The 2008-09 Gustavus Choir
The Gustavus Choir, the premier choral ensemble at Gustavus Adolphus College as well as one of the nation’s premier Lutheran college choirs, will embark on a nine-day, eight-concert tour on the West Coast March 21-28.
Now in its 77th year, the Gustavus Choir is one of six choirs in an active and highly integrated choral program at the College. Under the leadership of Dr. Gregory Aune, the choir has toured extensively throughout the continental United States, and internationally in South Africa, Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The choir has also performed for the King and Queen of Sweden, premiered commissioned works by noteworthy international and American composers, and been featured at the prestigious American Choral Directors Association’s North Central Convention.
The schedule for this year’s Gustavus Choir tour, which will make stops in Washington, Oregon, and California, is as follows:
- Saturday, March 21 / Trinity Lutheran Church / Whidbey Island, Wash. / 7 p.m.
- Sunday, March 22 / Trinity Lutheran Church / Whidbey Island, Wash. / 9:30 a.m.
- Sunday, March 22 / Trinity Lutheran Church / Tacoma, Wash. / 4 p.m.
- Monday, March 23 / Stadium High School / Tacoma, Wash. / 1 p.m.
- Monday, March 23 / Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd / Olympia, Wash. / 7 p.m.
- Tuesday, March 24 / Elsinore Theatre / Salem, Ore. / 7:30 p.m.
- Wednesday, March 25 / Faith Lutheran Church / Chico, Calif. / 7 p.m.
- Friday, March 27 / Hope Lutheran Church / Fresno, Calif. / 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, March 28 / Samuelson Chapel, California Lutheran University / Thousand Oaks, Calif. / 7 p.m.
In addition to the West Coast tour, the choir will also perform at Sauk Rapids-Rice High School in Sauk Rapids, Minn., at 7 p.m. Saturday, March 14 and at Trinity Lutheran Church in Sauk Rapids at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, March 15. The choir’s home concert will take place at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 3 at Christ Chapel.
The importance of music in the Gustavus undergraduate curriculum has long been recognized. Nearly half of its more than 2,500 students register for courses in theory, history, appreciation, pedagogy, and performance of music each year and many are members in some 30 performing ensembles.
The College’s Department of Music is housed in the Schaefer Fine Arts Center. The center’s music wing features the 475-seat Jussi Bjorling Recital Hall; a fully computerized music lab for students in music theory, composing/arranging, and class piano; class and rehearsal rooms; 30 private practice rooms; and the Lund Music Library, which contains more than 20,000 music recordings, 45,000 scores and anthologies, a music reference section, and listening equipment.
For more information about the Gustavus Choir and its upcoming tour, go online to gustavus.edu/finearts/Tour_Site.cfm or contact Lisa Westphal, manager of music tours at Gustavus, at 507-933-7163 or lwestph2@gustavus.edu.
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Media Contact: Director of Media Relations and Internal Communication Luc Hatlestad
luch@gustavus.edu
507-933-7510