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Concordia's Fall Festival of Hymns

Concordia's Fall Festival of Hymns

Contact: Ann Ashmon, Director of Communications

(949) 214-3152

[email protected]

[email protected]

 

IRVINE, CA – (September 9, 2014) – The Concordia Choir and Concordia Master Chorale, partnered with Tom Trenney, present “Raise the Song of Harvest Home” this October 5th at 3:00 pm in the Concordia University Center for Worship and Performing Arts. The Festival of Hymns 2014 is celebrating the fruits of the Spirit through Tom Trenney’s skillful improvisations on the organ and the 100-voice choirs.

Dr. Michael Busch, director of Master Chorale and The Concordia Choir, said “we are excited to introduce Tom Trenney as the guest artist for this year’s Fall Festival of Hymns. Tom has put together a marvelously creative event that will uplift and energize us all. Anyone who enjoys the hymn tradition will certainly be blessed by this grand event.” Tom Trenney is known for imaginatively performing classics. Among his accomplishments is his combined win of First Prize and Audience Prize in the American Guild of Organists’ National Competition in Organ Improvisation. More information about Trenney is located here. Trenney said “anytime
I have the opportunity to be together with people who are eager and inspired to
sing songs of faith, I am beyond grateful!”

To properly display song leader Trenney’s talents, Concordia’s 3,290-pipe Casavant organ will be used to fill the iconic center with celebration of the bountiful gifts of our faith. Trenney said “it is a particular blessing to be invited to share music like this with a community of faith. I believe we will collectively have the opportunity to perform with the excellent musicianship that these choirs are known for as well as the spiritual depth that is possible for choirs like this.”

Concordia’s music department develops each year. From having a small and selective choir when the school was built, music has grown to be one of the largest departments at Concordia University Irvine. With Trenney, they will craft a story with the themes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control through hymns. Carol McDaniel, Associate Professor of Church Music and Director of the Parish Music Program, said "this annual Concordia event has become a favorite because it ministers deeply to those who participate and those who attend. The lyrics, the tunes, and the treatment of both by the featured organist often usher the audience and performer to a place beyond themselves. The hungry are fed, the depressed are given hope and the lonely find a friend in Jesus, the one for whom they sing."

 The Fall Festival of Hymns is one of the three concerts the Master Chorale performs at each year. The Master Chorale is made up of voice enthusiasts and teachers from across Orange County as well as Concordia faculty and alumni. The 50 voices in Concordia Choir, comprised of CUI’s most talented students, have performed in Italy, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Japan, South Korea, Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland, Hungary, and Brazil. The mature sound of the Master Chorale and the adventurous Concordia Choir, are a beautiful combination which improves each year. The harmonies of the performance resonate with the most untrained audience member to the music connoisseur.

The Fall Festival of Hymns 2014 is well worth attending. Tickets are $15 general admission, $10 for seniors, and free for students. 

 

About Concordia University Irvine

Concordia University Irvine prepares students for their vocations—their calling in life. Concordia University Irvine offers undergraduate, graduate, doctoral, and adult degree programs in a beautiful Southern California location in the City of Irvine with online and regional cohort options. Concordia’s undergraduate program is distinctive among universities in California because of its nationally recognized Core Curriculum, and its Lutheran heritage that provides a thoughtful and caring Christian community that lives out the theology of "Grace Alone. Faith Alone." Concordia is a U.S. News Top Tier Regional University and has been named by The Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the fastest growing private nonprofit master's institutions. Concordia University Irvine enrolls over 4,000 students.

 

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