Pacific Lutheran University Choir

04/17/2024

The PLU Choir of the West ends our 2023-2024 performance season next week, with two performances of Johannes Brahms' sublime Ein Deutsches Requiem, with the piano transcription for two pianist penned by the composer. We're joined by the exceptional Amy Boers and Oksana Ejokina at the piano.

Performances are Sunday, April 21, 7:30pm, at Blessed Sacrament Church in Seattle, and Tuesday, April 23, 7:30pm, in Lagerquist Concert Hall at Pacific Lutheran University.

The Tuesday performance will be livestreamed for those who cannot experience it in person—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oDtK35vyj9Q

I am so proud of the students work, growth, and artistry this year. I hope you can join us to hear this exquisite music!

02/21/2024

A reminder that the Choir of the West Tour Homecoming Concert, directed by Dr. Brian Galante, has been rescheduled for tomorrow, Thursday, February 22 at 7:30pm in Lagerquist Concert Hall.

The program is titled "The Gift to Sing", taken from Damien Geter's evocative setting of the James Weldon Johnson poem. Centered on themes of resilience, comfort, hope, renewal, and reimagining, we also feature works by Felix Mendelssohn, William Byrd, Roderick Williams, Saunder Choi, Marques L.A. Garrett, Kestutis Daugirdas, Brian Galante, Caroline Shaw, Craig Hella Johnson, Nilo Alcala, and Juris Karlsons.

Tickets are available in advance online using the following link (or at the door): https://www.eventbrite.com/e/choir-of-the-west-tour-homecoming-concert-tickets-750864735637?aff=oddtdtcreator

We hope to see you all there!

02/01/2024

Choir of the West is currently on their 2024 Tour to Nevada, Arizona, and Southern California. For anyone who is in the area please consider joining us for our final two performances, we would love to see you there: February 1 in Palm Desert, CA (7pm at Hope Lutheran Church), and February 2 in Thousand Oaks, CA (7pm at Ascension Lutheran Church) - more details can be found at www.plu.edu/choir/tour24

04/17/2023

For those in the Portland and Salem area, we are delighted to announce performances offered during our 2023 Choir of the West Spring Tour: we'll be at St. Michael's Lutheran Church in Portland on Thursday, April 20 (7:30pm); and St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Salem on Friday, April 21 (7:30pm). We'll also perform a Tour Homecoming Concert on Tuesday, April 25 (7:30pm) in Lagerquist Concert Hall, and that performance will be live streamed.

Works include exquisite Psalm settings by Johannes Brahms and Caroline Shaw, significant contemporary works for choir and piano by Jake Runestad and JAC Redford, and two works written during--and in response to--the pandemic by Jennifer Lucy Cook and Ken Burton. We'll be joined in performance by collaborative pianist Amy Boers.

Hope to see you there!

10/14/2022

Next week is concert week for PLU Choirs, and we are excited to present our Fall Choral Concerts on Tuesday (Oct 18) and Wednesday (Oct 19), 7:30pm PDT in Lagerquist Concert Hall. The performances mark my debut as Director of Choral Studies and conductor of the Choir of the West. Tiffany Walker joins us this year as Visiting Assistant Professor of Choral Music and conducts Chorale and Singers. And, of course, Barry Johnson brings his inimitable leadership to the Knights Chorus.

Collaborative pianists are Amy Boers (Choir of the West, Chorale, and Singers) and Ella Kalinichenko (Knights Chorus).

I hope that you can join us in person! If not, both performances will be streamed live (link at plu.edu/music). Tickets are available in advance or at the door. Repertoire is below:

CHORALE
Ov'e, lass', il bel viso? (Lauridsen)
The Peace of Wild Things (Runestad)
Locus iste (Bruckner)
Abendlied (Rheinberger)
Holding the Light (Boykin)

KNIGHTS CHORUS
Brothers, Sing On! (Grieg/McKinney)
Psallite Hodie! (V. Johnson)
Contrapunto bestiale alla mente (Banchieri)
Lament of a Fisher's Wife (Singh)

SINGERS
Be like the bird (Betinis)
Myr, zaraz (Szymko)
Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen (C. Schumann)
Hark, I Hear the Harps Eternal (Parker)
Wild Embers (Dunphy)

CHOIR OF THE WEST
A Mighty Fortress Is Our God (Luther/Olds)
O Praise the Lord (Hailstork)
Movements from "love is the every only god" (Redford)
Come to the Woods (Runestad)
Magnificat (Walton), featuring Paul Tegels, organ

COMBINED CHOIRS AND ALUMNI
Beautiful Savior (arr. Christiansen)

Choral Concert, featuring the Choir of the West, University Chorale, University Singers, and University Knights Chorus.

08/10/2021

Hi Friends! I am so excited to share a new piece with you - "In Profundum Maris." This was composed for Choir of the West back in 2019 and we were working on it when COVID hit - so it was never performed. The students wanted to record the piece in virtual choir format, and at long last here it is! This was right at the beginning of virtual choir development, so we didn't really know what we were doing, and the videos weren't usable. But Envision Studios has done an excellent job of editing together the audio, and we used the score along with some stock video to create the performance. I hope you enjoy it!

In Profundum Marismusic by Richard Nancetext by Kathryn SparksPerformed virtually by the PLU Choir of the West Dr. Richard Nance, conductorAmy Boers, pianoAv...

06/27/2021

I'm very pleased to present the latest virtual choir performance by the PLU Choral Union! Here is a recording of Josu Elberdin's "Ubi Caritas," which we dedicate to healthcare workers who have been so instrumental in the effort to bring us back from the COVID-19 crisis, combined with Josu's "Cantate Domino." I hope you enjoy the performances and will share them with your family and friends!

"Ubi Caritas et Amor" and "Cantate Domino" by Josu Elberdin. Performed by the PLU Choral Union - Dr. Richard Nance, conductorAudio and Video Engineering: Dan...

01/06/2021

Great news! Our album There Will Come Soft Rains was chosen as one of the top albums in 2020 by UK's Scala Radio!

Charles Nove's Top 3 Albums from 2020 The Pacific Lutheran University Choir of...

12/03/2020

Applications for Artistic Achievement Awards are being accepted now! Incoming PLU students in the 2021-22 school year are eligible to apply for one of our Music awards to support pursuing choral and vocal studies. These merit-based awards can be stacked on top of academic scholarships. Please help us spread the word and encourage students to apply! Applications are due February 8, 2021.

For exceptional students interested in studying and performing music, there is no better place than Pacific Lutheran University.

11/27/2020

Save 20% on downloads of our album, There Will Come Soft Rains, today only! Purchase directly at https://signumrecords.com/product/there-will-come-soft-rains/SIGCD603.

All this weekend over at www.signumrecords.com we're offering 20% OFF on ALL our titles! 🛍

10/22/2020

It's the final hours of and your support would mean a lot to our students! We're thankful that during this time of virtual learning, we're able to provide master classes to benefit of all Music students' learning and career goals. Will you please consider making a gift to support future classes?

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