Lebanon Valley College Announces Annual Concert Choir Tour

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The 81st Annual Spring Tour of the Lebanon Valley College Concert Choir will run from Sunday, March 26 through Saturday, April 1.

ANNVILLE, PA (03/13/2017) (readMedia)-- The 81st Annual Spring Tour of the Lebanon Valley College Concert Choir will run from Sunday, March 26 through Saturday, April 1, concluding with a performance Sunday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m. in the Frederic K. Miller Chapel. Admission is free to all performances, although a free-will offering will be collected in support of a charity of the host church's choice.

This year's program is titled From Hardship to Harmony and offers a glimpse into how individuals use music to make sense of their struggles and celebrate the collective quest for meaning and unity. Many of the works featured on the tour, such as Spaséñiye Sodélal (Salvation is Created) or The Christmas Truce, were born out of hardship and represent powerful reactions to tragedy. Others, such as Gloria or Hope for Resolution, speak to the themes of triumph and unity.

Song of Triumph by Dale Grotenhuis opens the concert, followed by Spaséñiye Sodélal (Salvation is Created) and Existe O Amor, which will be sung in both Portuguese and English. The next two selections, Lux Aurumque and Gloria, are both praise songs that speak to the glory of the afterlife. Eric Whitacre, composer of Lux Aurumque, visited the College earlier in the semester. The pieces Requiem and Hope for Resolution conclude the first half of the concert.

After a brief intermission, Vela, Vela and Antiphon from Five Mystical Songs open the second half of the concert. The group then performs The Christmas Truce – A Carol from Flanders, Peze Kafé, and Across the Bridge of Hope. The final piece, Sail Fast, was composed by the choir's director, Dr. Matthew Erpelding, and features several members of the choir performing vocal and instrumental solos. As is tradition, the concert will close with a rendition of The Lord Bless You and Keep You.

Fifty-one students, a mixture of vocal and non-vocal majors, will participate in the tour this year under the direction of Dr. Erpelding, director of choral activities and assistant professor of music education.

Tour Dates

Sunday, March 26 at 3 p.m.

St. Theresa Catholic Church

1300 Bridge Street

New Cumberland, PA 17070

Thursday, March 30 at 7:30 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church

140 E. Orange Street

Lancaster, PA 17602

Friday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m.

First Presbyterian Church

315 N. Cayuga Street

Ithaca, NY 14850

Saturday, April 1 at 7:30 p.m.

Church of Saint Mary

429 E. Allen St.

Hudson, NY 12534

Sunday, April 2 at 7:30 p.m.

Frederic K. Miller Chapel

Lebanon Valley College

Annville, PA 17003

About the LVC Concert Choir

The Lebanon Valley College Concert Choir has toured each year, primarily in the Northeast, since 1936. In addition, the choir has been heard on more than 30 NBC national radio broadcasts including National Radio Pulpit and Great Choirs in America. The choir has performed with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra and holds a standing invitation to appear at the National Cathedral, Washington, D.C., and the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine, New York City. Other non-tour appearances have included the Lighting of the National Christmas Tree, the Festival of Lights at the Washington, D.C. Temple Visitor's Center, performing at the General Conference of the United Methodist Church, and appearances before the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association and the Music Educators National Conference Eastern Division Convention in Washington, D.C. The choir has toured internationally to the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe (1973), Great Britain (1999), Italy (2001), Central Europe: the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary (2007), and Scandinavia: Norway and Denmark (May 2011).

About Dr. Matthew Erpelding

Dr. Matthew Erpelding is the director of choral activities at Lebanon Valley College, in Annville, Pa., where he conducts the Concert and Chamber Choirs, and teaches courses in music education and choral conducting. Prior to his appointment at LVC, Dr. Erpelding was director of choral activities at Hopewell Valley Central High School in Pennington, N.J., as well as at Boylan Central Catholic High School in Rockford, Ill. Dr. Erpelding likewise has considerable experience as a church musician. He conducted the Sanctuary Choir at Gloria Dei Lutheran Church in Rockford, and was the director of the Chapel Choir, Youth Choir, and Bell Choirs at St. Andrew Lutheran Church in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Additionally, Dr. Erpelding is a member of the conducting faculty at the Performing Arts Institute at Wyoming Seminary in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and is in frequent demand as a guest clinician and conductor.

Dr. Erpelding was awarded his doctor of musical arts in choral conducting and pedagogy from the University of Iowa. He holds a bachelor of arts degree from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, as well as a master of music degree in choral conducting from Northern Illinois University. Dr. Erpelding is a member of both the American Choral Directors Association and NAfME: The National Association for Music Educators. He currently serves as the ensemble-specific repertoire and resources chair for ACDA-PA, as well as the higher education representative to the curriculum/instruction committee for PMEA District 7.