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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, April 21, 2008
BETHANY CHOIR CONCERT WILL SHOWCASE MUSIC FROM UPCOMING TOUR
LINDSBORG, Kan.—On April 27, the Bethany College Choir and Chamber Choir will showcase music they will perform this summer in Europe.
The community is invited to attend the concert, held at 3 p.m. in Presser Hall on the Bethany College campus. Freewill donations will be accepted to assist in defraying the students’ cost for the tour.
“The concert will include works chosen specifically for the choirs’ upcoming tour of Germany and Sweden: works by Johann Walter, friend of Martin Luther; works by Schütz and Mendelssohn, who lived and worked in eastern Germany; works Eskil Hemberg composed during his residency as a Pearson Professor at Bethany College; and “Time” by Kansas native Kirke Mechem,” said Associate Professor of Music Daniel Mahraun, who conducts the choirs.
Several Bethany faculty members also will perform with the choir, including organist Melody Turnquist-Steed and soprano Jodi Frisbie. Oboist Ellen Neufeld will perform, as well.
The 36 students who sing in the Bethany College Choir are selected by audition, and represent nearly all disciplines on campus. The Chamber Choir is a smaller group of selected choir members.
Founded in February 1935 by Dr. Hagbard Brase to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach, the choir has performed over 500 concerts in 29 states and four European countries, including its New York debut at Alice Tully Hall under Dr. Elmer Copley. This summer’s European tour will be its sixth.
During the school year, the choir is heard on campus in Jultide at Bethany and as part of the internationally-known Messiah Festival held each spring during Holy Week.
Mahraun, Elmer F. Pierson Distinguished Professor of Music, joined the faculty of Bethany College in the fall of 2000 as director of choral/vocal activities. Mahraun holds a B.M.E. from Wartburg College (a sister ELCA institution), master’s degrees in conducting and performance from the University of Northern Iowa, and a D.M.A. degree in the literature and performance of choral music from the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Bethany College, established by Swedish Lutheran immigrants in 1881, is a college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. The mission of Bethany College is to nurture and challenge individuals in their search for truth and meaning as they lead lives of faith, learning and service. Bethany College is on the Web at www.bethanylb.edu.
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