Annual music showcase

During homecoming weekend, Gustavus will feature performances from many groups including the Lucia Singers and the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra.  Submitted.
During homecoming weekend, Gustavus will feature performances from many groups including the Lucia Singers and the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra. Submitted.

Homecoming weekend is full of festivities, including the parade in town, Homecoming Court crowning and, of course, the football game. In addition to these events, Gustavus features a family weekend music showcase.

“The Family Weekend Concert is a tradition that goes back decades. For many years, we did a series of three concerts: the bands were in Bjorling, followed by the Choirs and Orchestras in Chapel and finally by the Jazz ensembles in Alumni Hall,” Director of Communication Services and Fine Arts Program Al Behrends said.

Within the last couple years, all of the concerts were combined into one large performance, which includes the Gustavus Choir,  Gustavus and Vasa Wind Orchestras, the Gustavus Symphony Orchestra and the Lucia Singers.

“The ensembles will perform a broad variety of music and will culminate with all the ensembles in Carmen Dragon’s spectacular arrangement of ‘America, the Beautiful,’” Gustavus Wind Orchestra and Vasa Wind Orchestra Conductor Douglas Nimmo said.

This performance will be held on Sunday, Oct. 11 at 2:00 p.m. In addition to this concert, other performances will also take place on Sunday.

The Choir of Christ Chapel and the Gustavus Philharmonic Orchestra will showcase some of their pieces in Christ Chapel at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday.

Following the performances in Christ Chapel,  the Gustavus Jazz Lab Band will be playing in the Market Place, where family, friends and students can enjoy lunch together while listening to live music.