Concordia University Ann Arbor's annual Music Festival for Lutheran Schools on Tuesday, February 26 will highlight and sharpen the talents of middle school musicians from around the state and northern Ohio.
Ensembles will perform and receive ratings and feedback from knowledgeable clinicians during the 8-3 p.m. event. The Lutheran Schools Music Committee is again coordinating the festival that will take place at several locations around campus, 4090 Geddes Road. Handbell performances will be judged in the Kreft Center Art Gallery, with choral adjudication taking place in The Chapel of the Holy Trinity. The university’s state-of-the-art black box theater will be the site for band performances.
“This marks a day to celebrate what God gives to us through the gift of music,” said Dr. Brian Altevogt, director of choirs. “Middle school is often an important beginning place for students to learn and experience what music ensemble means, both in terms of the rewards of community music making and the discipline of receiving a piece of music and honing it to the degree that it becomes a work of art,” Altevogt noted.
Among the middle schools participating this year are: St. Paul Lutheran, Ann Arbor; St. Michael Lutheran, Wayne; Our Savior Lutheran, Lansing; St. Paul Lutheran, Royal Oak; Shepherd of the Lakes Lutheran, Brighton; Trinity Lutheran, Jackson; St. John Lutheran, Fraser; Immanuel Lutheran, Dearborn; Our Savior Lutheran, Hartland, and Trinity Lutheran, Toledo, Ohio.
Other upcoming music events this semester include:
Honor Band Day, Friday, March 9 and Saturday, March 10
Concordia’s Wind Ensemble, directed by Dr. William Perrine, hosts this annual event that allows talented high school musicians to perform side by side with college students. Students will attend classes before presenting a short concert Saturday at 4 p.m. The registration fee is $25, including meals, optional housing in a residence hall and a T-shirt.
Concordia Vespers, Sunday, March 10, Chapel of The Holy Trinity, 5-6:30 p.m.
Concordia’s Chamber Choir, Arborsong, along with The Boychoir of Ann Arbor, will present J.S. Bach’s motet, Jesu, meine Freude. Altevogt and John Boonenberg, CUAA’s director of church music and Music Director of The Boychoir, will lead their ensembles in this biennial series based on the historical liturgy from the office of Vespers. Earlier that day, Arborsong will perform during morning worship services at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Lansing. On Saturday, April 6, Arborsong will sing at the 5 p.m. service at St. Augustine Lutheran Church in Troy, Michigan.
Concordia Choirs Concert, Wednesday, March 27, Chapel of The Holy Trinity, 7:30-9 p.m.
The Concordia Choir, Chamber Choir, Women’s Chorale and Men’s Chorus combine for a concert in conjunction with their Christmas recording project. It will include works for choral and harp by Britten, Ferko and Heitzig, along with other selections by Bach, Sandstrom, Carolyn Jennings and Tallis.
For more details on the Music Festival for Lutheran Schools, please contact Judy Wuckert at judy.wuckert@cuaa.edu. or visit www.cuaa.edu.
—
If this story has inspired you, why not explore how you can help further Concordia's mission through giving.