Albert Lea High School’s concert choir has been busy preparing for a very special weekend. ALHS was selected as one of the five choirs for the sixth annual Choral Arts Final which takes place on this Sunday, at Concordia University, St. Paul and Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis. The invitation stated that this year’s auditions were the most competitive yet for the festival. Auditioning choirs sent in a recording of this year’s group from a performance sometime in the present school year. The five outstanding groups were judged in a blind audition process by an American Choral Directors of America panel, and those chosen reflect the proportion of applications from larger/smaller schools, metro/outstate, and mixed/female choirs.

The choirs will gather at 12:30 p.m. on Sunday at Concordia University St. Paul with massed choir rehearsals and clinic sessions for the choirs led by Dr. Edith Copley from Northern Arizona University. The day concludes with a gala concert at Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis at 7:30 p.m., with each choir performing individually and as a massed choir and a performance by St. Paul Christus Chorus from Concordia University.

The Choral Arts Finale is co-sponsored by ACDA of Minnesota and Concordia University, St. Paul. It is made possible through the generous support of David and Sandra Frauenshuh, significant donors to Concordia University, St. Paul and many other causes. In addition to receiving the clinic and a solo performance in Orchestra Hall, each choir is awarded an honorary plaque, a $500 honorarium, travel expenses, and supper at Concordia University. More than 2,000 singers have enjoyed the honor of participating in the Choral Arts Finale since its inception in 2006. The other high school choirs selected were Andover, Stillwater, Roseville and Champlin Park.