The Choir of Christ Chapel and first-year Conductor Brandon Dean will be presenting concerts in Richfield, West St. Paul and Welch, Minnesota, April 27 – 29, on its annual spring concert tour before returning to present its home concert in Christ Chapel on May 5. Chaplain Rachel Larson and Christ Chapel Organist Chad Fothergill will assist the Choir on tour and for the Home Concert. While the concert features the Choir of Christ Chapel, the program for the event is more in the spirit of a hymn festival. The audience will be encouraged to participate in the liturgical and hymn-singing of the concert. This performance is free and open to the public.
For fifty years, Christ Chapel has been the center for faith exploration, lively intellectual discourse and a vivid musical express of the Gustavus campus. The Choir of Christ Chapel has been central to that musical tradition. In addition to singing for Holy Communion and Daily Celebrations, the Choir participates in Christmas in Christ Chapel and other major choral events on the campus. This year, the Choir of Christ Chapel will collaborate in a campus-wide event which features work by internationally-renowned choreographer Stephen Koplowitz in site-specific performances, May 2 & 5, in celebration of the College’s Sesquicentennial.
As noted, the concert program is in liturgical form but very much in the spirit of a traditional hymn festival. The Choir of Christ Chapel will be performing a variety of sacred works beginning with opening anthems by Christopher Tye, James Fritschel, George Frideric Handel and “O Nata Lux” by Guy Forbes. The congregation will be invited to sing a number of hymns including the American folk hymn, “What Wondrous Love,” Robert Buckley Farlee’s “O Blessed Spring,” William Roberts’ “God is Here,” and the children’s prayer by Ken Medema, “Lord, Listen to Your Children Praying.” Additional anthems by the Choir of Christ Chapel will be featured throughout the service including works by Olaf Christiansen, James MacMillan, and Abbie Betinis. The service concludes with a congregational hymn, “Christ Goes Before,” and the Choir’s benediction, “The Lord is My Shepherd,” composed by Allen Pote.
The Choir’s tour itinerary for 2012 follows:
Friday, April 27, 7:00 p.m., House of Prayer Lutheran Church, Richfield
Saturday, April 28, 7:00 p.m., Augustana Lutheran Church, W. St. Paul
Sunday, April 29, 10:30 a.m., Vasa Lutheran Church, Welch
Saturday, May 5, 4:00 p.m., Home Concert, Christ Chapel, Gustavus Adolphus College
Performances are free and open to the public. A free-will offering will be invited at the tour concerts.
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