DATE
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 Rochester
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 Rochester, N.Y. at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 25, 2016 at Asbury First United Methodist Church, 1050 East Ave. 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 2016 tour of the Northeast U.S., includes performances in Washington, D.C.; New York; Cambridge, Mass.; Camp Hill, Pa.; Cincinnati and Cleveland, Ohio; Louisville, Ky.; Indianapolis and Naperville, Ill.; Wisconsin, and Minnesota.
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 February 2010 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 30th year at Concordia, has programmed a set titled, 'The Music of Living,' which includes works by Bobby McFerrin, Dan Forrest, Aaron Copland, and Clausen himself. Bach, Mendelssohn, Dickau, Ives, and more are on the program as well as pieces such as, “Christ The Appletree,” by Stanford Scriven, and “Lord, Thou Hast Been Our Refuge,” by Ralph Vaughan Williams.
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