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Congratulations to the Houghton College Choir on their 75th anniversary year!

HOUGHTON COLLEGE CHOIR

The Houghton College Choir was founded in 1931 by famed musician Wilfred C. Bain. Since its inception it has focused on sacred A’cappella literature and from the beginning enjoyed a reputation for performing with sensitivity and artistry.

The mission of the Houghton College Choir is: to glorify God personally and corporately through upholding and extending a tradition of musical excellence via exposure to diverse choral literature, and to prepare students to lead and labor as scholar-servants in a changing musical world by cultivating an atmosphere of academic, musical and spiritual growth both in rehearsal and performance.

~this mission statement was written by the 2003-2004 College Choir student board

For seventy- five years The Houghton College Choir has taken its mission seriously and its traditions have been upheld and nurtured under the guidance of several respected conductors including: Wilfred Bain, Robert Shewan, Donald Bailey, B. Jean Reigles, and its current conductor, Dr. Brandon Johnson. The ensemble seeks to bring its listeners closer to the presence of God through the artistry and effort of its members. In doing so, each member’s faith journey is strengthened and broadened by wrestling with sacred music from all time periods.

Today, the Houghton College Choir continues to perform sacred choral music of the highest quality to diverse audiences. The choir tours regularly throughout the United States. Each year the College Choir travels across a region of the country bringing with it a growing level of artistry. Recent tours have included: 2004 Tour to the South-east, 2005 tour to the Mid-west, 2006 tour to New England and the 2007 tour to Mid-Atlantic . These tours have brought the Choir to diverse listening populations that have included prestigious concert halls like Lincoln Center and small church communities. The ensemble recently completed a tour of Eastern Europe traveling to Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, and Germany.

The College Choir performs large master-works on a regular basis and has performed with both the Buffalo Philharmonic and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. In recent years, the College Choir has performed Sergei Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil op 37, Gabriel Faure’s Requiem op. 48, Morton Lauridsen’s Lux Aeterna, George Frederic Handel’s Messiah, Johannes Brahms’ Ein Deutsches Requiem op. 45 and this fall will perform the Symphony No. 9 in d minor op.125 of Ludwig van Beethoven .

The choir membership is derived from fourteen states and five countries, all seeking to glorify God through music. The students who make up the choir represent many academic disciplines. However, all members of the choir recognize the important role of the arts for personal development as a part of a liberal arts curriculum.