Nordic Choir hosted roughly sixty high school students on campus Thursday, Oct. 9, as a part of their Experience Nordic Choir event. This marks the third year the experience has been held.
Visiting musicians attended a rehearsal Thursday with the choir, had dinner with their student hosts and were welcomed into student housing overnight. Friday, prospective students attended course sessions with their Nordic Choir counterparts, took a campus tour and sang in Chapel alongside the ensemble.
Jana Vorvick (‘97) serves as the Associate Director of Admissions for Music Recruitment.
“Visitors authentically experience a day in the life of a Luther student musician,” Vorvick said. “We have offered “Experience” events for Nordic Choir, Symphony Orchestra and this year for Concert Band. We are planning to expand it further in 2026.”
Nordic Choir singer Eva Stadtlander (‘26) has been involved with the ensemble for three years.
“Having around 60 students join us in person is not something that we get to experience often and it was exhilarating to sing next to them,” said Stadtlander. “Not only did we double Nordic’s numbers for a day, but we also managed to host them overnight. This event would not be possible without the Nordic members welcoming the high school students into their lives and living spaces for an evening.”
Nordic Choir singer Dylan Muhlbauer (‘26) has similarly been involved in the choir since his sophomore year. He and his roommates hosted eight students for the Experience Nordic Choir Day event.
Muhlbauer sat in on Nordic Choir’s preparation for Christmas at Luther before he enrolled as a student, and his experience influenced his decision to come to Luther.
“I’ll never forget when I first sat in with Nordic before I came to Luther,” Muhlbauer said. “I was blown away by their excellence as an ensemble, but I was also touched by how welcoming the community was to me. The warm welcome I received that day was a big reason why Luther felt right to me, and why I chose to make it my home for these last 4 years.”
Stadtlander also appreciates the community aspect of the Experience Nordic Choir days.
“Some of my favorite rehearsals and memories from Nordic are when I get to meet high school students,” Stadtlander said. “Getting to meet new people and welcome them into the Luther community fills my cup.”
“Experience Nordic Choir is such a unique event,” Stadtlander said. “It gives prospective students an inside look at what a college student’s life looks like. Campus tours are great, but I think this event allows prospective students to see an example of what their experience may look like at Luther.”
Stadtlander has hosted visiting students each year with the ensemble, and also serves as the housing coordinator for this event. She makes an effort to pair prospective students with Nordic Choir members who share similar interests or have similar academic aspirations.
“One of the benefits of going to Luther is that you can participate in music ensembles but still study something completely unrelated,” Stadtlander said. “The prospective students who are interested in more than music, engineering for example, get to be hosted by current students who are majoring in something other than music or music education.”
“Events like these are great for potential students because they get to see Luther as more than just a potential place to go to school,” Muhlbauer said. “They get to see it as a place they can call home for four years.”
The Luther College Music Department intends to continue hosting Experience days, and they frequently invite prospective students to attend concerts and participate in rehearsals. Nordic Choir is slated to perform in the Decorah community in November, followed by Christmas at Luther at the beginning of December.
