02/21/13 The Valparaiso University Chorale, one of the top Lutheran choirs in the United States, will be coming to Donaldson on Saturday Feb 23.
The Chorale will perform a variety of sacred and secular music, featuring Frank Ticheli’s ethereal “There Will Be Rest,” Daniel Gawthrop’s robust “Sing a Mighty Song,” and classical works from Schütz and Bach in celebration of the Chorale’s upcoming performance of Mass in B Minor at Valparaiso University.
The concert will take place at the Ancilla Domini Chapel, PHJC Ministry Center, 9601 Union Road, in Donaldson, IN at 7:00pm.
The 48-voice ensemble upholds the highest standards of choral art through performance of the greatest choral literature of all eras and sustains its mission of excellence through annual tours, recording and performing. The Chorale has performed at the St. Thomas Church in Leipzig on four separate occasions and is the only American collegiate choir to have such an intimate bond with the church of J.S. Bach.
The Thüringer Allgemeine reviewed the Chorale’s concert program in 2007: “a first-class ensemble…such a high degree of tonal unity, such sure intonation in the most complex and dissonant groups of chords, and such a precise feeling for dynamic shadings.” In 2010, the Schwartzwälder Bote exclaimed, “Heavenly and virtuosic performance enthused the audience,” and the Schwäbisches Tagblatt called the performance, “masterful.”
Dr. Christopher M. Cock, director of the Chorale, holds the Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg chair of Lutheran music at VU. Cock is a distinguished lyric tenor and often performs the role of Bach Evangelist. He has performed at national and international venues including Carnegie Hall, as well as with the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He is the director of the Bach Institute at Valparaiso University.
