Grand Forks Master Chorale to perform in Grand Forks and Hallock this weekend
Oct. 31—GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks Master Chorale opens its 2024-25 season with concert performances this weekend in Hallock, Minnesota, and Grand Forks.
With the theme "Reflections," the concerts are set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 2, at Kittson Central High School auditorium, 444 Ash Ave., Hallock, and 2:30 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 3, at St. Mark's Lutheran Church, 715 24th Ave. S., Grand Forks.
Tickets may be purchased in advance for $20 or at the door for $25. Student tickets, with an ID, are $5. To purchase in advance, go to
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The concert celebrates the American composer through the years, with genres drawn from Appalachia, spiritual and sacred to Broadway-esque, according to the Chorale's event announcement.
Performed by the 37 members of the chorale, the program features works by Eric Whitacre, Jake Runestad, Stacey Gibbs, Jean Belmont and Williametta Spencer.
The performance will include: "With a Lily in Your Hand," by Whitacre; "Deal Gently with Thy Servant Traditional Shaker Hymn"; "At the Round Earth's Imagined Corner," by Spencer; "The Passionate Shepherd to His Love," by Belmont, with soloists Sherry Knott of Thief River Falls and Kylar Moltzan of Grand Forks; "Exaltations," by F. Melius Christiansen; "The Best of Rooms," arranged by Phil Mattson; "I'll Be on My Way," by Shawn Kirchner, featuring soloist David Stadem; "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho," by Edwin Fissinger, with soloist Michael Thompson; "American Triptych," by Runestad; and "Didn't My Lord Deliver Daniel," by Gibbs.
Pianist Emily Berg will be featured in the "American Triptych," a set of three movements: Reflection, The Peace of the Wild Things and Come to the Woods, and on the Kirshner piece, "I'll Be on My Way."
The music was chosen for this concert to "help invoke memories of growing up in America," said Artistic Director Dean Jilek. "The music is thought provoking and toe tapping."
The program includes "genres for everyone's liking, including jazz by the great Phil Mattson, spirituals by Stacey Gibbs and Edwin Fissinger." The latter is a former faculty member with the NDSU music department.
At this weekend's performances, concert-goers are invited to "take a stroll down memory lane," Jilek said, "and reminisce with music that will move your soul."
These concerts are funded in part thanks to the generosity of the Community Foundation of Grand Forks, East Grand Forks and Region, and the North Dakota Council on the Arts. Support also comes from the Myra Foundation.
For more information, call (410) 300-1410 or email
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