Music Department
- Ensembles
The Augsburg Concert BandThe Augsburg Concert Band, directed by Robert Stacke ’71, is a 60-member symphonic band that has performed and toured extensively throughout the United States, including California, Arizona, Florida, Oregon, Washington, and the entire Midwest. The band has also performed in Ireland (2001), Iceland and Norway (2005), British Columbia (2007), and Romania (2009).
The band’s repertoire includes works by American and other world-renowned composers, compositions by Augsburg students, as well as works commissioned for the Augsburg Concert Band. Many members of the ensemble also participate in the Augsburg Jazz Ensemble, Gospel Praise, and various chamber ensembles. Augsburg bands have entertained the King of Norway and for the Norwegian ambassador to the United States to commemorate the 100-year celebration of Norway’s independence.
The Augsburg Symphony Orchestra
The Augsburg Symphony Orchestra was formed by composer Robert Karlén to explore music from every style and period. The group has played everything from settings of traditional Chinese songs and Renaissance masses to jazz standards. The students’ study of these styles is enhanced by private lessons with the Augsburg music faculty who include members of the Minnesota Orchestra and St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. In the fall of 2005, Douglas Diamond took over as conductor with a view to building the group into a collegiate symphonic ensemble. In recent years, the group has roughly doubled its size and has performed accessible masterworks including Beethoven’s 1st and 8th symphonies, Schubert’s 3rd, 5th, and 8th symphonies, Dvorak’s 7th, and a host of smaller works. The current orchestra also accompanies the winners of the College’s annual competition for student instrumental and vocal soloists; performs advanced student work from the department’s composition studio; and tours for a week, either nationally or internationally, every year.
Augsburg Jazz Ensemble and Gospel Praise
The Augsburg Jazz Studies Program offers a complete curriculum that includes a big band—The Augsburg Jazz Ensemble, combos, and a vocal jazz group—Gospel Praise, each of which is directed by a faculty member. These ensembles are open to all Augsburg students through auditions each fall. The Jazz Studies Program also features many guest artists and composers. Music students rehearse and perform side-by-side with some of the best jazz and gospel musicians in the Midwest, many of whom are Augsburg alumni. In recent years, the Augsburg Jazz Ensemble has performed with Delfeayo Marsalis, trombone; Swedish jazz artist Nils Lindberg, trombone & piano; and performed works by Dr. William C. Banfield, artist in residence.
Augsburg’s Gospel Praise Jazz Ensemble is a unique union of big band and vocal jazz that performs for conventions, churches and schools. They have appeared at three ELCA National Youth Conventions in Atlanta, New Orleans and St. Louis as well as The Dakota Jazz Club in Minneapolis, and the Nobel Peace Prize Forum. In 1995, they presented a command performance for the King of Norway, and in the past two years have performed for nearly 20,000 including Sheila Raye Charles, Jane Fonda, and Hillary Clinton.
Riverside Singers
The Riverside Singers carry on the long tradition of treble choirs at Augsburg College. The singers participate with other Augsburg musical organizations in the annual Advent Vespers each Christmas season at Central Lutheran Church. Another anticipated event is the annual WomanVoice concert in March when college women’s choirs from around the area join hearts and voices to sing music by, for and about women. Participating in chapel services several times during the year is an important part of the mission of the choir, as is hosting an invitational treble choir festival in the fall of the year.
Cedar Singers
The Cedar Singers is where the men of
Augsburg come to sing. The choir embraces a wide
variety of music, from sacred chant and masterworks for men’s voices to
spirituals and pop songs. The choir is also focused on celebrating the
camaraderie and beauty of male choral singing. The
singers participate with other Augsburg musical organizations in the
annual Advent Vespers each Christmas season at Central Lutheran Church. The group also performs regularly throughout the Twin
Cities, leading worship at churches throughout the metro and in a spring
concert sung in collaboration with the Riverside Singers.
The Augsburg Choir
The 70-voice Augsburg Choir, under the direction of Peter Hendrickson, celebrates a long tradition of excellence in choral music. Praised for its high level of musicianship, the ensemble performs a diverse repertoire including compositions by well-known Scandinavian and American composers. The Augsburg Choir has premiered works by Sven-Erik Bäck, Knut Nystedt, Stephen Paulus, Sverre Bergh, Steve Heitzeg, Carol Barnett, Egil Hovland, and Sigvald Tveit. The Augsburg Choir was honored to perform before King Harald V of Norway on the occasion of his visit to Augsburg College and before Crown Prince Haakon of Norway in the fall of 2005.
The Augsburg Choir's annual Advent Vespers services are regularly broadcast on public radio. In 2004, the 25th anniversary year, Twin Cities Public Television recorded and broadcast Advent Vespers, which was subsequently awarded a Regional Emmy Award. The Choir regularly tours locally, nationally, and internationally. In addition to national tours throughout the United States, the Choir has toured in Germany, Sweden, Norway, Finland, Russia, Estonia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, and Germany and completed their first tour to China in May 2010.
The Choir upholds the College's history of choral excellence dating back to the early part of this century. While honoring its roots in the Scandinavian Lutheran choral tradition, the Augsburg Choir has developed a generous and free choral sound, performing music from China to Colombia and South Africa to Russia. This choral tradition encompasses not only the mission of Augsburg but also the legacy of noted conductors such as Larry L. Fleming and Leland B. Sateren.
The Masterworks Chorale of Augsburg
With 15 years of performances under founder and director Peter Hendrickson, the Masterworks Chorale of Augsburg, a unique mix of auditioned Augsburg College day students, Weekend College students, faculty, staff, alumni and community friends, continues to establish itself as a dynamic choral ensemble in the Twin Cities. Building on Augsburg's historically strong choral tradition, the Masterworks Chorale is dedicated to performing great choral works and exploring new masterworks.
Since its inception, the Chorale has participated in Augsburg College’s annual Advent Vespers held at Central Lutheran Church and attended by more than 8,000 people. The Chorale has also performed with the Minnesota Orchestra—to critical acclaim—in such works as Berlioz' Messe Solennelle, Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem, and in collaboration with narrator Christopher Plummer and conductor Neville Marriner, William Walton’s film score, Henry V.
The Chorale is dedicated to performing great choral masterworks, such as Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem, Mozart’s Grand Mass in C Minor and the Requiem, Durufle’s Requiem, and Bach’s St. John Passion. In addition to performing great choral masterworks, the Chorale has sought to perform new works by living composers. In 1996 the Chorale performed for the first time the entire Visions from Hildegard by noted Minnesota composer Stephen Paulus. In 1997, the Chorale performed to critical acclaim the English-language premiere of Norwegian composer Egil Hovland’s opera, Captive and Free. In 2001, the Chorale also performed the English version of Finnish composer and conductor Kari Tikka’s opera, Luther. The Chorale continues to expand its personnel list, now numbering 150+, and accepts new auditions throughout the year.
