The Northwestern College Choir is one of the leading college choirs in the Midwestern United States, enjoying a rich history of performing primarily sacred a cappella music of all stylistic eras, hymns and spirituals, and regularly presenting major choral-orchestral works. Known for its motto "Choral music direct from the heart," the Choir sings skillfully and soulfully with a level of excellence rarely surpassed and which must be experienced. In its recent history, the Choir has participated in the United States premiere of Wilhelm Stenhammar's tone poem Sången with VocalEssence of Minnesota under Philip Brunelle, in a Bach motet master class with German conductor/Bach scholar Helmuth Rilling, and in a series of joint concerts with Nebraska's professional choir Soli Deo Gloria Cantorum. The ensemble has also performed by invitation for the National Association of Evangelicals. The Choir presented the world premiere of Te Deum by Dutch composer Frigyes Hidas, commissioned jointly with the Northwestern College Symphonic Band. The Northwestern College Choir has also appeared for state and divisional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association (2000, 2004), and performed the keynote concert of the 2002 Minnesota Music Educators Association midwinter clinic. Recordings of the choir have been featured on the nationally-syndicated radio broadcasts "Sing for Joy", the Skylight Satellite Network, Minnesota and Nebraska Public Radio, and National Public Radio throughout the country.
The Choir has appeared in concert at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis, The Cathedral of Saint Cecilia in Omaha, Prague's Dvorak Hall, Dresden's Kreuzkirche and Annenkirche, the Leipzig Gewandhaus, the National Shrine in Washington, D.C. and other significant venues here and abroad. Annual domestic tours by the Choir have taken the ensemble throughout the United States and Canada. Overseas tours are taken every four years and have included the British Isles (1990) Scandinavia (1994) and a critically acclaimed tour of Germany, Austria and the Czech Republic (1998) where the Choir presented premiere performances of Minnesota composer David Dickau's Dresden Canticles, commissioned for that tour. In its second visit to Scandinavia (2002), the Choir's tour featured premiere performances of new works composed for the Choir by Minnesota composers Charles Forsberg, Dickau, and Phil Norris. Also included were traditional works by Scandinavian composers Grieg, Alfven, Ahlen and Knut Nystedt and the late Eskil Hemberg, with the latter two composers present in the audience in 2002. The Choir made another 16-day European tour in May 2006, with concerts in Germany at the American Choral Festival in Leipzig's Gewandhaus, as well as a reprise of Dickau's Dresden Canticles in its namesake city, and to enthusiastic capacity audiences in prestigious concert halls and churches in L'viv, Rivne, Luts'k and Kyiv, Ukraine.
For the 2009-10 concert season, the Choir performs by invitation of ACDA of Minnesota at the Minnesota Collegiate Choral Festival, for the Star of the North and F. Melius Christiansen Endowment concert series. In May 2010, the Choir performs for fine arts series at the Cathedral of St. Paul and Christ Presbyterian Church, Edina and embarks on a 14-day tour of the Baltics, with concerts in Latvia, Estonia and Finland.
What people have said:
"Choral music direct from the heart!...Their musical interpretation is unique. The sound is almost like a large organ or an orchestra, with its many registers and tonal colors, and especially with a dynamic breadth ranging from the hardly audible yet still discernable piano to raging columns of sound which fill the hall...Singing from memory, the chorus has an intellectual flexibility and musical communication that creates enchanting moments which are astonishing and amazing....substantial choral virtuosity." (Herrenberg, Germany)
"A choir of highest professionalism....the Northwestern College Choir from St. Paul, Minnesota presented a high quality concert that was enthusiastically received...[in] a persuasive performance by the American students at the end of their German tour." (Trier, Germany)
"The Northwestern College Choir...delivered music of high quality with repertoire that suited a Scandinavian audience....The church was packed, the floor shook when the just over 70 American singers walked in, and if the roof didn't lift when they sang, then the singing certainly captured the attention of the audience..., and given what we heard in Eid church Tuesday evening, the choir holds the highest standard in what they perform." (Nordfjordeid, Norway)
"…I am convinced that if I lived in or near St. Paul, I would indeed be a Northwestern College Choir 'groupie.' I continue to ponder why this particular concert has impacted me so deeply. I have attended countless concerts and sung in many choirs, so choral singing is very near and dear to my heart. And that probably is why I felt so moved: logic and reason seem irrelevant. If I were a music adjudicator, I would have given top marks for every piece performed. But I believe what I experienced was more the issue. I experienced joy, passion, love of music, camaraderie, and communication of text that came from the heart. What comes to mind is the words of the hymn: “When in our music God is glorified, and adoration leaves no room for pride, it is as though the whole creation cried: Alleluia! I assume some things are simply a soul experience and not necessary to understand... Thank you and God’s blessings to all connected with the choir."
Joe Stephanson - Winnipeg, Manitoba
"I wanted to thank you once again for bringing the Northwestern College Choir to Fargo… Saturday’s concert was a fabulous experience in choral worship…a rarity these days when so many colleges and universities promote worship of the creation, rather than the Creator. Sunday morning was a wonderful partnership in worship of our Lord Jesus Christ which our church family will not soon forget."
Pastor Mark Reeves - Bethel Church, Fargo, ND
