BH
Benjamin Humbert
  • Pre- Physical Therapy / Neuroscience / Biology
  • Class of 2014
  • Geneva, IL

Ben Humbert Performs with Augustana Choir

2012 Feb 20

After a two-week concert tour in Germany and Austria, the Augustana Choir will return to the Quad Cities for a home concert at 8 p.m. on Friday, March 9, at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2136 Brady Street, Davenport. Under the direction of Dr. Jon Hurty, the choir will present an a cappella choir concert, with works ranging from a Gregorian chant to a Haitian NA?el. The concert is open to the public, free of charge.

Among the students performing is Ben Humbert, a Sophomore from Geneva, Ill., majoring in Biology/Neuroscience.

The concert at St. Paul is the culmination of a 10-performance tour that intertwined "Alpha & Omega" works with four performances of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, as part of a festival to commemorate the 50th anniversary of this masterwork.

The "Alpha & Omega" concert program is divided into four sections. The first group is based on the triune Goda?"Creator, Redeemer and Sustainera?"and begins with American composer Howard Hanson's A Prayer of the Middle Ages. The second group of works is based on texts that deal with the Book of Revelation, including American composer and arranger Stacey Gibbs' Lord, If I Got My Ticket. In the third group, various cultures come to life through music, including a traditional Haitian folk song, NoA?l Ayisyen. The final group includes songs from the folk and hymm traditions, closing with Children of the Heavenly Father, a piece that has become a regular part of the Augustana Choir's tour programs.

Augustana College is known throughout the United States for the excellence of its choral tradition. The 70-member Augustana Choir is the school's premier choral ensemble. Founded in 1931, the Augustana Choir has performed internationally and in some of the United States' finest musical venues, including New York City's Carnegie Hall and the Chicago Symphony Center's Orchestra Hall.

About Augustana: Founded in 1860 and situated on a 115-acre campus near the Mississippi River, Augustana College is a private, liberal arts institution affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). The college enrolls 2,500 students from diverse geographic, social, ethnic and religious backgrounds and offers nearly 90 majors and related areas of study. Augustana employs 287 faculty members and has a student-faculty ratio of approximately 11:1. Augustana continues to do what it has always done: challenge and prepare students for lives of leadership and services in our complex, ever-changing world.