GORDON MOE, Manager, the Concordia Choir s2

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FOR MORE INFORMATION:

GORDON MOE, manager, The Concordia Choir

(218) 299-4886 /

AMY KELLY, Media Relations director

(218) 299-3642

Composer Of Grammy Winning Choral CD

To Conduct His Choir In Dana Point

The recording “Life and Breath: Choral Works by René Clausen” received the GRAMMY for Best Choral Performance recently. Now, Clausen will bring The Concordia Choir from Moorhead, Minn., to perform in Dana Point, Calif. at 7:00 p.m. Wednesday, March 8, 2017 at St. Edward the Confessor Catholic Church, 33926 Calle La Primavera Tickets are available online at ConcordiaTickets.com, by calling (800) 838-3006 or at the door.

The concert, part of the choir’s 15-day, 2017 tour of the Southwestern U.S., includes performances in the Denver metro,; Colorado Springs, Colo.; Santa Fe, and Las Cruces, N.M.; Tucson, Ariz.; Scottsdale, Ariz.; Sun City, Ariz.; Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.; Dana Point, Calif.; Palm Desert, Calif.; Thousand Oaks, Calif. and Moorhead, Minn.

Clausen, a world-renowned composer and conductor conducts the 72-voice a cappella choir and is the artistic director of the Emmy® winning Concordia Christmas Concerts seen by audiences of 18,000 each year and televised nationally through PBS (Public Broadcasting Service). Clausen has written more than 100 commissioned compositions for ensembles across the world including the St. Olaf Choir and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. On the 10th anniversary of the 9/11 national tragedy he conducted his composition “MEMORIAL” in Lincoln Center, New York City – a piece originally commissioned by the American Choral Director’s Association.

A performance and recording session with the Grammy Award-winning King’s Singers and multiple performances on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” radio show highlight the choir’s world-class quality.

Conductor Rene Clausen, celebrating his 31st year at Concordia, has programmed a varied set including a section titled, ‘How Can I Keep From Singing,' which includes works by Pete Seeger, Norman Luboff and Shawn Kirchener. Other composers include Hugo Distler, Heinrich Schutz, Krystof Penderecki, Alexandre Gretchaninoff, J.S. Bach and René Clausen. The final set includes a number of hymns, folk songs and spirituals.

Touring nationally and internationally since 1918, the choir has performed in nearly every major hall in the United States and continues to affirm its reputation as one of the nation’s finest a cappella choirs. Paul J. Christiansen, son of F. Melius Christiansen was the conductor of The Concordia Choir for 49 years.

Concordia College is a four-year liberal arts college of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America offering more than 60 majors, including 18 honors majors and 12 pre-professional programs.

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Editor’s note: Download photos at TheConcordiaChoir.org