Wartburg Choir to perform in Washington Feb. 18

The Wartburg Choir will perform in the Hanson Auditorium of the Washington Area Performing Arts and Events Center at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 18.

General admission is $20, with $10 price for college students, and students in grades K-12 free. Tickets are available through the website: WashingtonAuditorium.org. Tickets are also available at the door beginning one hour before the performance.

The internationally acclaimed Wartburg Choir is a select a cappella choir from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. The choir performs sacred music from all historical periods and styles and often collaborates with contemporary composers.

Choir members are chosen by audition and represent various academic disciplines on campus.

The Wartburg Choir has a deep history of legacy, tradition, and family. This tradition started with Dr. Edwin Liemohn, who brought the Lutheran choral tradition to Wartburg College by founding the choir in 1937.

The Wartburg Choir tours annually throughout the United States, appearing in many prestigious concert halls. They performed with opera star Simon Estes at Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis; Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.; Lincoln Center, New York; and Orchestra Hall at Symphony Center in Chicago. Estes and the choir also performed two concerts with the Czech National Symphony Orchestra in Prague. The choir has also performed solo concerts at Carnegie Hall on two different occasions.

The Wartburg Choir has been invited to perform at several national and divisional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association. In December 2011 the choir was invited to sing as a part of the White House Holiday Concert Series. As part of that trip to Washington, D.C., the choir also sang at the National Cathedral's Bethlehem Prayer Service, which was simulcast worldwide.

The Wartburg Choir became one of the first American college groups to tour Europe. Called a "mighty fortress of skill" by The Washington Post, the Wartburg Choir is one of Wartburg's three musical ensembles that tour internationally on a triennial basis and has performed in over 21 European countries, three Canadian provinces, Scandinavia, and South Africa. The choir has competed in the Cork International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland on two separate occasions.

A 1999 Iowa Public Television production of the Wartburg Choir at the historic Wartburg Castle in Eisenach, Germany, was broadcast on public television stations throughout the United States. It marked the first performance ever taped for television at the very castle where Martin Luther took refuge for 10 months during the stormy days of the Protestant Reformation.

Wartburg College has recently celebrated “75 years of Christmas with Wartburg.” This award-winning concert combines music, art, poetry, scripture, and congregational singing to create an experience that invites attendees to welcome in the Advent and Christmas seasons.

Dr. Edwin Liemohn directed the choir from 1937 to 1968. During Liemohn's time with the choir he set a high standard of choral excellence, initiated the first Christmas with Wartburg festival in 1947, began the tradition of national concert tours, and coordinated the choir's first international tour.

Dr. James Fritschel, directed the choir from 1968 to 1984, expanding its reputation for excellence and international exposure. His singers toured Europe in 1974 and began the tradition of performing at the Wartburg Castle, the college's namesake in Eisenach, Germany. In 1980, the Wartburg Choir became the first American choral group to win first place at the International Choral Festival in Cork, Ireland.

Dr. Paul Torkelson directed the choir from 1984 to 2009. During Torkelson's time he conducted the choir at nearly every major concert hall in the United States and led the group on numerous international tours. During this time the Wartburg Choir gained international acclaim for their versatility and precision. In 2004 during a Kennedy Center concert, music critic Cecelia Porter described the choir as "a chorus trained with rock-solid discipline… and impeccable intonation and excellent diction."

Dr. Lee Nelson

In 2009, Dr. Lee Nelson became the fourth and present director of the Wartburg Choir. His efforts have increased the awareness and reputation of the choir. The group is in high demand for premieres of new compositions, and the choir continues to be praised by critics throughout the country wherever it appears. Dr. Nelson led the choir to the National American Choral Directors Association Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 2017, where they were a featured choir. With other notable awards, the Wartburg Choir was given The American Prize in Choral Performance in May 2017. Since then, the Wartburg Choir has been receiving copious amounts of recognition and praise from choral professionals alike.