2020 A Capella Tour Cut Short; Performances Cancelled
A Cappella performs. Photo courtesy of Josh Marlatt.
By Hannah Birtell
Concordia A Cappella Choir went on a spring break tour and visited Nebraska, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, California and Nevada.
Despite the growing concerns over the COVID-19 virus, the tour was able to continue with few interruptions.
“Two concerts were cancelled at the end of the tour, but by then we had had six concerts, one worship service and a choral clinic/exchange, and while we wish we could have done more singing we felt like our mission had been fulfilled,” director of A Cappella Dr. Kurt von Kampen said.
A Capella’s mission was to make good music, honor God and share the Gospel message, recruit new students to Concordia, connect with alumni and encourage people to donate. Even though the tour was cut short, the choir still accomplished these things in von Kampen’s eyes.
“Tour makes all the work that we’ve done all year worth it,” junior Caleb Fishcer said. “The purpose of A Capella isn’t just to make great music. Ultimately, it’s to proclaim the Gospel through music.”
The choir sang many songs, but one memorable one was “Great is Thy Faithfulness.”
“This year we toured the song ‘Great is Thy Faithfulness’ and what a great message to be able to proclaim on our tour,” senior Thomas Johnson said. “It was really an amazing opportunity and I thank God for the gifts He gives us that we can praise Him.”
Choir members enjoyed growing closer together as an ensemble, seeing places they had not seen before and interacting with the people they met along the way.
“A highlight of A Cappella tour for me was going to Newport Beach in California, our choir exchange with the choir at University of Nevada Las Vegas, and singing for the students and later interacting with them at Christ Lutheran School in Costa Mesa, California,” junior Jenna Fredrickson said.
After returning from tour, the members of A Cappella were all asked to quarantine themselves for 14 days. Some students were able to return home to do this quarantine while others stayed in the Seward area. Students have found a variety of activities to pass the time such as spending time with family, watching Netflix and relaxing. Other students, though, have found more interesting ways to spend their newly acquired free time.
“I’m quarantined with five other men, all A Cappella members,” Johnson said. “We’ve started a video series called ‘Quarantine 1240’ where we document our daily happenings. This project has been the perfect thing to keep us focused and active.”
