Concert Choir Prepares for
Conductor's Final Tour

Dan Graves

Dan Graves

For Professor of Music Dan Graves, choosing performance music is one of the most creative aspects of his work. Each choir concert he conducts tells a finely crafted story. In 2008, the Earlham College Concert Choir's East Coast Tour narrates a 24-year love story that's coming to an end, as Dan leads his final choir tour.

The 2008 tour takes the Concert Choir to five East Coast cities: Pittsburgh; Washington, D.C.; Philadelphia; New York; and Cambridge, Mass. But first, the choir previews the program at Earlham on Dec. 1.

"The itinerary has become part of the tradition," Dan said. "We have great alumni organizations in Washington, Philadelphia, New York and Boston — those cities have been the core of the tour over the years."

The Concert Choir tour consists of 60 singers in two buses, and an enthusiastic conductor who obsesses over the music selection, choosing each piece deliberately.

"The music has a theme that connects one piece to the next," Dan explained. "This year, the first three songs are set to help 'bring people together,' and we close with the traditional How Can I Keep from Singing? "

"The final set is representative of the international environment of Earlham," Dan said. "I find inspiration for songs like these from the symposiums I attend every third year. I bring back piles of music from those world symposiums."

For nearly 50 years, the Concert Choir has traveled to cities on the East Coast to represent Earlham and share its music. Len Holvik conducted the Chamber Singers from 1949 to 1984 when Dan began his tenure, and the search is underway for a faculty replacement to take on the responsibility of this valued tradition.