The Gustavus Choir, the premier choral ensemble at Gustavus Adolphus College as well as one of the nation’s premier Lutheran college choirs, will perform in five different states in its upcoming tour April 21-25.
Now in its 78th 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.
Aune is in his 15th year as conductor of the Gustavus Choir. He also teaches classes in conducting and choral literature and has served as music director of the College’s annual Christmas in Christ Chapel program. He is also currently serving as the interim conductor of the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra during the 2009-10 academic year. He has an extensive resume conducting choral and orchestral masterworks and orchestral literature, including multiple performances of Handel’s Messiah, Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the Mozart Requiem, and Brahms’s German Requiem.
The schedule for this year’s tour, which will make stops in Minnesota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas, and Nebraska, is as follows:
- Wednesday, April 21 / Mount Olive Lutheran Church / Rochester, Minn. / 7 p.m.
- Thursday, April 22 / Gloria Dei Lutheran Church / Kansas City, Mo. / 7 p.m.
- Friday, April 23 / Presser Hall at Bethany College / Lindsborg, Kan. / 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, April 24 / St. Timothy’s Lutheran Church / Omaha, Neb. / 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, April 25 / St. John’s Lutheran Church / Des Moines, Iowa / 4 p.m.
The choir will also perform its home concert at 3 p.m. Saturday, May 1 in Christ Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public.
The tradition of concert touring by the music ensembles at Gustavus was established as early as 1878 for the musical, artistic, and educational benefit for the student members. Concert touring provides an opportunity to perform a concert program numerous times, fostering a deeper artistic understanding and expression of the music. It develops high levels of musical discipline and artistic integrity and allows the musicians to experience a variety of acoustic environments and widely diverse audience and ensemble dynamics.
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 of 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 Björling 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/touringschedule/ or contact Lisa Westphal, manager of music tours at Gustavus, at 507-933-7163 or lwestph2@gustavus.edu.
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