A weekend of music is waiting at Wartburg College as many of the school’s vocal and instrumental ensembles offer their final home concert of the academic year.
Festeburg, a low-voices student-led ensemble, will kick off the weekend at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, with a concert in the Wartburg Chapel.
Saturday’s lineup includes Castle Singers and Kammerstreicher at 2 p.m. in the Wartburg Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public; however a freewill offering will be taken to support the two ensembles’ European tour through Germany, Czechia, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and England. The Wartburg Community Symphony is set to perform its final concert of the season at 7 p.m. in Neumann Auditorium. Tickets, which are available at the door, are $20 for adults and free for youth 18 and younger and Wartburg College students.
The weekend will conclude with free concerts by the Wartburg Wind Ensemble at 2 p.m. in Neumann Auditorium, the Wartburg Choir at 4 p.m. in the Wartburg Chapel and Knightliters jazz ensemble at 7 in McCaskey Lyceum in the Saemann Student Center.
The Castle Singers, under the direction of Nicki Toliver, will present a program of Americana literature that includes repertoire by composers Rene Clausen, F. Melius Christiansen, Duke Ellington, Stacey V. Gibbs, Craig Hella Johnson and more. The program also features music by a few British composers in honor of the Singers’ tour stop in London.
Kammerstreicher’s set will include the world premiere of “Song Without Words,” by Midwest composer Krista Connelly-Vásquez in honor of the ensemble’s 10-year anniversary. Other selections will include “Choreography for Strings” by Norman Dello Joio, George Gershwin’s “Lullaby for Strings” and Lauren Spavelko’s “Grit.” The ensemble is conducted by Rebecca Nederhiser.
The ensembles will combine for Ola Gjeilo’s “Sunrise Mass,” and the concert will conclude with the combined ensembles’ signature piece, “Shout to the Lord.”
Under the direction of Lia Snead, assistant professor of music, the Wind Ensemble will present music from a diverse representation of composers, including new works by Kevin Day and band classics from Gustav Holst. The Wartburg Choir, under the direction of Lee Nelson, will premiere three works at this concert and on this year’s tour through Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska during the weeklong semester break at the end of April.
“Requiem Aeternam” was a gift from the composer, Reena Esmail, to Wartburg College’s music tours, camps and promotions manager, Sarah Bouska, in memory of her husband Duane Bouska. “The Church’s One Foundation” was arranged by Tom Trenney and commissioned by 1978 Wartburg graduate Greg Diercks and Jay Lenn in memory of Diercks’ mother. “O Salutaris Hostia” is a new work by Filipino composer Ily Matthew Maniano, one of the most sought-after composers in the Philippines today.
Festeburg, a low-voices student-led ensemble, will kick off the weekend at 7:30 p.m. Friday, April 12, with a concert in the Wartburg Chapel.
Saturday’s lineup includes Castle Singers and Kammerstreicher at 2 p.m. in the Wartburg Chapel. The concert is free and open to the public; however a freewill offering will be taken to support the two ensembles’ European tour through Germany, Czechia, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia and England. The Wartburg Community Symphony is set to perform its final concert of the season at 7 p.m. in Neumann Auditorium. Tickets, which are available at the door, are $20 for adults and free for youth 18 and younger and Wartburg College students.
The weekend will conclude with free concerts by the Wartburg Wind Ensemble at 2 p.m. in Neumann Auditorium, the Wartburg Choir at 4 p.m. in the Wartburg Chapel and Knightliters jazz ensemble at 7 in McCaskey Lyceum in the Saemann Student Center.
The Castle Singers, under the direction of Nicki Toliver, will present a program of Americana literature that includes repertoire by composers Rene Clausen, F. Melius Christiansen, Duke Ellington, Stacey V. Gibbs, Craig Hella Johnson and more. The program also features music by a few British composers in honor of the Singers’ tour stop in London.
Kammerstreicher’s set will include the world premiere of “Song Without Words,” by Midwest composer Krista Connelly-Vásquez in honor of the ensemble’s 10-year anniversary. Other selections will include “Choreography for Strings” by Norman Dello Joio, George Gershwin’s “Lullaby for Strings” and Lauren Spavelko’s “Grit.” The ensemble is conducted by Rebecca Nederhiser.
The ensembles will combine for Ola Gjeilo’s “Sunrise Mass,” and the concert will conclude with the combined ensembles’ signature piece, “Shout to the Lord.”
Under the direction of Lia Snead, assistant professor of music, the Wind Ensemble will present music from a diverse representation of composers, including new works by Kevin Day and band classics from Gustav Holst. The Wartburg Choir, under the direction of Lee Nelson, will premiere three works at this concert and on this year’s tour through Missouri, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska during the weeklong semester break at the end of April.
“Requiem Aeternam” was a gift from the composer, Reena Esmail, to Wartburg College’s music tours, camps and promotions manager, Sarah Bouska, in memory of her husband Duane Bouska. “The Church’s One Foundation” was arranged by Tom Trenney and commissioned by 1978 Wartburg graduate Greg Diercks and Jay Lenn in memory of Diercks’ mother. “O Salutaris Hostia” is a new work by Filipino composer Ily Matthew Maniano, one of the most sought-after composers in the Philippines today.