Month: November 2024

Luther College, home to one of the largest undergraduate music programs in the nation, is proud to announce that its Cathedral Choir and Norskkor were each selected by blind audition for special performances at upcoming professional conferences in Minnesota.

Cathedral Choir is the only choir from outside of Minnesota selected to perform at the concert on Saturday, Nov. 23.

For the first time, Cathedral Choir was selected to perform at the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota conference. Cathedral Choir will perform at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 23 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi, Minnesota. The public is invited to attend and may purchase concert tickets online. Cathedral Choir is the only choir from outside of Minnesota selected to perform at the concert.

“For a non-Minnesota school to be selected to perform at a state conference is a major coup,” said Mark Potvin, conductor of Cathedral Choir and Norskkor. “Since we were offered a premium Saturday morning performance slot, I expect the audience to be filled with supportive yet discerning fans of choral music.”

Cathedral Choir is one of five auditioned choirs at Luther. The ensemble is made up of singers from all voice parts, drawn from the sophomore through senior classes.

Cathedral Choir isn’t the only Luther vocal ensemble chosen to perform at a statewide event in Minnesota.

Norskkor will perform at 7 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 14 at the Minneapolis Convention Center as part of the Minnesota Music Educators Association’s Midwinter Conference in Minneapolis. The annual professional conference is Minnesota’s largest gathering of music educators.

Potvin noted it is very rare for a choir outside of the North Star State to perform at a Minnesota professional conference. He served as a public school teacher in Minnesota for 16 years.

“Yet, here we are! Norskkor members are flattered to have secured a performance berth and excited to share the stage with a choir from Gustavus Adolphus,” Potvin said.

Roughly half of the Norskkor choir attended high school in Minnesota, so this performance is a bit of a homecoming for the singers. In addition to the special performance, Norskkor will interact with high school singers of Minnesota’s All State Choirs during the conference.

“We’re grateful to the Minnesota Music Educators Association for allowing an Iowa choir to share our program with dear friends to the north,” Potvin said.

Established in 1981, Norskkor is made up of first-year students who sing tenor and bass selected each fall and spring by audition. The word Norskkor is a portmanteau of the words Norsk and Kor from the Norwegian language. This translates to “Norwegian Choir.”