The Concordia Seminary Chorus, St. Louis, announces its 2009 Advent Tour. All of the presentations, except those on Sunday morning, will include an expanded choral version of Evening Prayer that encourages the participation of the congregation in hymns and psalms. The Seminary Chorus will present choral music for the season of Advent on the following dates:

Sunday, December 6, at 3:00 p.m.—Concordia Seminary, The Chapel of St. Timothy and St. Titus, St. Louis, Missouri

Wednesday, December 9, at 7:00 p.m.—Christ Memorial Lutheran Church, St. Louis, Missouri

Friday, December 11, at 7:00 p.m.—St. John’s Lutheran Church, Elgin, Illinois

Saturday, December 12, at 4:30 p.m.—St. James Lutheran Church, Chicago, Illinois

Sunday, December 13, at 8:00 a.m., 11:00a.m.—Gloria Dei Lutheran Church, Chicago, Illinois

Sunday, December 13, at 5:00 p.m.—Zion Lutheran Church, Mt. Pulaski, Illinois

The Concordia Seminary Chorus, which includes the Advent Tour Group, numbers about 60 seminarians, who commit to balancing full course loads with weekly rehearsals and special tour rehearsals. The seminarians are preparing for full-time service as pastors in The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod. Pastor Gerike has conducted the Chorus since 1992 after serving as its student conductor for five years.

The Chorus has produced ten recordings, its most recent being “Safe in God’s Faithfulness,” that includes two newly commissioned pieces for male voices and viola: John Eggert’s setting of “No Saint on Earth Lives Life to Self Alone” and Jonathan Kohrs’ setting of “Shine in Our Hearts.” Seminary Chorus recordings may be purchased after the presentations or from the Concordia Seminary Bookstore at 314-505-7315.