Free concert to feature selections from the American Songbook.
by Duane Bonifer
COLUMBIA, KY. (04/01/2026) The Lindsey Wilson University Singers will take the American Songbook on the road for a special April 17 concert.
The Lindsey Wilson Singers will perform at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on Friday, April 17, at Crestwood United Methodist Church, 7214 Kavanaugh Road, Crestwood.
The Singers’ performance is part of Crestwood UMC’s Ruth Ann Beard Concert Series. The ticketless performance is free and open to the public.
“This will be a wonderful opportunity for our students to perform to a new audience,” said Jennifer Bersaglia, Lindsey Wilson director of choral activities who leads the Lindsey Wilson Singers. “Our students are honored to be invited to perform in a concert series. It is a wonderful opportunity for them.”
The purpose of the Ruth Ann Beard Concert Series is to maximize the stewardship of Crestwood UMC’s sanctuary and its musical instruments, to engage the arts community and to honor the 65-year ministry of the church’s recently retired organist, Ruth Ann Beard. The concert series — which is supported by the Ruth Ann Beard Concert Fund — features local and regional talent of all sizes and genres.
At the April 17 concert, the 35-member Lindsey Wilson Singers will perform a mix of songs with jazz-infused harmonies from the American Songbook, which roughly refers to popular songs and jazz compositions from the 1920s-60s.
Some of the selections scheduled to be performed by the Lindsey Wilson choral group include Henry Mancini’s “Moon River,” Bart Howard’s “Fly Me to the Moon,” Lerner and Loewe’s “Almost Like Being in Love,” and Irving Berlin’s “What’ll I Do.”
The April 17 concert at Crestwood UMC will also serve as a kind of preview for the Lindsey Wilson Singers as they prepare for a spring tour. Following the university’s spring commencement on May 1-2, the Lindsey Wilson Singers will perform in Michigan, a tour that will include stops in Holland and at Mackinac Island.
Lindsey Wilson University Director of Choral Activities Jennifer Bersaglia, front row far left, will lead the Lindsey Wilson Singers when they perform at 7 p.m. ET/6 p.m. CT on Friday, April 17, at Crestwood United Methodist Church, 7214 Kavanaugh Road, Crestwood, Kentucky.
Lindsey Wilson University is a vibrant liberal arts university in Columbia, Kentucky. Founded in 1903 and affiliated with The United Methodist Church, the mission of Lindsey Wilson is to serve the educational needs of students by providing a living-learning environment within an atmosphere of active caring and Christian concern where every student, every day, learns and grows and feels like a real human being. Lindsey Wilson offers 30 undergraduate majors, five graduate programs and a doctoral program. The university’s 29 intercollegiate varsity athletic teams have won more than 120 team and individual national championships.
(Duane Bonifer – Lindsey Wilson University)