The annual Family Weekend at Gustavus is a favorite of the extended Gustavus community as the fall colors bring hundreds of family and friends to the campus for a busy three days. Sunday, October 11, is a special day for the College and the students in the Department of Music. This year nine of the department’s choral and instrumental ensembles – including over 500 student musicians – will participate in events throughout the day. While it is hoped that everyone will attend Sunday’s afternoon concert, it’s understood that many can not. They can, however, watch the concert live online at: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/gacadmin/
Sunday’s schedule will open with Morning Worship at 10:30 a.m. in Christ Chapel. Two ensembles, the Lucia Singers, with Conductor Brandon Dean and the Chapel Ringers, led by Christ Chapel Organist Chad Winterfeldt, will participate in that worship that is open to all members of the Gustavus community.
At 11:00 a.m., the jazz ensembles will begin their performance in the Family Weekend Jazz Brunch in the Evelyn Young Dining Room. Tickets are not needed in advance for the a la carte brunch. Led by Director John Engebretson, the Adolphus Jazz Ensemble will open the performance of big band, swing and jazz standards. The Gustavus Jazz Lab Band and director of jazz studies Dave Stamps will follow with a program the band is developing for its January 2016 international concert tour in Greece and Macedonia.
At 2:00 p.m, the Family Music Showcase will be presented in Christ Chapel. Conductor Gregory Aune and the Gustavus Choir will open Sunday’s concert with works by Knut Nysted, Karl Jenkins and the Craig Carnahan arrangement of “Hark! I Hear the Harps Eternal.” The Choir will be followed by the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra and Conductor Ruth Lin in a performance of Joaquin Turina’s Danzas fantásticas, Op. 22. Karrin Meffert-Nelson and the Vasa Wind Orchestra will continue Sunday’s concert with Robert Jager’s “Esprit de Corps” and Percy Grainger’s “Spoon River.” The 125-voice Choir of Christ Chapel, led by Conductor Brandon Dean, will then move to the stage to perform “Heilig” from Felix Mendelssohn’s Die Deutsche Liturgie, “Charms” from Spells of Herrick by Andrew Steffen and John D. Miller’s arrangement of the American folk song “John Henry.” Concluding Sunday’s Family Weekend Concert will be the Gustavus Wind Orchestra under the direction of Conductor James Patrick Miller. The GWO will open with Eric Whitacre’s “October” and end the concert with Jayce Ogren’s “Symphonies of Gaia.”
All of the Family Weekend activities on Sunday, October 11 are open to the public. Tickets are not required for the concerts and brunch can be purchased at check-out.
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