Concordia Wind Symphony presents the Litany through music at fall concert

The Concordia Wind Symphony performs in their concert Sunday evening.

Photo credit: Debbie Brutlag

By: Adreanna Pronschinske

Concordia University Wind Symphony held their first concert of the semester following the Litany prayer format as found in “Lutheran Service Book” on Sunday evening at St. John Lutheran Church in Seward.

A litany is a prayer composed of a list of petitions recited by a leader with responses by the congregation.

Assistant professor of Music Robert Cody, the conductor of the University Wind Symphony, selected the pieces for the performance with the litany format in mind.

Cody was very impressed with the ensemble’s performance.

“It’s very rare that ensembles peak in concert. Usually that happens somewhere in a rehearsal prior to, but they peaked in performance today, so it was good,” he said.

Former Concordia student Emma Kettelhake, who graduated last year, said she appreciated the theme of the performance.

“I thought it was interesting how they intertwined different kinds of pieces into the litany,” Kettelhake said. “Just different ways of thinking about it, especially when it came to the Children’s March. The music was very playful like children are.”

Sophomore Molly Cooper, one of the six percussionists in the ensemble, also enjoyed playing an array of instruments in the performance.

“It was a very powerful concert because it went through the litany and you could really feel the presence of prayer,” Cooper said.

Cody said that the original theme for the concert had been very different.

“As I was researching pieces, I kept finding pieces that I wanted to do that were different than the original theme that I planned, and then as I was looking through these pieces and their background, elements of the litany just kind of started popping out at me, and it all fell together really well,” Cody said.

Cody said the ensemble had a “relatively short” rehearsal cycle compared to previous years.

“We had a five-and-a-half-week rehearsal cycle for this. We typically have between eight and ten weeks of preparation,” Cody said.

He explained that he wanted to fit the concert in before fall break and so the group would have more time to prepare for Christmas at Concordia in December.

Overall, Cody was happy with the turnout.

“I think it was probably our largest audience for a fall concert since I’ve been here, so I’m really thankful for the community support,” he said.