Concordia's A Cappella Choir competed in Austria at the International Competition of Choral Singing July 10 - 12. The choir took fifth place in the first category of the competition, works representing a choir's national origin, and fourth place in the second category, works considered classical choral pieces.
Hosted at the Castle of Porcia in Spittal an der Drau, this was the 46th year of the competition. Each year only one choir from each country is selected. Concordia's A Cappella Choir also repesented the United States at the competition in 2005.
During the first leg of the tour, the choir performed in Spain and was warmly received. Nancy Middendorf, music tour coordinator, sent in these first-hand reports of the choir's performances:
Wednesday, July 1 - In the early afternoon we arrived in Cordoba and visted the Mesquite Catedral and ate lunch with a little time left for shopping in the old city. That night was our fourth concert in Villarrubia, a suburb of Cordoba. ... We performed in the Civic Center with about 100 people attending--it almost filled the space available for seating. A local resident gave an introduction in Spanish and then again in English. He was VERY excited for this concert! A local priest proudly put the button on before the concert and at times was pacing in the back from the pure joy of hearing our music! That is the most heart-rending part of these concerts so far--to see the spiritual impact the music has on its hearers. I hope we never grow used to that sight...that we are able to fully appreciate it even at the last performance! At the end of many encores, some of the people spoke about the great feeling they had inside from the concert and interaction with the students. I will mention again that these comments are filled with emotion and connect us to them forever in our hearts. Dr. Friedrich was invited to speak (not in Spanish, though!) afterwards and he shared greetings and blessings from Concordia Nebraska to our Spanish audience.
Tuesday, June 30 - We drove to Granada and spent a few hours at the Alhambra, a 14th century fortress built by the Moors in the southern region of Spain. That night Pastor Walter and Juan Carlos talked to the students in a hotel salon about the history of the Spanish Lutheran Church. It was very interesting to hear and included a personal testimony from Juan Carlos about his conversion to the Lutheran church and what it meant to him. Then he and Pastor Walter guided us on a city tour for almost three hours that evening, ending on the banks of the Gudalquivir River.
Sunday, June 28 - We were privileged to have Pastor Walter and Juan Carlos lead us in worship in a reserved hotel room. There were several other members attending as well as our choir and staff, and the sermon was given in Spanish and translated immediately into English. Several of us attending were asked to read portions of Scripture for the service. The students were very fulfilled by the worship service and very impressed with the eagerness of our fellow Spanish Lutheran church members to share this spiritual time with us.
On Sunday evening many of the students attended a bona fide bull fight in Sevilla and were thrilled to see the color and action of this truly Spanish pastime. They even got to see a few suspenseful moments of danger and tricky moves by the matadors and other participants. Also on Sunday and Monday evenings, many of our group attended Flamenco dancing in the area. Monday was a free day in the city of Sevilla and we experienced the beginning of the hot weather returning to the area.
Friday, June 26 – (Tonight’s concert) was in the same church as last night’s. Indeed, it was a packed audience, more than doubling attendance. The ‘standing ovation’ style of clapping began even before the first song was finished. The crowd anticipated an ending and began cheering and clapping while Kurt patiently waited with raised hands to finish the piece. It is difficult to describe the mood of the audience because I’ve never witnessed this at our concerts before. It’s like they’ve come to a concert they have been anticipating for a long time and are totally absorbed in the music and the students. We felt like God was shining through us and penetrating the audience with His Spirit!! Some said they didn’t understand the English words but were very moved by the spiritual presence of the Lord. . . . Pastor Gustavo, our Lutheran missionary contact here, had tears of joy and disbelief at the end of the concert as he was watching the finale from the rear of the church.
Thursday, June 25 – We had an attendance of 100, which is more than the IELE (Spanish Lutheran mission) has had sum total in all of Spain at any event they have ever held...but more than that, the people were very moved and almost all were saying they were returning tomorrow night and bringing guests. A lady who runs a major radio station in the area talked long afterward about how fantastic it was and that she was going to air news about tomorrow’s concert all day tomorrow on the radio station and to expect a packed room! Pastor Gustavo was extremely overwhelmed (I really don’t have a strong enough word to use here), and the missionaries are nearly out of their minds with anticipation for the coming concerts. . . .The crowd tonight clapped for every song as though it were a standing ovation! About 3/4 way through the concert, it was difficult for Kurt (Von Kampen) to begin a new piece because they wouldn’t stop clapping. . . . It was a tremendous experience for our choir members, to be sure, and they were also very moved by the audience response.
Tour schedule
Concerts in Spain
Thursday & Friday, June 25 & 26
Mostoles, Madrid, Spain, 9:30 p.m.
Saturday, June 27
Sevilla, Spain, 9 p.m.
Wednesday, July 1
Villarrubia, Cordoba, Spain, 9 p.m.
Saturday, July 4
San Sadurni, Barcelona, Spain, 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 5
San Sadurni, Barcelona, Spain, 5 p.m. worship service
International Competition Schedule
Friday, July 10
7:30 p.m. Competition in folksong category
Saturday, July 11
9:30 a.m. Competition in obligatory choral works category
7:30 p.m. Competition in choral works category
Sunday, July 12
7:30 p.m. Awarding of prizes and winners concert
University A Cappella Choir Members
Soprano I
Stephanie Christensen, Junior, Omaha, Neb.
Rachel Dermody, Senior, Parnell, Iowa
Megan Heidemann, Sophomore, Seward, Neb.
Katherine Krause, Junior, Rockford, Ill.
Melanie Maxson, Junior, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Holly Petersen, Freshman, Seward, Neb.
Soprano II
Lindsey Auten, Junior, Blue Hill, Neb.
Alisha Bohnert, Junior, Jackson, Mo.
Audrey Herrmann, Senior, Riverton, Wyo.
Krista Johnson, Sophomore, Seward, Neb.
Laura Seaman, Senior, Lake Mary, Fla.
Lisa Strom, Senior, Centennial, Colo.
Alto I
Sarah Andrews, Senior, St. Louis, Mo.
Sara Braatz, Sophomore, Milwaukee, Wis.
Julia Gremmer, Freshman, New Braunfels, Texas
Ann Stevenson, Senior, Peoria, Ill.
Katelyn Wollman, Junior, Kingsville, Md.
Alto II
Brianne Burrill, Sophomore, Loveland, Colo.
Kathleen Garner, Senior, Lansing, Kan.
Lindsey Himmelberg, Junior, Friend, Neb.
Rebecca Kaaz, Junior, Red Bud, Ill.
Johanna Miller, Senior, East Helena, Mont.
Jessica Werner, Senior, Hamburg, Minn.
Tenor I
Matthew Elmshauser, Senior, Littleton, Colo.
Eric Gross, Junior, O'Fallon, Mo.
Theron Jenkins Jr., Senior, Baltimore, Md.
James Jensen, Freshman, Denver, Colo.
Tenor II
Justin Bishop, Sophomore, Macomb, Mich.
Matthew Harwell, Senior, Blue Springs, Mo.
Daniel Jansen, Senior, Madison, Neb.
Jonathan McDaniel, Senior, Cypress, Calif.
Chase Reihmann, Sophomore, Marengo, Iowa
Bass I
Peter Baye, Senior, Green Bay, Wis.
Joshua Heirigs, Sophomore, Sioux Falls, S.D.
Brian Klinge, Senior, Dubuque, Iowa
Paul von Kampen, Sophomore, Seward, Neb.
Chad Wilshusen, Senior, Fremont, Neb.
Bass II
David Hasseldahl, Senior, Columbia, Mo.
Benjamin Heins, Sophomore, Higginsville, Mo.
Nick Lee, Sophomore, Seward, Neb.
Michael Palomaki, Sophomore, David City, Neb.
Andrew Schultz, Senior, Houston, Texas
Jeremy Staub, Senior, Woodburn, Ind.
Jason Swan, Senior, Lakewood, Colo.