Concordia's University A Cappella Choir will travel to Iowa, Illinois, Indiana and Missouri for its annual tour April 8-12. The choir will conclude the tour with two local-area concerts on Sunday, April 19, at 3 p.m. at Christ Lutheran Church in Lincoln and at 7 p.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward.
"The A Cappella Choir has been preparing for this concert tour since August, and they are anxious to share their work,” said Concordia’s Professor of Music Dr. Kurt von Kampen. “This concert program spans centuries of great choral music and also features the work of modern composers. I am confident that audience members will be instructed, uplifted, entertained and maybe even surprised once or twice."
The internationally acclaimed choir will perform concerts at churches and schools in five Midwest cities on their five-day tour. Cities on the tour include Council Bluffs, Iowa; Downers Grove, Illinois; Fort Wayne, Indiana; St. Louis, Missouri; and Concordia, Missouri.
Choir members will perform during full-length concerts, high school assemblies and church worship services, in addition to spending time with a variety of host families throughout the tour.
Admission to concerts is free, and an offering will be taken at evening concerts.
The University A Cappella Choir is chosen by audition each year. It tours the U.S. annually and has also toured every four years internationally since 1961, performing in Europe, the Middle East, Asia and Mexico. It also competed in choral competitions in Australia and Austria while under the direction of von Kampen.
Von Kampen earned a bachelor’s degree in music from Concordia University, Nebraska, a master’s degree in choral conducting from Oakland University and a doctorate in choral music education from the University of Nebraska.
The tour schedule is as follows:
Wednesday, April 8
St. Paul’s Lutheran Church, Council Bluffs, Iowa
Concert at 7 p.m.
Thursday, April 9
Immanuel Lutheran Church, Downers Grove, Illinois
Concert at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, April 10
Concordia Theological Seminary, Fort Wayne, Indiana, Kramer Chapel
Concert at 7 p.m.
Saturday, April 11
Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Missouri, Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus
Concert at 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 12
St. Paul Lutheran Church, Concordia, Missouri
Concert at 5 p.m.
Sunday, April 19
Christ Lutheran Church, Lincoln, Nebraska
Concert at 3 p.m.
St. John Lutheran Church, Seward, Nebraska
Concert at 7 p.m.
Performers include (in alphabetical order by state, city and last name):
- Cameron Christiansen, sophomore, Palmer, Ala., Bass II
- Joseph Pierson, sophomore, Van Buren, Ark., Bass I
- Anna McDaniel, senior, Cypress, Calif., Alto I
- Amy McDaniel, senior, Cypress, Calif., Alto II
- Hope Taylor, sophomore, Foothill Ranch, Calif., Alto I
- Jacob Fink, sophomore, Long Beach, Calif., Bass I
- Rianne Gross, senior, Riverside, Calif., Soprano I
- Joshua Weishaar, senior, Salinas, Calif., Bass II
- Lindsay Sampson, sophomore, Tustin, Calif., Alto I
- Evan Root, senior, Naples, Fla., Tenor I
- Meredith Locke, freshman, Winter Haven, Fla., Soprano I
- Matthew Kortze, freshman, Rockford, Ill., Bass II
- Sarah Krause, sophomore, Rockford, Ill., Soprano I
- Alyssa Newton, senior, Rockford, Ill., Alto II
- Jennifer Reynolds, senior, Fort Wayne, Ind., Alto I
- Andrew Bloch, junior, Seymour, Ind., Tenor I
- Luke Wohlgemuth, senior, Alton, Iowa, Bass I
- Ian Moore, senior, Newton, Iowa, Bass I
- Emily Jensen, junior, Sioux City, Iowa, Soprano I
- Luke Kaldahl, senior, Spencer, Iowa, Tenor II
- Peter Klinge, senior, State Center, Iowa, Tenor II
- Zachary Klatt, senior, Shawnee Mission, Kan., Tenor II
- Helena Dieckhoff, senior, Wichita, Kan., Soprano II
- Michaela Gierke, senior, Billerica, Mass., Alto I
- Tyler Hoyt, freshman, Tyngsboro, Mass., Bass I
- Emily Sievert, sophomore, Frankenmuth, Mich., Soprano I
- Jessica Krome, senior, Fairmont, Minn., Soprano I
- Rebecca Trautman, senior, Moorhead, Minn., Alto II
- Rebekah Holten, senior, Nicollet, Minn., Soprano II
- Mason Koeritz, junior, Northrop, Minn., Bass I
- Benjamin Hayter, sophomore, Concordia, Mo., Tenor II
- Emily Kollbaum, sophomore, Concordia, Mo., Alto I
- Matthew Lehenbauer, sophomore, Lake Ozark, Mo., Bass II
- Karen Burgess, junior, Lee’s Summit, Mo., Soprano I
- Karl Rovey, senior, Springfield, Mo., Bass II
- Caleb Worral, freshman, Fargo, N.D., Bass II
- Jonathan Jahnke, senior, West Fargo, N.D., Tenor II
- Talitha Elbert, senior, Albuquerque, N.M., Soprano II
- Barbara Leising, senior, Arapahoe, Neb., Soprano II
- Mallory Parrish, freshman, Auburn, Neb., Soprano II
- Zach Hagenson, senior, Bellevue, Neb., Tenor I
- Brianna Rerucha, senior, Columbus, Neb., soprano II
- Naomi Ristvedt, senior, Crete, Neb., Alto I
- Zachary Visconti, senior, Fremont, Calif., Bass I
- Lauren Staehr, junior, Grand Island, Neb., Alto II
- Tapainga Kahle, freshman, Imperial, Neb., Soprano I
- Tanner Bohlender, sophomore, Lincoln, Neb., Tenor I
- Adam Meirose, junior, Lincoln, Neb., Bass I
- Braxton Parde, freshman, Lincoln, Neb., Bass I
- Clara Rich, junior, Lincoln, Neb., Alto I
- Erika Troester, junior, Lincoln, Neb., Alto I
- Luke Riley, senior, Lincoln, Neb., Bass I
- Stephanie Coley, junior, Mitchell, Neb., Alto II
- Shelby Stolze, senior, Norfolk, Neb., Alto II
- Ben Montgomery, senior, North Platte, Neb., Tenor II
- Ethan Kesar, senior, Omaha, Neb., Bass II
- Tyler Miles, sophomore, Omaha, Neb., Bass II
- Stephanie Van Blair, junior, Omaha, Neb., Alto II
- Laura Hedstrom, sophomore, Oxford, Neb., Alto II
- Arianne Greco, senior, Papillion, Neb., Soprano II
- Beth Ahlers, junior, Pierce, Neb., Alto II
- Hayli Frosheiser, freshman, Seward, Neb., Soprano II
- Molly Kenow, senior, Seward, Neb., Soprano II
- Adrienne Langewisch, senior, Seward, Neb., Alto I
- Elisha Scheiber, freshman, Seward, Neb., Alto I
- Alexander Scheiber, senior, Seward, Neb., Tenor II
- Lauren Wilcox, freshman, Seward, Neb., Soprano II
- Eric Souer, sophomore, Venetia, Pa., Tenor I
- Jonathan Heckmann, senior, Canton, S.D., Bass II
- Jordan Miller, senior, Tomball, Texas, Tenor I
- Erik Scherer, senior, Tomball, Texas, Tenor I
- Sarah Aumann, freshman, Racine, Wis., Alto II
