The Wittenberg Choir is continuing its traveling tradition this spring break as it embarks on its annual Spring Concert Tour, March 6-9. This year, the choir will be sharing their hard work and passion with Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and Washington, D.C.
Under the direction of Erik Zinter, director of choral activities and assistant professor of music at Wittenberg, the choir will hold a preview concert at 5 p.m. today, March 3, in Hiller Chapel, located on the second floor of Recitation Hall. Seating is limited, but audience members can expect the beautiful resonance that comes with such an intimate setting.
Following the preview concert, the choir’s home concert will be at Christ Episcopal Church in Springfield at 7 p.m. Monday, March 9.
This year’s program, titled “Life and Breath,” will feature a wide variety of music in five sets: Celebrating a Legacy, Shelter through the Storm, I Will Rise, Three American Folk Songs, and Hymns & Spirituals.
Music by René Clausen will be featured in the program – after 34 years of teaching, Clausen is retiring from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Clausen’s long and influential career as both a music educator and composer has made a profound impact in the world of choral music. The Wittenberg Choir will sing several of his most widely performed anthems.
In addition to Clausen’s literature, the choir will be performing a variety of pieces including “When the Earth Stands Still” by Don MacDonald, “Balleilakka,” arranged by Ethan Sperry, and “Grace Before Sleep” by Susan LaBarr. After the first half concludes with the uplifting “I Will Rise,” arranged by Craig Courtney and Linda Hasseler, the second half will follow with folk songs, hymns, and spirituals that everyone is sure to enjoy.
An especially notable stop on the choir’s tour will be United Lutheran Seminary in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, the alma mater of Ezra Keller, Wittenberg’s founder and first president.
The Wittenberg Choir is comprised of 32 singers, representing a variety of different departments across campus. The Wittenberg Choir 2020 Spring Tour is as follows, and all events are free and open to the public:
2020 Choir Tour:
- Friday, March 6: Concert at United Lutheran Seminary, Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, March 8: Concert at All Saints Lutheran Church, Bowie, Maryland, 4 p.m.
- Monday, March 9: Concert at Christ Episcopal Church, Springfield, Ohio, 7 p.m.
-By Faith Scully ’22, Office of University Communications
