Choral groups conclude tour with April 5 concert in Bemidji

BEMIDJI, Minn. — The Bemidji State University’s Bemidji Choir and Chamber Singers, under the direction of Dr. P. Bradley Logan, will conclude their spring 2009 tour with a home concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, April 5, in the Main Theatre of the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex.

Admission is $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students and free for BSU students.

The choir performance is among six appearances in the spring tour, which includes concerts in Bemidji, Duluth, Oak Grove, Mankato and Baxter, Minn.

The program will feature a broad array of pieces, including “O Magnum Mysterium” by Jacob Handl and a selection of “Songs from the Twelfth Night” by Kenneth Neufeld.

In addition, Musikanten, the men’s chorus, will sing three pieces, including “Beati Mortui” by Felix Mendelssohn. Musikanten, performs under the direction of the choir’s tenor and bass section leaders, Joe Colago, a senior from Sisseton, S.D., and Jake Kaehne, a senior from Bemidji, Minn.

The Chamber Singers, an auditioned ensemble from within The Bemidji Choir, will sing works by Hans Leo Hassler, Edward Elgar, Eric Whitacre and a contemporary setting of the “Bread” hit “Everything I Own.” The ensemble will perform under the direction of Danielle Stadick, a senior from Beuhla, N.D.

The Bemidji Choir
Founded in 1937 by Carl O. Thompson, the Bemidji Choir has gained an international reputation for excellence. In addition to concerts, tours and recordings, the choir has produced a series of Madrigal Dinners for 40 years. Under the direction of Logan, since 1998, the choir presented the Keynote Concert at the Minnesota Music Educators Association’s Convention in 2001 and 2006 and has performed in numerous national and regional conventions across the United States. Last year, the choir toured the Baltic States of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia.

Dr. Brad Logan, director
Logan, chair of the BSU Department of Music and director of choral activities, received his undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University, a master’s from California State University in Long Beach and a doctorate from the University of Illinois. He has served on the faculties of the University of Montevallo, Louisiana College, University of Illinois and California State University in Long Beach. He made his Carnegie Hall debut conducting René Clausen’s “a new Creation” in 2002, conducted the BSU Chamber Singers on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion” in 2003 and served as conductor of the Röthenberg Choral Festival in Röthenberg, Germany, in 2005. He is the executor of the Edwin R. Fissinger Musical Estate and serves as co-editor of the Edwin Fissinger Choral Series published by Meadowlark Music Publications.

For more information, contact the Department of Music at (218) 755-2915.

FOR YOUR CALENDAR
April 5
– 3 p.m. – The Bemidji Choir home concert presented by Bemidji State University. Location: Main Theatre of the Bangsberg Fine Arts Complex. Admission: $5 for adults, $3 for seniors and students and free for BSU students.