SJU Men’s Chorus Performs Concert Tour

02/09/2006

The Saint John’s University Men’s Chorus presents  13 concerts in Minnesota, Nebraska, Colorado and South Dakota as part of its 2006 Winter Tour Feb. 22 to March 6.

A weekend tour March 16-18 includes a March 17 performance at the Intercollegiate Male Chorus Convention at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

The 50-voice choir, open to all students at Saint John’s, is under the direction of Axel Theimer. This year’s program features a mixture of representative sacred and secular choral masterworks from the Renaissance to the 21st century, including Gregorian Chant, compositions by Tallis, Scarlatti, Kodaly, Schubert, Poulenc and Rossini, and arrangements by Parker, Shaw, Quick and others.

Here is the concert schedule:

• Wednesday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Melrose, Minn.
• Thursday, Feb. 23, 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Willmar, Minn.
• Friday, Feb. 24, 8 p.m. at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church, Rochester, Minn.
• Saturday, Feb. 25, 7:30 p.m. at Saint Cecilia Cathedral, Omaha, Neb.
• Sunday, Feb. 26, 1 p.m. at Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha, Neb. (at The Saint John’s Bible exhibit)
• Sunday, Feb. 26, 7:30 p.m. at St. John the Apostle Catholic Church, Lincoln, Neb.
• Monday, Feb. 27, 8 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Grand Island, Neb.
• Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7:30 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral, Colorado Springs, Colo.
• Wednesday, March 1, 7:30 p.m. at Sacred Heart Cathedral, Pueblo, Colo.
• Friday, March 3, 8 p.m. at Pax Christi Catholic Church, Highlands Ranch, Colo.
• Saturday, March 4, 8 p.m. at Our Lady of Perpetual Help Cathedral, Rapid City, S.D.
• Sunday, March 5, 3 p.m. at Church of Saint Mary, Sioux Falls, S.D.
• Monday, March 6, 8 p.m. at Great Hall, Saint John’s University, Collegeville.

Here are the additional performances:

• Thursday, March 16, 7:30 p.m. at St. Joseph Catholic Church, Waconia, Minn.
• Friday, March 17, Intercollegiate Male Chorus Convention, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire
• Saturday, March 18, 2 p.m. at Holy Name of Jesus Catholic Church, Wayzata, Minn.

All concerts are free of charge (a museum admission is required to see the chorus Feb. 26 at Joslyn Art Museum). Free-will donations will help defray part of the travel expenses.

The Saint John’s University Men’s Chorus was organized in 1948 by one of the brothers of Saint John’s Abbey. Until 1960, the choir’s annual tours concentrated mainly on Minnesota and the surrounding states. In 1960, the choir traveled for the first time to Europe, and returned in 1962, 1965, 1975, 1980, 1985, 1992, 1997 and 2001. In May 2005, members of the choir joined other singers from SJU and from the College of Saint Benedict, St. Joseph, on a 23-day concert tour to Japan, South Korea and China.

If you live near one of the destinations the choir will be visiting, please consider housing some of the choir members for the night.  If you are willing to do so, please contact the concert venue.  The complete list of venues can be found on the choir's Web site.

For more information about the upcoming tour – and to find out more about the performance venues – visit the choir’s Web site .