AU Chorale Releases Schedule for Spring 2014 Tour

The Anderson University Chorale has set the schedule for its 2014 spring tour, March 16-23, in Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, South Carolina, Kentucky, and Indiana.

In its 69th season, the 45-voice Anderson University Chorale under the direction of conductor, Richard Sowers, has received national and international recognition as one of the nation’s premiere collegiate choirs. The Chorale has performed in concert for several national and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association.

Domestic tours have taken the Chorale to almost every region and state. Tours have included performances in Lincoln Center’s Avery Fisher Hall, Riverside Church, the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York, Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California and the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., Performances of the Emmy award-winning “Candles and Carols” Christmas program by the Chorale and other Anderson University School of Music, Theatre, and Dance ensembles are televised each December throughout the United States and globally EWTN.

International tours have taken the Chorale to concert venues and church-related events in Germany, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Estonia, and Russia. In May 2015, the Chorale will again tour in Scandinavia and the Baltic.

The 2014 tour concerts will feature a broad range of musical compositions including selections by Maurice Greene, Palestrina, Tallis, Gjeilo, Barrie Cabena, Mendelssohn, Donald Skirvin, and others. Additionally, hymn arrangements and spirituals and gospel selections will be performed.

The Chorale conductor, Dr. Richard Sowers, is in his 30th year at Anderson University where he is a Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities. He also conducts the Anderson Symphonic Choir, Men’s Choir, and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting and music education classes. He has served as resident guest conductor with the EMO Ensemble, a professional level vocal ensemble, and guest conducting teacher at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, Finland. Dr. Sowers is in his 25th season as Music Director and Conductor of the Anderson (city) Symphony Orchestra. He has been guest conductor with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra, The Toledo Symphony, the Richmond Symphony, the Carmel Symphony Orchestra, the Houston (Texas) Symphony Orchestra, the New World Youth Orchestra of Indianapolis, and the Muncie Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Sowers has degrees from Indiana University, Colorado State University, and Arizona State University. In 1994 Sowers was chosen as the outstanding music alumnus form Colorado State University. Dr. Sowers maintains an active schedule as guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, and is President of the Indiana Choral Directors Association.

The public is invited to the admission-free concert. A free-will offering will be taken during the event.

Anderson University is a private Christian university in central Indiana. Anderson University continues to be recognized as one of America’s top colleges by U.S. News and World Report, The Princeton Review, and Forbes. Established in 1917 by the Church of God (Anderson, Ind.), Anderson University offers more than 65 undergraduate majors and graduate programs in business, music, nursing, and theology.