Choir of Christ Chapel Tour

The Choir of Christ Chapel of Gustavus Adolphus College will embark on its annual tour April 16-19. The tour includes concert dates in three states, including Iowa and Wisconsin.

Directed by Patricia A. Kazarow, the Choir of Christ Chapel is a large mixed ensemble that draws its repertoire primarily from the fine sacred literature of the mid-18th to 21st centuries. In addition to singing for Holy Communion and daily celebrations, the Choir participates in Christmas in Christ Chapel and other major choral events on campus.

As part of its mission, the Choir of Christ Chapel annually tours with a program of the sacred music that has shaped the worship celebrations, festivals, and other special events that have occurred during the academic year. Past tour destinations have included San Antonio, St. Louis, Seattle, Denver, Kansas City, and Chicago.

Kazarow, a frequent choral clinician and adjudicator, holds a B.A. degree in music from Loretto Heights College in Denver, and M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from the University of Michigan. Kazarow has conducted the Choir of Christ Chapel since she joined the faculty at Gustavus in 1984. She also teaches courses such as “History of Western Music” and “Music of World Cultures,” as well as a First Term Seminar, “The Power of Music” at the College.

The schedule for this year’s Choir of Christ Chapel tour is as follows:

• Thursday, April 16 / Mount Olive Lutheran Church / Rochester, Minn. / 7 p.m.
• Friday, April 17 / Luther College / Decorah, Iowa / 10:30 a.m. (morning chapel worship)
• Friday, April 17 / First Lutheran Church / Cedar Rapids, Iowa / 7 p.m.
• Sunday, April 19 / Trinity Lutheran Church / Eau Claire, Wis. / 8:15 a.m. & 9:45 a.m.

The Choir of Christ Chapel will also perform a home concert at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 24 in Christ Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.

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 Choir of Christ Chapel and its upcoming tour, go online to gustavus.edu/finearts/Tour_Site.cfm or contact Lisa Westphal, manager of music tours at Gustavus, as 507-933-7163 or lwestph2@gustavus.edu.