The Augustana choirs are joining forces to take a new spin on the traditional winter concert.
The winter concert on Saturday will feature four Augustana choirs, Cantilena Augustana, Wennerberg Men’s Chorus, Augustana Kammarkör and the Jenny Lind Vocal Ensemble. Breaking tradition, there will be additional performances, according to senior Lucy Wrenn.
“The winners of the Webster Voice competition in the fall get to perform their solos,” said Wrenn, a member of the Augustana Choir Chamber Singers.
Naomi Castro, a member of the Jenny Lind Vocal Ensemble, said that Michael Zemek, associate professor of music, knows how to inspire the singers.
“He inspires us to have a connection with the music, but in our own individual way, so that we enjoy what we are singing when it comes time,” Castro said.
Zemek also serves as the conductor for Kammarkör, which is comprised of selected singers from both the Cantilena Augustana and Wennerberg Men’s Choir. Other conductors directing in the concert are Sonja Hurty, Cantilena Augustana, comprised of female first-year students, and Howard Eckdahl of Wennerberg Men’s Chorus, comprised of all male students. This year, the Augustana Choir will not be performing in the winter concert.
Some of the songs that will be performed are “The Spring Shall Bloom,” which was written for several different women’s choirs across the country and “Will the Circle Be Unbroken,” which is a gospel song, according to Castro.
There is no theme to this concert, unlike Christmas at Augustana, but this allows for a variety in songs, such as, “This Spring Shall Bloom.” Since it is a new song it will be considered a debut for the choir.
The concert will take place in Centennial Hall at 7 p.m.