Campus Feature
“There was a real need in the community for
quality arts,” Tibbs said of creating the choir.
The Yuma Youth Choir is made up of members
from 6 years old to the early 20s and conducts
three international tours. It even performed
for a Mass in the Vatican in 2010.
While at the Vatican, Tibbs met the head of
its music department, Themistocles Capone.
She met with Capone again this spring while in
Rome and was invited to bring another group to
perform. Tibbs plans on taking the SHU mixed
ensemble to perform at the Vatican in the summer of 2012. The group will spend two weeks in
Italy, performing not only at the Vatican but also
at the Children’s Hospital of Rome.
On the SHU campus, she is equally as ambitious. Another highlight of the upcoming academic year for the mixed choir is performing a
piece of music written by Dale Warland, a world
famous choral conductor. Warland specifically
wrote the piece for the Siena choir. Titled “Sed
Amore (But by Love),” the piece has already
been performed at a December 2011 concert.
Tibbs said a key is encouraging more student
involvement in the music program. She has been
able to provide music scholarships already to use
as an extra incentive.
Currently, music is considered a minor, however,
she hopes to bring back the major some day. She
also hopes to connect to SHU’s thriving theater/
musical theater program.
She also intends to integrate the music program
into other areas on campus. She wrote a new
spirit (fight) song in conjunction with SHU’s
first football team this fall. Tibbs also wants
to be involved in alumni events and student recruitment effo