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Making its first
visit to the USA and Canada from August 18 to 26, the Posaunenchor St.
Matthaeus of Nürnberg will perform concerts in Frankenmuth MI and Chicago
IL. The first performance of the 17 musicians will be in Frankenmuth on
Sunday, August 20 at the 9:30 am service of St. Lorenz Lutheran Church, 1030
W. Tuscola (tel. 989-652-6141). This congregation and community began in
1845 in Michigan's primeval forest with 15 Franconian settlers and two
church bells cast in Nürnberg.
At 6 pm on Sunday,
August 20, the Posaunenchor will perform a free outdoor variety concert at
Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn's Fischer Platz (tel. 989-652-9955). Since the
majority of Franken-muth's immigrant settlers were from Mittelfranken,
director Gerhard Meier-Schettler will include Franconian medleys, folk
songs, and marches in the concert.
In Chicago on
Thursday, August 24, the Posaunenchor will present a half-hour variety
concert at the Sears Tower at 2 pm. That evening, the brass group will
perform a concert of religious music at St. Alphonsus Catholic Church, 1429
W. Wellington Avenue (tel. 773-525-0709). This parish was formed in 1882 to
serve the German immigrant population in Chicago. Its sanctuary, dedicated
in 1897, has been called one of the grandest gothic churches in the city. It
is home to the only weekly Sunday German Mass in the archdiocese of Chicago.
Other sightseeing
highlights for the Posaunenchor will be Niagara Falls, the Amish settlements
around Berlin OH, and Detroit's Eastern Market and Henry Ford Museum.
For many decades,
the Posaunenchor St. Matthaeus has played for their congregation's worship
services and concerts. Also every year, the musicians perform at the
world-renowned Nürnberger Christkindlmarkt. Past concert tours have taken
the group to Switzerland, Südtirol, France, and Hungary. In 1984, the
Posaunenchor was honored to play for the General Assembly of the Lutheran
World Federation in Budapest.
Daniel Haubenstricker |
