Sacred concerts highlights faith and music
From 1965 until his death in 1974, Edward Kennedy “Duke” Ellington reformed both his worldview and his music. With his advancing age, failing health, and the death in of his beloved co-composer Billy Strayhorn, Ellington came to realize the impermanence of life and rekindled the…
Army, PLU team up for free concert in honor of Music in our Schools Month
Since 1985, educational institutions across the nation have recognized March as Music in our Schools Month , and to celebrate, the 56th Army Band from 1 Corps at Joint Base Lewis-McChord will join Pacific Lutheran University’s Wind Ensemble concert in Lagerquist Concert Hall, on Sunday, March…
A Symphony of Light
Pacific Lutheran University presents the U.S. premiere of ‘Nordic Light Symphony,’ a multimedia production inspired by the Northern Lights The Aurora Borealis is the largest optical phenomenon in the Earth’s upper atmosphere; a spectacular event, that many only dream of seeing. For those that aspire…
A cross-culture band exchange teaches both student and teacher
Every other year the Tamana All Girls’ High School Band travels to Washington state for an exchange with the Graham Kapowsin High School and a friendship concert at PLU. The eight-year long relationship has created bonds that stretch across the ocean. This year, three Graham…
PLU Organist performs Bach at Portland’s St. James Lutheran Church
Sunday, December 4 at 5 pm PLU Music Professor and Organist Paul Tegels will play Bach Cantata Vespers and a Mozart Church Sonata for organ and strings at the historic downtown Portland’s St. James Lutheran Church on Dec. 4. The Bach Vesper will feature Cantata 61, Nun komm…
Sølvvinden Flute Ensemble to perform at Mary Bridge
The Sølvvinden Flute Ensemble’s latest project is music to our ears. Flute Choir at PLU, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2016. (Photo: John Froschauer/PLU) The next concert for Pacific Lutheran University’s Sølvvinden Flute Ensemble, PLU’s flute choir, will have a small but strong audience: patients at Mary…
Pacific Lutheran University premieres new original opera: Fiery Jade Cai Yan
PLU Music Professor Gregory Youtz teams up with prominent Chinese poet Zhang Er, Professor at The Evergreen State College in Olympia, to create this new work around the life of an extraordinary woman poet of ancient China, Cai Yan. In this new opera, Fiery Jade:…
PLU to Welcome Grammy-Winning Organist Nathan Laube
Pacific Lutheran University welcomes internationally renowned organist Nathan Laube to campus on September 11, 2016 at 3 pm. Described as one of the world’s elite organ performers, Laube will kick off the Richard D. Moe Organ Series. Laube is a Grammy-winning organist, who tours and…
Jazz Under the Stars concert lineup announced
The 2016 Jazz Under the Stars series will begin on Thursday, July 7 in the outdoor amphitheater of the Mary Baker Russell Music Center on the PLU campus. This annual summer concert series is FREE to the public, PLU’s gift to our community. The series…
Students featured in University Symphony Orchestra season closer
The Pacific Lutheran University Symphony Orchestra will close its 2015-16 season with a blend of brand new works and twentieth-century masterpieces. The concert on Tuesday, May 10 at 8pm, features violinist Laura Hillis ’17 and composer Emilio Gonzalez ’16, and will be conducted by Jeffrey…
Metropolitan Opera singer offers masterclass to faculty-nominated students
When a Metropolitan Opera singer visits campus, you take note. Alfred Walker, who has performed in star roles all over the world, is offering a masterclass on May 10 from 5:30pm to 6:30pm in the Mary Baker Russell Music Center, Room 306. PLU student singers,…
Pacific Lutheran University Choirs and Orchestra close “Passion Week” with North American premiere
The Pacific Lutheran University Choir of the West, Choral Union and the University Symphony Orchestra perform the North American premiere of the “St. Matthew Passion” by Sven-David Sandström, one of the world’s best-known composers, on Tuesday, March 22 and Wednesday, March 23 at 8:00 pm…
PLU Wind Ensemble tours eastern Washington and Portland, Oregon
The Pacific Lutheran University Wind Ensemble is traveling across the mountains to eastern Washington to perform in various venues this March. The 50-student ensemble will perform in Yakima, Spokane, Richland, Pasco and Portland, Oregon, and will finish with a homecoming concert in Lagerquist Concert Hall…
PLU to present US premiere of St. Matthew Passion as part of larger “Passion Week” event
Save the date for Tacoma Passion Week, March 13-23 PLU’s Choral Union, Choir of the West and University Symphony Orchestra will join forces to present the United States premiere of Sven-David Sandström’s St. Matthew Passion (Matthäuspassion) on Tuesday, March 22 and Wednesday, March 23 at…
A Christmas Invitation – Photo Recap
Mandi LeCompte Email:; bradyad@plu.edu Christmas at PLU this year was extra special. The 2015 concert program featured the world premiere of critically acclaimed composer J.A.C. Redford’s A Christmas Invitation , composed for PLU’s Choir of the West, University Chorale and University Symphony Orchestra. Opera star…
J-term adventures: Keep up with music students around the world
Churches, Organs, and Art in The Netherlands and Germany University Organist and Associate Professor of Music Paul Tegels takes students to visit historical buildings in the Netherlands and northern Germany. Organ students will see and play some of the most significant historical instruments in that region,…
PLU Chorale tours the southeast, uses music to make the world a better place
The Chorale will perform in Georgia, Alabama and Florida and will close the tour with a homecoming concert in PLU’s Lagerquist Concert Hall. In a program titled “I Can Tell the World,” the Pacific Lutheran University Chorale will perform a repertoire of choral music, featuring…
‘A Christmas Invitation’ broadcast
Save the date to see our Christmas concert broadcast To bring PLU’s 125th anniversary year to a spectacular close, PLU’s annual Christmas concert “A Christmas Invitation” will be broadcast into homes on Christmas and Christmas Eve in the Seattle, Tacoma and the greater Portland area…
The University Wind Ensemble featured at the Western International Band Clinic
Lutes played to more than 800 students, band directors and music lovers who packed the house at the Western International Band Clinic on Saturday, November 21, 2015. The PLU Wind Ensemble was featured during the festival’s Saturday night performance and was one of only four…
PLU Opera ushers you into the dark underworld
There will be high notes and high kicks as you travel to the depths of the dark underground this November at Pacific Lutheran University. PLU’s opera program will perform Offenbach’s Orpheus in the Underworld for four performances on the Karen Hille Phillips Mainstage: November 19,…
Social Media