Luther College Cathedral Choir to perform Homecoming Concert on April 10

The Luther College Cathedral Choir will present a concert at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 10, in the Main Hall of the Center for Faith and Life on the Luther campus. This concert is the culmination of Cathedral Choir’s 2019 Wisconsin Tour.

The performance is open to the public with no charge for admission.

The performance will include “Hear My Prayer, O Lord” by Henry Purcell, selections from “Gloria” by Francis Poulenc and “I Can Tell the World” by Moses Hogan, among many other choral works.

Cathedral’s 2019 program evokes faith experiences that stem from different emotional states as well as disparate cultural backgrounds. In the first set, Praise and Petition, the choir explores prayers representative of deep despair and certain hope. The second set, Adoration and Exaltation, juxtaposes two settings of the “Gloria” from the Mass Ordinary. The third set, Dreams, Memories and Disorientation, traces a narrative common to those of advanced age: recollections of childhood, dreams from vibrant lives well-lived and ruminations on waning bodies and minds. It includes three folk songs or dances from Islamic, Christian and Jewish traditions. The program ends with a selection of well-worn hymns and spirituals.

Cathedral Choir, conducted by Mark Potvin, Luther class of 2001, is one of five auditioned choirs at Luther College.  The ensemble is comprised of select singers drawn from the college’s sophomore class. Cathedral Choir participates actively in campus worship, in the Christmas at Luther concerts and at special events and concerts during the academic year.

Active in the creation of new music, Cathedral has premiered choral works by Ola Gjeilo, Mack Wilberg, Daniel Kallman, Sir David Willcocks, Gwyneth Walker, Ben Allaway, Daniel Pinkham, Eric Whitacre, Stephen Paulus, Amy Engelsdorfer, Sandra Peter “‹and Jennaya Robison.

The ensemble also takes great pride in reintroducing landmark, small-scale masterworks to contemporary “‹audiences and performing choral music from non-western traditions.

In keeping with Luther College’s mission, Cathedral Choir enjoys being of service to the wider community. In the past year, the ensemble has collaborated with over 500 high school students in workshops and shared performances, engaged in multiple service projects to benefit residents of Decorah and Winneshiek County and partnered with Minnesota Public Radio to produce Luther’s first “Bring the Sing” community singing event.

Luther is home to one of the largest collegiate music programs in the nation, with five choirs, three orchestras, three bands, two jazz bands and nearly 800 student musicians. Luther students participate in large ensembles, faculty-coached chamber groups, private lessons and master classes. More than 275 music majors study music theory, ear training, history, education, composition, jazz, church music and performance.