News Archives - 1998

Augsburg College will present its 19th annual festival worship services, Advent Vespers, on Friday, December 4 at 5 and 8 p.m., and Saturday, December 5 at 5 and 8 p.m. All four services will be at Central Lutheran Church in downtown Minneapolis, located at 333 South Twelfth Street. Advent Vespers celebrates the beginning of the Christmas season with traditional and contemporary hymns, anthems, and carols arranged for choral groups, soloists, and orchestra. Participants will include the Augsburg Choir, the Masterworks Chorale, the Riverside Singers of Augsburg, the Brass Choir and the Vespers Orchestra. Conductors include Nancy Grundahl, Sonja Thompson and Paul Ousley.

The theme for this year's services is "And on Earth, Peace" and the program will include seasonal readings, liturgical processionals, and the traditional congregational singing of "Silent Night" in the candlelit sanctuary of this magnificent church. The service will also include selections from "Amahl and the Night Visitors" by Gian-Carlo Menotti, an opera in one act, about a disabled shepherd boy Amahl, who offers his crutch as a present to the Christ child, is healed, and joins the Three Kings on their way to Bethlehem. Over 10,000 people participate in Advent Vespers each year. The Advent Vespers services will also be broadcast on Monday, December 21 at 8 p.m. on WCAL radio at 89.3 FM.

Admission to Advent Vespers is by seating envelopes, which must be ordered in advance from the Augsburg College Music Department. Order forms for seating envelopes may be requested by calling 612/330-1265.

For more information on Advent Vespers, call the Augsburg Music Department at 612/330-1265. For information on upcoming concerts and arts events at Augsburg College, call 612/330-1448.