Weston Noble Alumni Choir reunion July 28-Aug. 2 at Luther College
July 3, 2008
Luther College choral alumni across seven decades
gather for weeklong reunion on campus
Just the Facts
Who: Weston Noble Alumni Choir
What: Reunion 2008
When: July 28 – Aug. 2
Where: Luther College, Decorah, Iowa
Main Event: Concert, Saturday, Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m., Luther Center for Faith and Life
Alumni from the choirs of Luther College across seven decades will gather on the Luther campus July 28-Aug. 2 for the second Weston Noble Alumni Choir reunion, culminating in a gala concert Saturday, Aug. 2 at 7:30 p.m. in Luther’s Center for Faith and Life Main Hall.
Alumni can register for the event at web site www.westonnoblealumnichoir.org. The web site provides complete information and contacts for registration, housing, fees and event schedule. It also has photos and remembrances of the 2007 event.
The Weston Noble Alumni Choir, an ensemble of alumni singers representing Luther classes from 1949 to 2005, will rehearse and perform under the direction of Weston Noble, Luther professor emeritus of music and internationally known music educator and conductor. Singers from throughout the United States and from foreign countries will take part in the reunion.
“Be prepared to experience the music, the joy, the tears, the friendships, Mabe’s Pizza and even a few skits that will all be part of this second annual reunion,” said Hollis “Deke” Erdmann, president of the Weston Noble Alumni Choir.
The Aug. 2 concert will include works by contemporary composers Noble has championed over the course of his 57 years at Luther, including Paul Basler, Knut Nystedt, Shawn Kirchner and Z. Randall Stroope. It will also feature enduring works from earlier centuries by William Byrd and Johannes Brahms. The concert will close with Noble’s vocal ensembles’ signature piece “O Lord God” by Russian conductor and composer Pavel Tschesnokoff (1877-1924).
The concert is open to the public with no charge for admission.
Noble and Luther alumni choir members will spend the week preceding the Aug. 2 concert in intensive rehearsals. The choir is scheduled for 10 rehearsals over the five days leading up to the concert.
The week will also include many social activities.
The reunion choir was formed in the summer of 2006 when Myron Heaton, a 1968 graduate of Luther and director of the Myron Heaton Chorale of Las Vegas, invited Noble to serve as guest conductor for the chorale’s concert tour of Europe. To augment Heaton’s ensemble, the two conductors invited Luther College Nordic Choir alumni to join the tour.
The combined choir of more than 50 voices presented concerts in England, France and Austria. The Luther singers returned from the tour with a pledge to organize a similar activity for Luther choral alumni for 2007. The success of that reunion motivated the group to make it an annual event.