I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes Psalm 121

Hope College's Sesquicentennial Celebration featured “I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes (Psalm 121),” composed for Hope by highly respected choral conductor Robert Shafer through a commission from Dr. Thelma (Tommye) Leenhouts, a 1966 Hope graduate. Written for choir and organ, it was performed by the college’s Chapel Choir in the Concert Hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts on Saturday, April 30, 2016.

Shafer’s career as a choral conductor, composer, educator and church musician in the Washington, D.C., area spans nearly 50 years. He has been artistic director of the City Choir of Washington since its launch in 2007, and was previously music director of the Washington Chorus for more than 35 years. Among other acclaim, he won the Best Choral Performance Grammy in 2000 for a live concert recording of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem.