At this year’s commencement ceremony, the Augustana Choir and Symphonic Band concerts will be limited due to administrative concerns about timing. Neither the band nor the choir will be performing concert pieces on May 24, despite an over-hundred-year-long tradition of doing so.
The choir will still sing the college’s official song, “By the Mighty Mississippi”, at the beginning of the ceremony; however, only senior members are scheduled to perform at this time. The symphonic band will be playing the processional, recessional and pre-commencement music.
Director of Choral Activities Jon Hurty said he did not initiate or welcome these changes. Hurty is the conductor of the Augustana Choir, Augustana Chamber Singers, Augustana Academic Chorus and the Augustana Oratorio Society.
“We were informed by the administration that this was the plan and given the option of making the change this year or next year,” Hurty said. “I had no discussion with administrative leadership about whether or not it would happen. We realized there was no other option, so we are working to find the best moving forward.”
Hurty said it is possible that more members of the choir may end up singing, as the decision on who will be performing is not set in stone.
In response to the changes, senior choir member Julie Tarling and other members of the music programs banded together and created a petition titled “Restore the Tradition of the Augustana Choir and Symphonic Band Performances at Commencement.” Last year, Tarling said the choir’s performance totaled roughly six minutes.
“We have had people write in as far as Vienna, Austria. We had an alumni from 1976 write in from Austria,” Tarling said. “We had an alumni from 2023 write in from Colorado. It’s not Rock Island talk anymore, it’s definitely been a huge discussion amongst the alumni on Facebook.”
The petition currently lists over 1,000 signatures and four supporting comments and was published at the beginning of this month.
President Andrea Talentino has invited the choir to perform again at the Blessing of the Graduates on Saturday, May 24, at 10 a.m. The Blessing of the Graduates is a baccalaureate service where students are invited to wear their caps and gowns and sit with their families.
The graduation will follow at the Vibrant Arena at the MARK later that afternoon at 2 p.m. Talentino said she is proud of the student musicians and looks forward to celebrating their contributions.
“The Augustana Band will continue to perform at Commencement, and our graduating choir seniors will carry forward the beloved tradition of singing ‘By the Mighty Mississippi,’” Talentino said. “In addition, we are expanding the full choir’s musical presence at the Blessing of the Graduates earlier that day, where students from across our choral ensembles will offer performances in a reflective setting. We are also working to make the Blessing of the Graduates a more central part of Commencement starting in 2026, and we plan to showcase choir as part of that.”
Augustana takes pride in having a close-knit music program, and being able to perform a concert piece together one last time is important to many members. Augustana Alumni, from the graduating class of ‘91, Laura Waver Hughes explains this moment to be a special one.
“Getting to sing at graduation, getting to sing a song that we selected in addition to The Mighty Mississippi, that was the last time I got to sing with that exact group of people who were my family when I was at Augustana,” Hughes said. “There are members of that choir that that’s the last time I ever got to sing with them. So it’s a very, very special memory.”