The Minot State University Concert Choir, directed by Dr. Emerson Eads, released on Thursday its second recording, “Toward the Light,” showcasing three world premiere songs by MSU alumna Rosanne Olson.

The songs were arranged by Eads, associate professor of music with the MSU Department of Fine and Performing Arts, and accompanied by Abbie Eads, cello, and Briana Schwan, piano.

In March, original pieces by Olson, a visual artist, photographer and author, and arranged by Eads, were featured in the MSU Concert Choir’s concert, “Crossings: Toward the Light.”

“In my mind and in my life, all of the arts I do – whether it is painting, photography or songwriting – are part of an expression that is simply who I am,” Olson, who grew up in Minot, said in a story in the March 4 edition of The Minot Daily News.

“Working with Rosanne Olson has been an incredibly meaningful experience,” Eads said in the March 4 story. “She has an extraordinary depth of feeling that permeates every aspect of her work, and it is evident in her music. Her texts are not merely written — they are painted, and the simplicity of her music belies its profound emotional impact.

This spring the MSU Concert Choir will be making a trip to Norway.