Andrews University Singers Present Concert

Enjoy music in the context of the Reformation

The Andrews University Singers (Photo by Darren Heslop)

On Wednesday, Nov. 1, 2017, at 7 p.m., expect the sounds of voices and song to flow throughout the Howard Performing Arts Center as Andrews University hosts its very own Andrews University Singers in concert. The Andrews University Singers are the select choir from the Department of Music and represent Andrews University locally, nationally and abroad through concert tours, television broadcast and audio recordings.

The concert takes place during a conference on the “500th Anniversary of Martin Luther’s ‘95 Theses’” and in the spirit of the Reformation. Martin Luther, very soon after his break from Rome, revised the Catholic mass for use in the new “reformed” churches. The new services were full of music: chorales, chants, brief liturgical compositions, hymns for daily use and more. All were sung in the language of the people as the believer's response to the grace of God. Luther boldly defended polyphony and compositional complexity as evidenced in his ardent belief that “next to the Word of God, music deserves the highest praise.”

Within this context, the Andrews University Singers will lead congregants in numerous examples of Luther’s hymnody. In conclusion, the University Singers will perform Luther’s choral “Christ lag in Todesbanden” in which Luther’s translation of scripture into the vernacular of the people is married to the compelling descriptive musical setting by Johann Sebastian Bach.

The concert is free and open to the public—no tickets are required.