Luther College Nordic Choir

Saturday, February 2, 2013 8:00pm

The Luther College Nordic Choir, founded in 1946, enjoys national and international acclaim as a premier collegiate choral ensemble in the United States. Following the 57-year tenure of Weston Noble, Nordic is currently under the direction of Dr. Allen Hightower, named director of choral activities at Luther College in 2010.

Nordic Choir has toured extensively throughout the United States, performing in countless churches, schools, and concert halls, including Lincoln Center, New York; Kennedy Center, Washington, D.C.; Orchestra Hall, Chicago; Orchestra Hall and the Historic State Theatre, Minneapolis; the Ordway Music Theatre, St. Paul, Minn.; Walt Disney concert Hall and the Crystal Cathedral, Los Angeles; and the Mormon Tabernacle, Salt Lake City.

Nordic Choir has also appeared at national American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) conventions in Los Angeles, Salt Lake City, and Kansas City, and at the Music Educators National Conference in Kansas City, MO.

Luther, a selective four-year college located in the scenic bluff country of northeast Iowa, has an enrollment of 2,600 students. The college has a long tradition of outstanding instrumental and vocal music programs.

Allen Hightower is a professor of music and conductor of the renowned Nordic Choir. He serves as director of choral activities, giving leadership to a choral program that includes four choral conductors, six choirs, and over 500 singers.

Prior to joining the faculty at Luther, Dr. Hightower served as professor of music and director of choral activities at Sam Houston State University in Huntsville, Texas. During his tenure, the SHSU Chorale performed for the 2007 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association, the 2010 Southwestern Division of ACDA, and the 2003, 2006, and 2010 conventions of the Texas Music Educators Association.

Before joining the faculty at Sam Houston, Allen served on the faculty of California State University, Long Beach, conducting the CSULB Chamber Singers. His high school teaching experience includes teaching at Klein High School in Houston, Texas and at Odessa Permian High School. Under Allen’s direction, the Permian High School Kantorei performed for the 1996 Texas Music Educators Association convention.

From 2005-10 Allen was music director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus, Houston’s largest independent chorus. Performances with this chorus and professional orchestra included Orff’s Carmina Burana, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Haydn’s Creation, masses by Haydn, Mozart, and Beethoven, as well as the requiem masses of Fauré, Mozart, and Brahms.

Allen holds degrees from Sam Houston State University, Baylor University, the Eastman School of Music, and UCLA. He was the first-prize winner in the graduate division of the ACDA Conducting Competition in 1997. From 1997-2000 he served as conducting intern with the Los Angeles Master Chorale. Allen has been mentored by choral conductors Bev Henson, Donald Neuen, Paul Salamunovich, Joe Flummerfelt, and Weston Noble.

Tickets: $39, $29, $19