FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, May 14, 2008
BETHANY CHOIR WILL PERFORM IN GERMANY, SWEDEN THIS SUMMER
LINDSBORG, Kan.—From May 27 to June 9, students at Bethany College will share music with audiences in Europe.
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| Members of the Bethany College Choir will perform in Germany and Sweden this summer. |
The Bethany College Choir will give eight performances in Germany and Sweden, singing in churches and at historic locations. Their concert repertoire will include music from both sides of the Atlantic, chosen to emphasize the connections between the college and Europe. Bethany was founded by Swedish-Lutheran immigrants in 1881.
For example, the choir will perform works by the late Eskil Hemberg, a Swede, composed during his residency as a Pearson Professor at Bethany during the spring of 2000.
The choir also will perform works by Johann Walter, friend of Martin Luther; works by Schütz and Mendelssohn, who lived and worked in eastern Germany; and “Time” by Kansas native Kirke Mechem.
In Germany, the choir will perform at St. Andreas Church in Eisleben, where Luther preached his last sermon; St. Anne’s Church in Eisenach, founded by St. Elizabeth in 1226; and Kauffmanns (Merchant’s) Church in Erfurt, where Luther lived as a monk. In Sweden, they will sing at the Dom (Cathedral) in Kalmar; Dalarö Church, in the archipelago outside Stockholm; Sunnemo Church, where the founders of Lindsborg and Bethany College emigrated from; Ransäter / Munkfors, Lindsborg’s sister city; and Torsby.
Several Bethany faculty members also will perform with the choir and as soloists, including organist Melody Turnquist-Steed and soprano Jodi Frisbie, as well as oboist Ellen Neufeld, a Bethany alumna.
“This is truly an exciting opportunity for these singers. As students at a Lutheran college who sing the music of Bach every year, they’ll be able to put it all in context visiting and singing at sites of historic significance in the lives of Luther and Bach. They will gain so much– personally, culturally, intellectually–from exploring Germany and seeing the roots of Bethany and Lindsborg in Sweden,” said Associate Professor of Music Daniel Mahraun, who conducts the choir.
Bethany College President Edward F. Leonard III, along with his wife Sheila and son Quade, will attend several of the choir’s concerts. The family will be part of an accompanying Bethany College travel tour to Germany. The two-week trip will focus on sites of significance to Bethany’s Lutheran heritage in the former East Germany and Bavaria, including stops in Berlinand Wittenberg. For more information, visit www.bethanylb.edu/germany.
Founded in February 1935 by Dr. Hagbard Brase to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the birth of Johann Sebastian Bach, the Bethany College Choir has performed more than 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.
The 36 students who sing in the Bethany College Choir are selected by audition, and represent nearly all disciplines on campus.
Members of the choir who will travel to Europe this summer, listed by their hometown, are:
Albuquerque, N.M.: Heather O’Dell, a senior elementary education major
Brighton, Colo.: Molly Mumm, a sophomore music education and voice performance major
Conway Springs, Kan.: Daniel Spears, a sophomore trumpet performance major
Cushing, Okla.: John Carson, a junior sacred music major
Delphos, Kan.: Ann Labes, a junior music education major
Great Bend, Kan.: Zach Blevins, a senior business major
Hoisington, Kan.: Shane Reif, a junior communications major
Hunter, Kan.: Mary Seehafer, a sophomore elementary education major
Kiowa, Kan.: Rebecca Rose, a sophomore English major
Lawrence, Kan.: Ashley Coffman, a senior music education and voice performance major
Lindsborg, Kan.: Thomas DeWitt, a sophomore chemistry education major; Sean Boller, a sophomore music education major; Chock Hefner, a freshman business major; Jordan Smith, a sophomore music education major; Joshua Lindgren, a senior organ performance major; Benjamin Mordecai, a sophomore music education and piano performance major
Littleton, Colo.: Aaron Kuenn, a sophomore engineering major
Longmont, Colo.: Lindsay Grivetti, a freshman biology major
Luray, Kan.: Sara Bland, a senior music education major
Marquette, Kan.: Hillary Klaassen, a senior biology major; Leslie Klaassen, a junior history / political science major; Michael Klaassen, a freshman engineering major; Noah Lindfors, a senior elementary and special education major
Monument, Colo.: Marianne Mooney, a sophomore education major
Norcatur, Kan.: Destry Jackson, a sophomore history / political science major
Pawnee Rock, Kan.: Nicolette Unruh, a sophomore communications major
Quinter, Kan.: Jay Corwin, a senior biology and chemistry major
Russell, Kan.: Britney Walter, a junior music education major
Weskan, Kan.: Stacey Horn, a senior elementary and special education major
Willow Springs, Mo.: Ben Helmers, a junior biology and chemistry major
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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