News : Matthew Gerhold to perform throughout the Southern U.S. with Concordia University's A Cappella Choir.

Matthew Gerhold of Atkins, Iowa and the University A Cappella Choir from Concordia University, Nebraska, will travel to Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and Louisiana for its annual tour on March 2 - 11.The choir will conclude the tour with two local-area concerts on Sunday, March 18 at 2 p.m. at St. Thomas Aquinas (Newman Center) in Lincoln and at 7 p.m. at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward. "The A Cappella Choir strives to perform music at a high artistic level - music which inspires, instructs and entertains the listener," said Dr. Kurt von Kampen, conductor. "But the mission of the choir goes beyond mere artistry. The University A Cappella Choir exists to proclaim the Gospel of Christ in song and to honor God with the musical talents the students have been given." The internationally acclaimed choir will perform concerts at churches and schools in nine cities on their ten day tour. Concert sites include Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Edmond, Oklahoma; Trinity Klein Lutheran Church in Spring, Texas; Trinity Downtown Lutheran Church in Houston, Texas; St. Paul Lutheran Church in Austin, Texas; Crown of Life Lutheran Church in San Antonio, Texas; St. John Lutheran Church in Lake Charles, Louisiana; Faith Lutheran Church in Plano, Texas; Holy Cross Lutheran Church in Wichita, Kansas; First Lutheran Chruch and St. John's Lutheran Church in Topeka, Kansas. The choir performs full-length concerts, school assemblies and church worship services. The repertoire of sacred and secular choral compositions spans all historical periods and is representative of many cultures. This year's concert features choral music by Johann Pachelbel, Felix Mendelssohn, Samuel Barber, Robert Lucas Pearsall, Anthony Bernarducci, Gwyneth Walker, Eric William Barnum and others. The A Cappella Choir has toured the country each year and internationally approximately every four years since its inception in 1939, performing throughout Europe, the Middle East, Australia, Asia and Mexico, and most recently, South Africa. It has also participated in international choral festivals in Australia and Austria, placing first and third respectively while under the direction of Dr. von Kampen.