UW-La Crosse Concert Choir
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History of the Concert Choir
The UW-La Crosse Concert Choir, one of seven student choral
ensembles representing the UW-L Music Department, was founded in
1993 by its current conductor, Gary Kent Walth. The 55-voice
ensemble consists of students representing many academic areas
of the UW-L campus. Concert Choir members come from high schools
in Wisconsin, Minnesota and Illinois and frequently includes
international students, most recently from the nations of
Germany, Japan, England, Senegal and Ghana. The Choir has been
invited to perform at both state and regional American Choral
Directors Association and Music Education National Conferences
and has performed at festivals in Washington D. C. and in New
York City. In 1996 the Concert Choir and Symphony Orchestra
appeared in concerts in France, Switzerland, Germany and
Austria. In 2002, the Concert Choir sang in churches and concert
halls in England and Scotland, including concerts at the
Grosvernor Chapel, London, Exeter College Chapel, Oxford and St.
Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh.
Highlights of the 2006 tour included performances in Epinal,
France, at the Frankfurt Conservatory, and in the Augustinian
Monastery in Erfurt, Germany. During the May of 2009
Ireland tour the Choir performed in Dublin, Cork City, Bantry,
and at Kylemore Abbey in Ireland.
The May 2012 tour will feature a return to Ireland and
Northern Ireland where the Choir will sing concerts in
Dublin, Galway, Armagh, Belfast and Londonderry.
Gary Kent Walth, the conductor of the Concert Choir is also the Director of Choral Music Studies at UW-L. A graduate of Concordia College, Moorhead, Minnesota, Walth received both a Masters of Music and a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Missouri-Kansas City. An award-winning composer, Dr. Walth’s recently completed musical “If These Walls Could Talk” had its premiere performance, in a concert version, at the end of January
2006. He has appeared as a guest conductor and lecturer throughout the United States and Canada, and most recently in England and Scotland.
Membership in the Concert Choir
Auditions for the Choir are on the Sunday and Monday before Fall classes begin. Students register for the Choir before the auditions take place so that the rehearsal time is included in their class schedule. The auditions include the singing of an excerpt from the upcoming repertoire as well as sight singing. The audition process includes “call-backs” throughout the first week of classes.
Concert Choir Performances
The Concert Choir performs 6-10 times during the Fall semester including performances at the Fall Choral Concerts, Oktoberfest Heritage Night, Homecoming football game, New Music Festival, Festival of Carols, and at the Chancellor’s Holiday Luncheon. Performances during the Spring semester include the mid-Winter Concert, and the Annual Three Choirs Festival. The Concert Choir also performs at local churches.
A major tour is scheduled every four years. The Choir completed a concert tour in France and Germany in May of 2006 which included concerts in Epinal and Plombieres, France and Frankfurt (Hochschule für Musik and Erfurt, (Augustinian Monastery), Germany. The
2009 international tour included concert performances in Ireland. Regional tours at high schools, churches and concert halls are scheduled on years not including international travel.
Women's Chorus conductor Kathryn Skemp
Moran and Männerchor conductor Gary Walth after
a successful concert featuring Randall Thompson's "Frostiana."
WICKED ladies at Kirsten Nywall's Senior Recital
A few Concert Choir members relaxing during a Fall bike ride
on the Mississippi
Some Concert Choir members studying Luther's 95 thesis at the
Castle Church in Wittenburg, Germany
Concert Choir Members at Blarney Castle on their tour of
Ireland
Concert Choir Members wait to board Ireland flight in
Newark Airport
Concert Choir impromptu performance at the Blarney
Woolen Mills
Concert Choir singing in Kinsale, Ireland
Vocal Jazz member, Sarah Shervey with Katarina
Henryson of The Real Group on their mini-tour to Minneapolis