CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY IRVINE made its Carnegie Hall debut on May 9, 2026. Over 130 musicians performed a one-hour set on America’s most famous concert hall stage, including works by Aaron Copland, Peter Wilhousky, and Dan Forrest. Most significantly, the musicians premiered two works. The Concert Handbells premiered Transeamus by Alex Guebert ’10. The major work of the concert was Inscriptions by Christian Guebert ’10, an innovative 8-movement work integrating the Concordia Choir, additional alumni and friends singers, Concert Handbells, Concordia Sinfonietta, and Concordia Brass performing antiphonally from balconies. Carnegie Hall is renowned as the historic location where many great works of music have received premieres. Conducted by the composer, Inscriptions added lustre to the hall as the first major work of its kind, featuring handbells and antiphonal brass along the “masterworks” formation of orchestra and chorus. Hundreds of Concordia supporters traveled to New York to be in attendance.
The Carnegie Hall performance capped Concordia’s USA 250 Music Festival, a major initiative to add to the growing national profile of the Music Department, funded through several years of generous donations by over 250 music patrons. Concordia’s musicians took advantage of the vibrant musical life of New York City, attending the Carlos Henriquez Big Band at Jazz @ Lincoln Center, visiting the Juilliard Bookstore, worshiping at St. Thomas Church Evensong with the world-renowned St. Thomas Choir of Boys and Men, attending the Met Opera performance of Verdi’s La Traviata and the Tony Award-winning revival of Ragtime, and hearing Dr. Tom Mueller, dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, play a recital at the spectacular Church of St. Vincent Ferrer. In addition to the grand concert at Carnegie Hall, the ensembles performed a beautiful church concert, American Hymns and Anthems, at the historic Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. Also, several small ensembles and student actors shared music and poetry on The Mall and Literary Walk in Central Park during a “Concordia take-over” event.