Submitted Photo The Minot State University Concert Choir is shown during a past performance in Ann Nicole Nelson Hall on the MSU campus. Photo by Rick Heit.

The Minot State University Concert Choir will be performing a free concert on Friday to help raise funds for a trip to Norway. Donations will be accepted during the performance.

The concert will be held on Minot State’s campus in Ann Nicole Nelson Hall beginning at 7:30 p.m. It will be a panoply of music through the ages that centers on songs of comfort and encouragement.

The choir had taken a trip to Norway in 2019 and wishes to do so again with a new group of students. Traveling internationally is expensive, especially for college students, so the MSU choir plans to use the donations from the performance to help them get to Norway in the spring of 2025. In addition to general donations, the choir also will be accepting sponsorships from those who want to support individual students.

“My goal is to raise enough money for every student that wishes to go but might not be able to afford to, “ said Emerson Eads, concert choir conductor. “Travel is such a necessary part of personal growth and for self-awareness.”

“Speaking for myself and others in the choir, most of us haven’t had an opportunity like this before,” said Jasmine Rogers, MSU concert choir performer. “We all come from different walks of life and not everyone normally has the funds to do this, but Minot State, the Division of Fine and Performing Arts, and the community is letting us go on this trip and are helping fund us, and that is the greatest thing.”

This opportunity will enable the choir to perform in the Skien Cathedral, Ibsen House and perform with the Oslo Chamber Choir, allowing the students to build relationships and network abroad.

“The sister-city relationship between Minot and Skien is unique and special, and I am eager to participate in this legacy,” said concert choir member Kevin Vandal. “I am also excited to personally encounter Norway and Norwegian culture.”

Traveling abroad won’t just open up networking opportunities for these students but it will also provide education in international travel, other cultures and music history.

“This trip means a lot to me,” Rogers said. “Being able to visit our sister city in Norway is an honor and seeing the culture is something I always look forward to when visiting a new place. I feel that this will be very beneficial for the travel-loving person in me but also the music educator in me. I get to learn new music and learn about the music history in Norway, and that is such an amazing tool to have when I get into my classroom someday.”

Sharing music with one another as well as learning about new cultures is an exciting aspect for both Rogers and Vandal.

“Our choir will have several opportunities to perform throughout the trip,” Vandal said. “It is a rare and inspiring opportunity to share great music with our international colleagues in this way, and this is one really meaningful aspect of the trip.”

“This could also help recruitment to Minot State in the future,” Rogers said. “It will show college students that being in the concert choir isn’t just a ‘music kid’ thing, but an opportunity to see the world and make beautiful music and friendships that will last a lifetime.”