relief design on the chapel's bronze bells depicts the wedding of Canaan.
About Beth Spiva Timmons:
Born in Galena, Kan., in 1901, Beth Spiva Timmons was a long-time patron and benefactor of Pittsburg State University. One of her first acts of generosity to the university was her establishment of the Spiva Emergency Loan Fund for students in 1951. That fund eventually became the Spiva Scholarship Fund, one of the first scholarship funds established as part of the PSU Endowment Association. In 1985, she established the Timmons Trust Fund. Together, the two funds provide some of the largest scholarships awarded by the university. Beth Spiva Timmons died in June of 1985. In 1988, she was honored posthumously with the PSU Presidential Award of Merit.