The Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, Chorus, under the direction of the Rev. Henry V. Gerike, will tour Germany beginning on May 21, 2005. Chorus members and Chorus alumni will visit various Luther and Bach sites, as well as sister congregations of The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod for 10 days, ending on May 31.

“It will be exciting to visit some of the places where Luther and Bach lived, thrived and proclaimed the Gospel of Jesus Christ through word and song,” commented Gerike. “Our tour of Germany will be made even more memorable because of our visiting and worshiping with our sister congregations, who are members of SELK (The Independent Lutheran Church of Germany). We hope that many of our Chorus alumni will be able to join present Chorus members in singing our way through Germany.”

The Chorus will give concerts at several congregations of the Independent Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany (SELK), such as St Marien Church in Zehlendorf and St. Johnannes Church in Oberursel. These concerts will present music for which the Seminary Chorus is well known—hymns, motets, and anthems for male choir.

There also will be many opportunities for sightseeing between [landing in] Berlin and [departing from] Frankfurt, including Wittenburg, Torgau, Meissen, Leipzig, Erfurt, Eisennach and Wartburg.

All Concordia Seminary alumni and especially alumni of the Concordia Seminary Chorus are invited to join the Chorus on this tour. Chorus alumni also may sing for the concerts. To help alumni learn the music, rehearsal CDs will be made and sent along with the music. When registering for the tour, alumni should indicate their willingness to sing for the concerts.

Additional information and the registration form for the tour may be downloaded from the Concordia Seminary Web site at www.csl.edu/Chorus.htm.