Music to flow through Austin
Published 11:13 am Saturday, September 20, 2014
The traditional sounds of barbershop and hymns are coming to Austin.
The Augsburg Centennial Singers will appear in concert at St. Olaf Lutheran Church, 306 Second St. Northwest, on Friday, Sept. 26. The concert, which features familiar hymns, barbershop and sacred music selections, begins at 7:30 p.m. The concert is sponsored by St. Olaf Lutheran Church.
Under the direction of Paul Christensen, the 60-member Centennial Singers take their name in remembrance of the 100th anniversary of the first Augsburg College Gospel Quartet to visit to Norway in the 1890’s. The singers have made two trips to Norway, a concert tour in Florida and several visits to Southwestern United States.
The Augsburg Centennial Singers have been a part of the Twin Cities music scene for more than 20 years. The singers were formed to commemorate the Augsburg College Gospel Quartet tradition at the Minneapolis college. From the late 1800’s until the 1960’s, gospel quartets traveled each summer appearing most often in churches affiliated with the Lutheran Free Church that supported the college.