Kansas Wesleyan: Family Weekend Collage Concert

Bieber Hall Entrance

Kansas Wesleyan University’s Music Department opened its 2026-27 concert season Sept. 18. They had their annual Collage Concert, bringing students and families together during Family Weekend.The concert began at 7 p.m. in Sams Chapel and featured the Philharmonic Choir,
Wesleyan Chorale, String Orchestra, Wind Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble and Jazz Ensemble. The concert was the Music Department’s first performance of the academic year, with some students performing in their first collegiate concert.

The variety of ensembles gave the audience a chance to experience several different types of music throughout the evening. For families visiting campus, it was an opportunity it take a break from all other activities. “Fine arts events like the Collage Concert are important during Family Weekend because they bring families and people together for things other than sports,” said Merissa Bailey Rios, a 21-year-old senior and full-time KWU student.

Sams Chapel view from stage

Brenda Chelvan attended the concert to watch her son, Josh Chelvan, perform. Josh was involved in three of the evening’s groups: choir, chorale and jazz band. Brenda said she thought the groups performed well, even though some of the ensembles are smaller than they have been in the past. One of the biggest surprises for her was seeing Josh perform a solo during the choir performance, adding that she had no idea he was going to have a solo.

Live-streams available

The concert was also live-streamed through the KWU Student Media YouTube channel for people who could not attend in person. KWU Student Media encouraged families who could not make it to Sams Chapel to watch the available live-stream. Rios said providing a live-stream is important because it allows families who cannot attend to still feel connected to the university and see their students perform.

The Chelvans appreciated having the live-stream available online, noting that Josh’s grandmother was able to watch the performance and enjoyed being able to see him when she could not travel to Salina. They also liked that the recording could be watched again after the performance.

Concert praises

Chorale

The performance allowed Brenda to see how much Josh has developed since his first recital at Kansas Wesleyan. She remembered when Sams Chapel was still being worked on and said Josh’s voice barely filled the space where it was held. During Friday’s concert, she said she was amazed by how much his voice had grown and how well it filled the chapel. Brenda also had lots of praises for everyone that performed as she loves how far everyone has progressed. She also praised the new choir director for the work she put in with both the groups she was directing.

Josh’s father, Chris Chelvan, also attended the concert. Chris is a Kansas Wesleyan alumni who graduated in 1990 and owns Global Ink. He returned to campus for Family Weekend while also supporting his son. Chris said he was impressed with how prepared the performers were, especially considering the concert took place under a month into the school year. 

Improvement Ideas

While the concert received positive feedback, attendees also noticed the amount of “Dead space”  in between performances. This all contained moving music stands, drums and other equipment needed for the next performance. Chris suggested using student interviews containing why they the student chose to attend Kansas Wesleyan, what why are majoring in, and what they do on campus. Chris stated that this would be good information that everyone would love to hear. Other ideas Chris had was solo performances, videos, or maybe other information about upcoming events at KWU. 

Jazz Ensemble

He also said stronger promotion could bring more people to future concerts. Chris noted that his family did not receive an email about the concert until Thursday, this is one day before the performance. He said they were fortunate that they were in town, but would have been disappointed if they had made other plans before learning about the event.

The Collage Concert marked the beginning of another year of performances for the KWU Music Department and gave families attending Family Weekend an opportunity to see students perform and connect with campus through the arts. More concerts are scheduled throughout the fall semester.

Link to recorded live-stream

Where you an find more upcoming performances.

For other posts discussing Family weekend events check out the article by Alyssa Smith on the football game!