While many students will be packing up to go home as Spring term ends, Augustana Choir members will be packing up to go on their next adventure.
The Augustana Choir will be touring in Europe over the summer for a total of 20 days. Lauren Reid, manager of performance tours and arts promotion, is in charge of the tour.
“The choir will be able to take advantage of walking tours and independent exploration in Detmold and Lübeck, Germany, Copenhagen, Denmark, and Karlstad, Stockholm and Uppsala in Sweden,” she said. “A few unique activities include a visit to the Louisiana Museum of Art in Copenhagen, a tour of Varberg Fortress, a visit to artist Carl Larsson’s home in, and the possibility of a reception with Governor Barbro Holmberg in Gävle, the city where Augustana’s founders first set sail.”
As usual, the choir will be playing a variety of different pieces.
“We’re doing sets of music… One set is on love, so we’re doing a piece called ‘A Boy and a Girl’ by Eric Whitacre, a Brazilian piece that’s about love,” Reid explained. “Our second set on that are night pieces. There are three Swedish pieces and one German piece, and they’re all about night s…Then, our last set is going to be on American gospel and folk music . So, we’re doing one gospel piece called ‘Great God All Mighty’ by Stacey Gibbs, and a number of American traditional tunes like ‘Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal’ by Alice parker and ‘Shenandoah.’”
“We are performing a large variety of choral music, ranging from traditional settings of Swedish folk songs, to modern compositions by Eric Whitacre. The large range of different music creates a dynamic and engaging program,” said sophomore Steven Mondloch.
The members of the top ensemble share their enthusiasm for not only the program, but for this trip in whole.
“I just like the fact that’s it’s a broad mix of pieces so some of them are more slow and relax and some of them are faster… it’s just fun to go through like the flow of the entire set of music because each piece has its own little feeling to it. So, it’s kind of cool to see them next to each other and to see the whole flow of the entire concert,” said senior Jens Hurty.
“Having never left the country before, I am very much looking forward to experiencing Europe through a medium, which I am already comfortable with in music. I am hoping to experience a totally new culture and take in all the Sweden I can handle,” said Mondloch.
The choir will perform a pre-tour concert on May 9t at 8 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church in Davenport.