FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE (4/05)
Contact: Lynn Stewart or Jennifer Hayes, Centenary News Service, 318-869-5120

Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris Invites Centenary College Choir to Sing

SHREVEPORT, LA — The Centenary College Choir will add another of the world's great cathedrals -- Notre Dame in Paris -- to the list of major venues in which the Choir has performed.

"The choir has been invited to give a concert in the Cathedral of Notre Dame on Tuesday, May 31," said Choir Director Dr. Will K. Andress. "This will be the first such program for the Choir in Notre Dame, though we have sung at St. Peter's in Rome, Westminster Abbey, and other great cathedrals of the world."

The performance will be a part of the Choir's biennial tour, which this year will tour Europe May 17 to June 2.

Dr. Andress has served as Choir director for 31 years. His contact with friends in Paris secured the performance in Notre Dame. He has chosen a selection of spirituals including J.S. Bach’s All Breathing Life and Andress’ own preparation of The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee, an a capella piece composed by Jean Berger.

Other performances on this years’ European tour will begin in Switzerland at the Reformed Church of Frutigen, a medieval Swiss church, and will include stops at Krankenhaus Martha Maria hospital in Nuremberg, Germany; Spangdahelm Air Force Base in Bitburg, Germany; and Lorraine American Military Cemetery in Saint Avold, France, for the Memorial Day ceremony at the place where over 10,000 American service men and women are buried.

Pieces from these programs include the music of Bach, Durufle, Faure, Brahms to Berlin, Wilhousky and Hogan. Patriotic pieces such as America the Beautiful will be added to the programs at the military bases and cemetery.

The trip will also include a chance to sightsee at several locations along the way.

The European tour includes 60 Centenary students and 35 others related to the college. Centenary President and First Lady, Drs. Ken and Pat Schwab, will also be on the tour. The group will leave May 17 and return June 2.

The Choir's expenses are underwritten through concerts given by the Choir, friends, alumni and corporate sponsors Kilpatrick Life Insurance and Robertson, Bailes and McClelland LLP, with the students providing the balance. Adults travel at their own expense.

For more about the Centenary College Choir, see http://www.centenary.edu/music/choir/.

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