The Knox College Choir has gone worldwide—performing selections in eight languages at its Fall Concert at 3 p.m., Sunday, November 5, in Kresge Recital Hall, Ford Center for the Fine Arts, on the Knox campus in Galesburg, Illinois.

The concert is free and open to the public.

"The Knox College Choir is always committed to exploring many languages and cultures; we're just going a bit farther this fall," said Choir Director Laura Lane, professor of music.

The program includes a Sufi song in Arabic; a song from Kenya sung in Swahili; a song from the movie Slumdog Millionaire, sung in Hindi; a work by Finnish composer Jussi Chydenius; a selection by Bach, sung in German; a song by composer Barbara Strozzi, sung in Italian; a song by Pablo Casals, sung in Latin; and Al Shlosha D'varim, by Allan Naplan, sung in Hebrew.

Among the selections in English is the world premiere of Friendship, commissioned by the Choir from Bruce Polay, professor of music at Knox and conductor/artistic director of the Knox-Galesburg Symphony. "I am so excited to be giving the world premiere of this beautiful new piece by my dear friend and colleague, Bruce Polay!" Lane said. "This week in rehearsal, the students sang Friendship for Bruce for the first time, and he was very pleased with our interpretation. His suggestions helped us bring the work to life in a more meaningful way."

Lane said the rehearsal process focused on details of the languages represented in the concert.

"I speak a few words of Swahili, but I met with some people who are from Kenya, to get the accent right and to learn more about the beautiful Kenyan song," Lane said. "Choir president Lara Braverman speaks Hebrew. No one in the choir is a native speaker of Arabic, but I learned it from the composer. I speak German and many in the choir have studied Latin, German, and Spanish. Jai Ho, from Slumdog Millionaire has both Spanish and Hindi, and one of the choir members, Shubham Moitra, helped with Hindi pronunciations."

The Knox College Choir has performed throughout the United States and in several European countries. The Choir's latest CD, drawn from selections performed on their tour of France earlier this year, has just been released and will be available for sale at the concert.

Photos above, the Knox College Choir at Opening Convocation; below, on tour and in rehearsal.

Knox College Choir, Fall 2017 Concert

Spirit Moving Over Chaos ~ David Ashley White
Es war ein wunderlicher Krieg, from Christ Lag in Todesbanden (Cantata No. 4) ~ J. S. Bach
O Vos Omnes ~ Pablo Casals
Adinu ~ Sufi Song, arr. Andre de Quadros
Al Shlosha D'varim ~ Allan Naplan

Wana Baraka ~ trad'itional Kenyan folksong, arr. Shawn Kirchner
Friendship ~ Bruce Polay; world premiere, commissioned by the Knox College Choir
Autumn ~ Jussi Chydenius
Ballade to the Moon ~ Daniel Elder
Jai ho! ~ A. R. Rahman, arr. Ethan Sperry
The Knox Hymn

Chamber Singers:

Con le belle non ci vuol fretta ~ Barbara Strozzi
When David Heard ~ Thomas Tomkins
She Walks in Beauty ~ Eric Barnum
Listen to the Mockingbird ~ traditional American, arr. Gail Kubik

Knox College Choir, Fall 2017

Laura Lane, director
Casey Dierlam, accompanist
* Denotes member of Knox College Chamber Singers

Soprano
* Ellie Baird, La Grange, IL ~ Undeclared
Jessica Beckman, Owatonna, MN ~ Creative Writing
* Lara Braverman, Vernon Hills, IL ~ Chemistry/Theatre
* Iris Cohn, Portland, OR ~ Undeclared
* Maggie Decker, St ~ Louis, MO ~ Undeclared
* Eliza Dehlin, Viroqua, WI ~ History
Courtney Harris, Tinley Park, IL ~ Psychology/Biology
Mari Hockett, Warrenville, IL ~ Writing
Madeline Lag, Chicago, IL ~ ~ Psychology
Gwen O'Connell, Chicago, IL ~ Undeclared
Anna Rhodes, Avon, IL ~ Political Science
Sarah Schierbeck, Skokie, IL ~ Anso/Psychology

Alto
* Lydia Allen, Chicago, IL ~ Chemistry/French
Kaitlyn Agress, Crystal Lake, IL ~ Creative Writing/Classics
Francesca Downs, Chicago, IL ~ Anso/Creative Writing
Amanda Espinosa, Los Angeles, CA ~ Undeclared
Kaitlyn Hrivnak, Kewaunee, WI ~ Undeclared
Sarah Lohmann, St ~ Louis, MO ~ Undeclared
* Meghan Mohn, Kansas City, KS ~ Creative Writing
* Katerina Sasieta, St ~ Louis, MO ~ Music
* Sarah Smith, Maryville, MO ~ Music
Madeline Swift, Houston, TX ~ Undeclared
Hajah Turpin, Newark, NJ ~ Psychology
Emily Wallace, Marion, IL ~ Art Education
* Ingrid Wasmer, Chicago, IL ~ Undeclared
* Moya Woods, Portland, OR ~ Undeclared

Tenor
Julian Bowens-Robinson, St ~ Louis, MO ~ Undeclared
James Cook, Chicago, IL ~ Undeclared
* Samuel Fredericksen, Highland, IL ~ Creative Writing
Ryan Haack, North Judson, IN ~ English/Creative Writing
Tanner Nelson, Webster Grove, St ~ Louis, MO ~ Undeclared
* David Petrak, Darien, IL ~ English Literature
EinarPieler, Crystal Lake, IL ~ Undeclared
Noah Zand, Kenosha, WI ~ Psychology/Elementary Education

Bass
Nico Colangelo, Lombard, IL ~ Undeclared
Benjamin Dolezal, Columbia, MO ~ Biology/Environmental Science
Edward Freeman, Chicago, IL ~ Music Education
Alex Gallo, Glen Ellyn, IL ~ Music
* Chase McIntoush, Rockford, IL ~ Undeclared
Zak Metalsky, Appleton, WI ~ Theatre
Shubham Moitra, Mumbai, India ~ Economics/International Relations
* Aidan Murphy, Prairie View, IL ~ Creative Writing
* Gabriel Ochoa, Phoenix, AZ ~ Music Composition
Benjamin Rezko, Chicago, IL ~ Theatre
Ibrahim Sakrani, Lombard, IL ~ Undeclared
* Jared Smith, Seneca, WI ~ Chemistry
* Tom Trudeau, Raleigh, NC ~ Neuroscience