Celebrated College Choir to Perform with Valparaiso Students

Nebraska Wesleyan University continues the new year with a choir tour throughout the Midwest, making a stop right here in “‘da Region,” to perform a concert entitled “Only Light…Only Love.” NWU’s University Choir and Gold Standard Singers will share a colorful and eclectic repertoire by a wide range of diverse composers, including Rollo Dillworth, Shawn Kirchner, Melanie DeMore, Susan LaBarr, Jonathan Dove, and André Thomas. The ensembles are conducted by Tom Trenney and accompanied by Anne Wilson on piano and organ.

As part of this tour, the choirs will perform in Valparaiso, Indiana, on Friday, May 15 at 7:00 PM at First United Methodist Church of Valparaiso, 103 Franklin Street in downtown Valparaiso. This special concert will feature a collaborative performance with students from the Valparaiso High School Choirs, offering a unique opportunity for local students to perform alongside a nationally recognized collegiate ensemble.

A recent finalist for the American Prize in Collegiate Choir Performance, the Nebraska Wesleyan University Choir has earned national and international recognition. The ensemble has performed Mahler’s Second Symphony with the Lincoln Symphony Orchestra and Adolphus Hailstork’s “I Will Lift Up Mine Eyes” at Carnegie Hall. Last summer, the choir traveled to Prague to perform Mozart’s “Requiem.” Their annual “Christmas with Wesleyan” festival concert remains a highlight of Lincoln’s holiday season.

“Though music may not have the power to cure us, we believe that singing can bring healing and hope,” said NWU’s Conductor of Choirs, Tom Trenney. “Singing meaningful music from diverse cultures can deepen our empathy and broaden our understanding. We hope this program –filled with authentic artistic expressions of joy, longing, exuberance, and grief — will encourage and empower our students and audiences to leave the concert hall with a heart of deeper compassion, more eager to share their light which this world desperately needs.”

For more information on the choirs at Nebraska Wesleyan University or the *“Only Light…Only Love”* tour, please visit http://www.nebrwesleyan.edu or contact ttrenney@nebrwesleyan.edu. For further information on the Valparaiso Concert, contact Dr. Christopher Ebert, Director of Music at First United Methodist Church Valparaiso, at choirs@valpofumc.org .