Knox College Choir Embarks on Tour of Spain

The Knox College Choir will perform six concerts on a 10-day tour of Spain during Knox's spring break, March 16-21. The choir of nearly sixty members, directed by Laura Lane, professor of music and director of choral activities at Knox College, will perform six concerts -- three in Barcelona and three outside of the city.

Upon their arrival home, the choir will give their Home Tour concert at 7:30 p.m., Friday, March 26, in Kresge Recital Hall, Knox College. The concert is free and open to the public.

"The Home Tour concert lets us share the excitement of our Spain tour," said Lane. "The students' experience in Spain really comes out in their singing during the Home Tour concert."

In Barcelona, the choir will perform at the Collegi de Metges (Medical College) and at the famed Paraninfo at the University of Barcelona. They also will perform in the Benedictine monastery at Montserrat, and in the cathedral at Castello D'Empuries.

The program will include Otche Nash, a Russian motet by Nikolai Golovanov, Water Night, by Eric Whitacre and based on a poem by Pablo Neruda, and Knowee by Stephen Leek. According to Lane, Knowee is "extremely dramatic, with three soloists representing the sun goddess Knowee searching for her lost son. It has a powerful emotional effect on audiences."

The program will also include Immortal Bach, an arrangement of a Bach chorale where the choir members are asked to sustain pitches for different lengths; the rock anthem Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen, arranged by Philip Lawson; and Shenandoah, arranged by James Erb.

"Shenandoah is one of the greatest American folk songs in a timeless and masterful arrangement," explains Lane. "Although this is a classic done by many college choirs, this is my first time doing it with the Knox College Choir. I love it because they sing it with such heart."

As is their tradition, the choir also will sing L'Emporda, a traditional Catalan song arranged by Enric Morera. L'Emporda is sung in Catalan, the native language of Catalonia, an autonomous region on the Mediterranean coast in Northeast Spain.

In recent years, the choir has performed in Spain in 2003, 2006, and 2008. Knox has operated a study-abroad program for more than 30 years at the University of Barcelona.

Founded in 1837, Knox is a national liberal arts college in Galesburg, Illinois, with students from 45 states and 44 nations. Knox's "Old Main" is a National Historic Landmark and the only building remaining from the 1858 Lincoln-Douglas debates.

Knox College Choir Tour, 2010
Schedule of Performances

Sunday, Feb 28 3:00 p.m.
First Lutheran Church
Galesburg, Illinois

Tuesday, March 16 8:00 p.m.
Paraninfo, University of Barcelona
Barcelona, Spain

Wednesday, March 17 7:00 p.m.
Collegi de Medges
Barcelona, Spain

Thursday, March 18 7:00 p.m.
Colegio Lasalle Bonanova
Barcelona, Spain

Friday, March 19 12:45 p.m.
Main Altar of the Monasterio de Montserrat

Saturday, March 20 9:00 p.m.
Parroquia de Sant Roma
Lloret de Mar, Spain

Sunday, March 21 5:00 p.m.
Basilica Castello d'Empuries
Castello d'Empuries, Spain

Friday, March 26, 7:30 p.m.
Kresge Recital Hall
Knox College, Galesburg, Illinois

Knox College Choir 2010 (Tour Roster)