WARTBURG
CHOIR > HIGHLIGHTS
Performance
Highlights
Overview
During the past 20 years, the choir has performed in such prestigious
concert halls and events as the Avery Fisher Hall (Lincoln Center,
New York City); Carnegie Hall in New York City; Orchestra Hall in
Minneapolis; two national conventions of the American Choral Directors
Association (ACDA); a North Central ACDA Convention; and throughout
38 U.S. states and the District of Columbia. Outside the United
States, the choir has performed in 15 European countries, three
of the Canadian provinces, South Africa, and national and international
music gatherings.
The Past 30
Years
| 1980 |
First and only American choral group to win the International
Trophy at the Cork International Folk Dance and Choral Festival,
now known as the Fleischmann
International Trophy Competition in Cork, Ireland. The Wartburg
Choir still remains the only American group to win the competition. |
| 1987 |
Performance at the National
ACDA Convention in Minneapolis, Minn. |
| 1989 |
Performance
in Carnegie Hall, New York City |
| 1991 |
European tour included a formal
concert in Notre Dame in Paris. |
| 1992 |
Performance
at the North Central ACDA Convention in Des Moines |
| 1993 |
Performance in Carnegie Hall,
New York City |
| 1994 |
Choir invited
to perform at the International Choral Contest in Tolosa, Spain. |
| 1995 |
Wartburg Choir performance in
the Wartburg Castle is the first time a non-professional group
is allowed to perform. Due to the fall of the Berlin Wall the
the reunification of Germany, the choir was allowed to perform
in the Great Hall for the first time in its history. |
| 1998 |
Performance
at the National ACDA Convention in Minneapolis, Minn. |
| 1999 |
Iowa Public Television filmed
the 1999 concert at the Wartburg Castle, which was later broadcast
on public television stations throughout the United States.
|
| 2000 |
Invitation
for a special event celebrating musical revolutions from Bach
to Louis Armstrong. The choir and alumni choir were invited
by Bishop Younan of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Jordan
to sing in Manger Square in Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. However,
due to increased violence in the Middle East, the trip was cancelled. |
| 2002 |
Choir invited for an audience
with Pope John Paul II. However, due to scheduling conflicts
the concert did not occur. The concert in the Wartburg Castle
was recorded for German National Radio. |
| 2004 |
Concert tour
with opera star Simon Estes included performances in the John
F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.,
Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, Minn. and a return performance
at Avery Fisher Hall at New York City's Lincoln Center. |
| 2005 |
The choir was one of three
choirs invited to perform for the ICDA
Weston Noble Endowment Fund Concert in Ames. In addition,
the choir traveled to southern Europe and South Africa, performing
at the Simon Estes School in Capetown. The choir was also invited
for an audience with Pope John Paul II. Unfortunately, he passed
away about two weeks before the tour began. |
| 2006 |
The choir performed at Orchestra
Hall in Chicago as a part of its Midwest concert tour. Because
of the success of this concert, the choir performed with the
Czech National Orchestra in Prague in December over Christmas
break. |
Pomotional Recordings
and Premier Works
The Wartburg Choir
has also recorded for Belgian National Radio, Stuttgart Radio in
West Germany, Santa Barbara Publishing Company, and for a Shawnee
Press promotional album.
The choir has performed
premier works by such composers as Sigmund Schmidt, Matthew Armstrong
and Ben Allaway. One of these premier recordings for a Polish composer
has been played on Polish National Radio.
Photos: Courtesy
of the Wartburg Archives
|
