News Archives - 1998

The Augsburg College Choir will present their "Bon Voyage" Concert on Friday, May 22 at 7:30 pm at the Ted Mann Concert Hall, 2128 4th Street South, Minneapolis. The choir will perform their 1998 European Tour Concert before venturing on a two-week tour of Germany, Sweden and Norway. Tickets: $12/8 students and seniors. Box office: 624-2345.

The world-renowned Augsburg Choir brings together the musical traditions of North and South America and Europe in the repertoire for their 1998 northern European concert tour. Conducted by Peter Hendrickson, the sixty-voice choir will perform a variety of sacred and secular works, including American spirituals, South American folk music, and choral classics by Benjamin Britten, Johannes Brahms, and J.S. Bach. The concert will also include a selection of "music from the North;" works by Norwegian composer Egil Hovland, Norwegian-American composer Leland B. Sateren, and a Nordic trilogy of music from Germany, Sweden, and Norway, specially arranged by Hendrickson for the choir's tour, and reflecting the northern European heritage of Augsburg College's founders.

Augsburg College was founded in 1869 by Norwegian immigrants and is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Located in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the College's mission is to nurture future leaders in service to the world. Augsburg's Scandinavian connections extend from the heritage of its founders to the College's ongoing role as one of the sponsors and hosts of the annual Peace Prize forum, held in cooperation with the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo. In 1995, King Harald V of Norway visited Augsburg College and was presented with the Augsburg Medal by the Board of Regents. Augsburg is home to the Nordic Center, founded in 1983 by leaders from Minnesota's business, educational, professional, and ethnic communities to provide a continuing forum for exchange of information and ideas with Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden.

The Choir upholds Augsburg College's history of choral excellence dating back to the early part of this century. Members are chosen through competitive auditions, and the group has been praised for its versatility and musicality. The Choir performs frequently in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and around the United States. Their Advent Vespers services are attended by more than 10,000 people each year and heard by many thousands more on public radio broadcasts.

European tour highlights will include concerts in Leipzig and Rostock, Germany; Jönköping and Dala-Jörna, Sweden; and Kristiansand, Sandefjord, Ål, Bergen, and Tysvaer, Norway. The Augsburg Choir is being joined by percussionist and Augsburg colleague, Dr. Robert Stacke, who will accompany the group on marimba, trap set, and various hand percussion instruments.

Dr. Peter Hendrickson, Conductor of the Augsburg Choir, a graduate of Augsburg College, is Director of Choral Activities at Augsburg. A frequent guest conductor at festivals, Dr. Hendrickson serves as Artistic Director of the American Choir Festival in Leipzig, Germany. Hendrickson's conducting activities also include serving as Music Director for the Warland Symphonic Chorus, which performed with guest conductors such as Roger Norrington, Edo de Waart, and David Zinman. In addition to his conducting career, Hendrickson performs frequently on organ and harpsichord with the Minnesota Orchestra, and has been heard on US radio broadcasts with groups including the Empire Brass, the Dale Warland Singers, and James Sewell Ballet.

For more information, contact Carley Miller at 330-1279.