Judson choir heads north for annual fall tour

They may have different majors from math to physical therapy, but the 96-member Judson University Choir in Elgin comes together in song.

Traveling to another city, state or country to sing is a tradition going back more than 50 years at the university. This year is no exception as 44 members of the choir embark on their annual Fall Tour, which takes place Sunday through Tuesday, Nov. 8-10.

The choir will travel to churches in Wisconsin and Minnesota to sing worship songs and play instruments including trombone, guitar and banjo.

"The typical concert is 90 minutes and will include a call to worship, a choral benediction that the congregation will join us for, and it will include student testimonies as well," said Warren Anderson, university choir director and director for the center for worship in the performing arts at Judson.

From traditional and classical to bluegrass, the choir will perform a range of songs which Anderson calls "musically all over the dial." It's one of the reasons senior Mat Camerer, 22, of Bartlett, likes the tour.

"I'm a worship arts major and I'd love to work in a church some day," Camerer said. "It's things like this that tell me that music doesn't have to be one specific genre, and it's nice to see Judson use so many genres of music in the way that they minister."

Some of the songs featured in the tour are Handel's "Halleluia, Amen," David Haas' "If Today You Hear His Voice," from Psalm 95, and a student arrangement of "Be Thou My Vision."

"'Be Thou My Vision' has lyrics that go all the way back to the eighth century," Anderson said.

They'll also sing "All You See," an original song from the student band Mass Anthem, which recorded and produced its album on campus.

Church performances are at 9:30 a.m. on Sun. Nov. 8, at Woodbury Baptist Church in Woodbury, Minnesota; 7 p.m. on Mon. Nov. 9, at Mission Covenant Church in Poplar, Wisconsin.; and 7 p.m. on Tues. Nov. 10, at Cornerstone Community Church in Marshfield, Wisconsin.

The concerts promise to have something for everyone, including traditional classical choral music typical of a university choir.

"What I usually tell the people is if you don't like something, we'll have something for you in just a moment, I promise," Anderson said.

The concerts will be engaging for those who like to sing.

"Four or five times, I'll turn around and we'll have the congregation sing with us," Anderson said. "We'll be facilitating corporate worship."

In addition to the church concerts, Anderson is especially excited for a Sunday, Nov. 8, performance at Old School Lives, a renovated school building an hour past Duluth in Cotton, Minnesota. The concert will be open to the community, and the choir members will perform in the school's auditorium at 7 p.m.

"Instead of letting the wrecking ball come, they saved this building and now they do all these fun, exciting community benefiting projects there," Anderson said, adding that his former student's family played an integral part in saving the building. "It's going to be a fun evening."

Senior Bethany Timmons, 20, of Belvidere, has been singing with the choir for three years and enjoys the camaraderie that happens before, during and after the concerts.

"It's a unique time of building our community within the choir," Timmons said. "We have time in our host homes where we stay overnight, friendships that are deepened, and fun experiences that you couldn't have in any other setting."

Like Camerer, Timmons wants to become a worship leader after she graduates.

"There's a decent chance that my job would involve working with a choir or ensemble, so I believe my experience with the choir will be very valuable to me," Timmons said.

Over the years, the Judson University Choir has morphed into what industry leaders call a "worship leading choir" with a shift that happened in 2012, according to Anderson.

"Part of my job is to facilitate that vision now," he said. "Everything we do is filtered through that corporate worship lens."

Besides the Fall Tour, members will travel in the winter for four days, and then embark on a 10-day spring tour to Jamaica.