The Concordia Choir

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Concordia Choir at St. Paul's Cathedral in London
The Concordia Choir at St. Paul's Cathedral in London

The Concordia Choir is a highly selective mixed choral ensemble of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota. The critically-acclaimed 75-voice choir is counted among the finest undergraduate a cappella choirs in the world.

The choir has had only three conductors since its founding in 1920. The choir rose in prominence during the long tenure of Paul J. Christiansen,[1] who conducted the choir for almost 50 years, from 1937-1986.[2] Since 1986, the choir has been conducted by René Clausen.[3]

In addition to frequent appearances on campus throughout the academic year, the choir tours annually throughout the United States every spring. It has performed in many of the country's finest musical venues, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center. The choir also regularly tours internationally.

Come to the Living Water, the 2007 Concordia Christmas Concert
Come to the Living Water, the 2007 Concordia Christmas Concert

The choir is a focal point of the annual Concordia College Christmas Concert, which is attended by approximately 20,000 people every year at four concerts in Moorhead and two concerts at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. This concert is heard and seen on many public radio[4] and television stations throughout the United States each year.

The choir has released numerous recordings, available through Concordia Recordings.[5] Many different genres are represented in the choir's discography. Critic David Vernier of Classics Today gave a perfect rating to the the choir's album of 20th century masterpieces, In the New Moon, saying, "Choral music fans are in for a real treat--and those who choose to pass on this exemplary program and its rarely heard masterpieces will just have to be satisfied with their aesthetically diminished lives..."[6]

[edit] External links

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Armstrong, Anton (1992), “The Christiansen Tradition in Sacred Choral Music”, Word & World 12 (3): 250-255, <http://www.luthersem.edu/word&world/Archives/12-3_Music/12-3_Armstrong.pdf> 
  2. ^ About the Program. American Public Media Retrieved on 12 March 2008
  3. ^ René Clausen Biography, <http://reneclausen.com/bioninfo/biography.html>. Retrieved on 12 March 2008 
  4. ^ Christmas at Concordia from American Public Media. American Public Media Retrieved on 12 March 2008
  5. ^ Concordia Recordings.
  6. ^ Classics Today Review of In the New Moon. ClassicsToday.com Retrieved on 12 March 2008
This article on a United States singing group is a stub. You can help by expanding it.