SDSU Concert Choir showcases music for Scandinavian tour

The South Dakota State University Concert Choir will present its Scandinavian Northern Lights-themed concert this weekend with a performance celebrating the group’s upcoming trip to Sweden and Norway.

The concert, “Under the Northern Lights,” will take place in Larson Memorial Concert Hall in the Oscar Larson Performing Arts Center at 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 5. This performance is a great opportunity to hear the concert the students will sing for audiences across Sweden and Norway.

The choir will perform contemporary music by Norwegian composers, stirring arrangements of American classics and beloved choral works from masters such as Busto and Grieg.

“We’re excited to present choral classics sung in traditional, jazz and pop styles,” said Laura Diddle, director of choral activities at SDSU. “We’ve chosen to perform classic literature and familiar tunes like ‘How Can I Keep from Singing’ and ‘I’ll Fly Away’ along with tunes the audience will be familiar with such as ‘What a Wonderful World’ and ‘I Can See Cleary Now.’

“It’s been my experience,” Diddle added, “that overseas audiences really appreciate hearing music in their own language along with recognizable American folk music.”

While in Sweden and Norway from Dec. 27-Jan. 7, the choir will perform in the historic churches of Stockholm, Oslo, Lillehammer and Bergen. In addition to performances, the singers will tour museums of art and history and historic town centers and journey through the scenic fjords in Norway. Since 2003, hundreds of singers have toured internationally with the SDSU choirs to locations including England, Austria, Russia, Canada, Spain and Italy.

This concert, presented by the SDSU School of Performing Arts, is free and open to the public. Contact the school at 605-688-5187 for more information.