Kickstart the NLC's latest recording, "Sheer Grace"

Ola GjeiloAlthough the 2012-13 concert season is over, we are busy ... busy planning the upcoming release of our new CD, "Sheer Grace!" Included on the recording are works by Ola Gjeilo (pictured left), Stephen Paulus, Sergei Rachmaninoff and more, plus the 2013 Raabe prize-winning composition, "Nada Te Turbe," by Jake Runestad.

NLC on TOUR: Lutheran Summer Music Festival

David Cherwien and the 66 members of the National Lutheran Choir will travel to Luther College to present a concert based on the everlasting presence of Jesus Christ: Yesterday, Today and Forever. A wide range of choral pieces will be performed, from early chant and familiar hymns to new works, including a World Premiere, "With High Delight," by Paul D. Weber and the 2013 Raabe prize-winning composition, "Nada Te Turbe," by Jake Runestad. Audience members will also enjoy readings, reflections and audience-involved singing throughout the program.

NLC on TOUR: Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) Biennial Conference


The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians will host the National Lutheran Choir to perform at the national conference taking place at Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Indiana. Besides performing a hymn festival featuring accompanying instrumentalists from Lutheran Summer Music and congregational singing, the NLC will also present workshops on repertoire for the lectionary.

Devotion: Jesus Christ Yesterday, Today and Forever

Here are the reflections spoken by Susan Palo Cherwien during the National Lutheran Choir's hymn festival on Friday and Sunday, May 3 and 5. Some variant of these reflections will also be part of the hymn festivals performed at Lutheran Summer Music (on Saturday, June 29 @ 7:30pm) and Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (on Monday, July 1 @ 7pm).

Knocking on Heaven's Door

Ann Lamott, a liberal born-again Christian, has an incredible knack for capturing the feeling you get when music connects you with the people around you. Listen to this memorable story. A National Lutheran Choir hymn festival is a little like this - you come to hear a "concert" and then, suddenly and unexpectedly, you're singing out loud in front of strangers. You might know the melody but sometimes you are completely lost and, to yourself, you sound like someone in pain, moaning an approximation of a song. And then you hear it. You hear yourself as part of the audience.