Music

SWC CHOIR TO PERFORM AT CARNEGIE HALL

Excitement is building in the music room at SWC! On Wednesday, March 18th, 27 high school choir students will fly to NYC where they will rehearse for several days and conclude the experience with a concert at Carnegie Hall on Saturday, March 21st. The SWC choir was recommended for this opportunity by Dr. Stephen Kingsbury at Southwest Minnesota State University out of Marshall, MN.

This invitation came about after SWC Choir Director Brittany Forness received several calls and emails late last spring from a company that arranges Carnegie Hall performances for high school students. At first, she assumed the messages were junk mail. However, the company repeatedly referenced a professor she recognized. Curious, she contacted Dr. Kingsbury, who confirmed that he had recommended SWC for the opportunity. As a frequent judge at MSHSL contests, he noted that SWC’s groups consistently perform well and believed the students would appreciate an experience like this. Forness also shared that she had been looking for something special to highlight this year’s especially talented and musical senior class, making the timing perfect.

The concert will be under the direction of Dr. Nathan Payant from Colorado State University. The choir will perform “Illuminare” by Elaine Hagenberg, which is a 5-movement work based on different theological texts about light. The piece in its entirety runs just under a half hour. In order to learn the entire piece, the choir has been performing one or two movements at each concert leading up to the big event. The Chamber Choir performed movement No. 2, “Caritas,” and movement No. 5, “Illuminare his,” at the Christmas concert held Monday, December 8th.

While in NYC, when students are not rehearsing, they will have the opportunity to take in some of the history and culture of New York City. Students will get to visit the Statue of Liberty, the 9/11 Memorial Museum, and see The Outsiders musical on Broadway, as well as participate in several historical tours throughout the city.

Fundraising for this event has been in full swing with students needing to raise nearly $3,500 each.

Click this link if you would like to donate online for this exciting opportunity. Donate now.

Music at Southwest MN Christian Schools
At Southwest MN Christian Schools, we believe music is a powerful gift from God—one that invites us to celebratory praise, reverent worship, and skillful expression of our faith. Through God’s grace, we are equipped to worship Him with instruments and voices, and our Music Department is dedicated to nurturing this gift in every student.

Rooted in Christ, our music program provides high-quality education that not only builds musical knowledge and skill, but also encourages spiritual growth. Our prayer is that as students develop their musicianship, they will be prepared to use their gifts in worship throughout their lives and bear fruit for the glory of God.

From the earliest grades, students learn to actively listen, understand musical ideas, read notation, and sing or play with accuracy and expression. The curriculum incorporates a wide range of musical styles, including traditional hymns, classical works from the seventeenth to twentieth centuries, folk songs, global music, and contemporary praise and pop.

Ultimately, our goal is to raise up skillful, faithful musicians who understand the beauty of music as worship—and who use their talents to glorify God both now and in the future.