2023 Year in Review

Thanks to your advocacy, dedication, and enthusiasm, 2023 was a milestone year for Lutheran Summer Music in countless ways.

There is much to celebrate this year – LSM 2023 saw capacity enrollment, using every bed available from the university to house this year’s community. New outreach programs brought music to innumerable community members and in turn invited them to attend concerts and services in person. Increased technology allowed music and worship to reach people around the world, with over 100,000 views of events from the summer. Alumni from nearly every year returned to campus, adding their voices to the community through song, support, and social events. To put it simply, LSM is growing, and its impact deepening.

If you would like to receive a printed copy in the mail, please complete the form using the button below.

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Introducing Two New Works from LSM 2023

by Anne Krentz Organ, Liturgical Composer in Residence

Holy Manna

Anne Krentz Organ, 2023.

For solo instrument with keyboard accompaniment. Instruments available: flute, oboe, bassoon, clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bari sax, horn in F, trumpet, trombone, tuba, violin, viola, cello.

Holy Manna is a theme and variations based on an American folk tune. It can be performed in its entirety, or as individual movements in a variety of settings:

• Worship service

• Recital

• Solo & ensemble

• Auditions

Be Thankful

Anne Krentz Organ, 2023.

For SATB chorus, descant, keyboard accompaniment, optional: assembly, handbells (full or condensed)

Be Thankful may be sung by a choir or congregation, and may be used in a variety of ways during worship: 

• As a Call to Worship 

• As a Gospel Acclamation, sung before the reading of the Gospel 

• As an offering is received 

• As the table is set for Holy Communion 

• To frame the prayers 

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Quick View

Holy Manna

Free Download

Quick View

Be Thankful

Free Download

2023 was the inaugural year of the Eugene and Mary Sukup Church Music Program, which renews LSM’s focus on preparing the next generation of church musicians and organists and expands curriculum and educational offerings. This year the Program funded scholarships for a growing organ studio and created the Liturgical Composer-in-Residence position held by Anne Krentz Organ.

As a laboratory for musical artistry and learning, LSM continues to develop new resources during each summer’s academy and festival. We are pleased to share these free downloadable resources for students, teachers, and congregations.

25 Years of Service: a Fond Farewell to Doug Geston

Doug Geston, June 2023

2023 was the final summer Doug Geston, owner of Westmark Productions, shared his audio and visual expertise with the LSM community. Doug is happily retiring after 25 years of recording concerts, recitals, and worship services. Thousands of LSM students, faculty, and families have enjoyed Doug’s high-quality recordings as a way to encapsulate their profound experiences each summer.

In a farewell reflection, Doug shared his experiences with LSM, how his work changed over the years, and the impact and importance of LSM:

My first LSM was at Luther College in 1999. I've recorded and, more recently, livestreamed during every LSM session since—a total of 24 seasons (it would have been 25 had it not been for the COVID 19 pandemic). In that time, I've worked with seven executive directors and countless faculty and staff people, including stalwarts such as Cheryl Lemmons, Paul Morton, and the late Peter Wessler, who is deeply missed by all who knew him. I remember Cantor Chad Fothergill when he was a student and worship assistant, and many other students, interns, and fellows now in leadership positions in their home communities and with LSM.

In those 24 years, a lot has changed. During the early years, it was not uncommon to generate 50 or more different CD titles for LSM every summer, and recording, editing, and order fulfillment kept the Westmark crew very busy. As music consumption habits moved away from CDs, the number of orders dwindled but the amount of work required to produce the CDs remained nearly the same. We briefly flirted with digital downloads, which also fell from favor, but interest in livestreaming was rising. In 2018 with the help of generous donors, we embarked on a new chapter, moving beyond audio-only recording to both audio and video recording and livestreaming of Festival Week events in the Valparaiso University chapel. That expanded the next year to include the half-session concert and the Jazz Ensemble concert. Meanwhile, LSM personnel handled livestreaming of the Duesenberg Recital Hall events using Valparaiso's equipment. These combined efforts made nearly all LSM performances and worship services available to anyone, anywhere in the world, and this has been the norm ever since.

Doug (right) at LSM 2005

One of the attractive aspects of LSM has been its technical "bigness" and the freedom I've been given to deploy and use lots of equipment, often feeling like a kid playing in an amazing sandbox. I've been able to experiment with different recording techniques and have learned ways to improve almost every aspect of my work. Surprisingly, and for the most part, academy directors, event managers, and chaplains over the years let me put up forests of tall microphone stands and cameras amid performance and worship spaces. It was physically and mentally challenging work. But with that challenge came the gift of a singular focus on a clear and all-consuming purpose. Research shows that people report being happiest when they experience that kind of focus. I can attest to having felt an abundance of sweat-drenched, sore-muscled, fatigued, brain-cramped, yet undeniable happiness. My LSM experiences checked all the boxes of author Daniel Pink's “three fundamentals of human motivation”: autonomy, mastery, and purpose.

Doug Geston, Nick Benson, and Walt Boyd, of Westmark Productions, livestreaming the 2023 LSM Festival Orchestra Concert

Apart from the technical elements and job satisfaction, the true highlight of every summer at LSM has always been the worship services. In my work, I hear band, orchestra, and choir concerts, recitals, and other musical performances day in and day out. Ensembles I work with range from elementary school choirs to professional orchestras. LSM performances are nearly always best-in-class, but the quality, depth, and meaningfulness of LSM worship is unique. I think it's impossible (or nearly so) to experience worship at LSM and not have one's expectations for that form of communal engagement permanently raised. I grew up in the Lutheran tradition and some of my closest friends have been clergy and church musicians, yet worship at LSM moves me in ways I've not experienced elsewhere and serves, in the words of Bishop John Shelby Spong, as a “pathway to the Divine.” And lest any of us forget, LSM worship includes the Jazz Mania concerts where we are lifted up by the ebullient "Gospel According to Saint Paul Morton." Ain't gonna find that anywhere else!

All these things and more elicit a feeling of deep gratitude for my many wonderful years working at LSM. Most of all, I will miss the genuinely kind, funny, talented, and thoughtful people that LSM attracts (and much less so the aforementioned sweat, sore muscles, fatigue and brain cramps). It has been a substantial and unforgettable chapter in my life.

We give heartfelt thanks to Doug for his service with LSM and his work in the music community at large. Through his extraordinary efforts, the joy and music of LSM has reached countless people around the world. Doug’s kind and humble demeanor, accompanied by his musician-focused approach and exceptional quality work, has blessed the LSM community in more ways than can be named.

Here’s to a hard-earned rewarding and relaxing retirement!

Resounding Thanks - a Letter from LSM’s Cantor, Chad Fothergill

Chad Fothergill, Ezechiel Daos, and the 2023 LSM Organ Studio

Although the last chord of LSM 2023 rang out months ago, the sights and sounds of a wonderful and robust summer continue to reverberate in many ways—a fitting reminder on this feast day that earthly music is but a foretaste of the great and promised feast with choirs of saints and angels.

LSM 2023 was, of course, an abundant musical feast unto itself. Here are some highlights from the organ and church music area:

On move-in day, we met eleven organ students and heard at least five of the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues performed at auditions (a few of which became part of an all-Bach prelude for cantata Sunday). Several organ students were already serving as musicians for their home congregations, and their festival week recital included performances of repertoire alongside the singing of several hymns.

Later in the first week, the worship staff welcomed the full LSM student body to the chapel for a hands-on introduction to leadership roles for worship: seasoned and future acolytes, lectors, cantors, and assisting ministers were able to explore stations for carrying, reading, praying, and singing with members of the chapel staff.

During the second week, church music students joined the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians conference in Philadelphia via Zoom for a conversation about vocation. And a student who brought an ocarina to LSM asked to help lead worship, so we created a psalm setting for evening prayer using the Native American melody Lac qui parle.

Paul Vasile, guest artist, works with church music elective students

At the start of the third week, LSM hosted Paul Vasile, executive director of Music that Makes Community. During his residency, Paul worked with church music students, the chapel choir, and shared the community-building gifts of rote singing with the full community at morning and evening prayer—some of these songs helped shape the following week’s hymn festival.

Thanks to the generosity of the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago, several boxes of choral and liturgical music were made available for LSM students. A few students returned several times with empty backpacks to claim these treasures for their future study and use.

This LSM season also intersected with my own transition from “interim” to “permanent” status as organist at Duke University Chapel: lessons from LSM 2023—including daily practice tips from Cheryl Lemmons—have shaped my approach to practicing, playing, teaching, and mentoring, especially with the students who plan and lead liturgies at Duke Divinity School.

But what I recall most about LSM 2023 was the musicality and maturity of the entire student body—their attentive listening and mutual support in studio classes, their astute (and challenging) questions during elective meetings and the annual Bach cantata workshop, and their unbounded creativity.

During the alumni reunion, I was able to again see organ and church music students from previous LSM seasons who are now exploring graduate programs in sacred music, study abroad opportunities, or parish ministry positions. They join generations of alumni who can attest to the transformative and lifelong impact of their LSM experience.

It is in that spirit that we acknowledge and thank all who make LSM possible—donors, parents and families, friends, congregations, institutional partners, and more. Gifts of time, talent, and resources help in myriad ways, both seen and unseen. They help:

• to support the creative gifts of a liturgical composer-in-residence whose music blesses both the LSM community and the wider church

• to develop faculty roles that respond to the changing landscape of church music

• to provide parish musicians, seminarians, and other professionals with inspiration and vocational enrichment at LSM

• to grow scholarship funds for students

• to foster trust and enthusiasm among the LSM staff to work creatively and flexibly within shifting contexts

• to ensure new generations of faithful leadership in the church

We look forward to building on the successes of the past year, and eagerly anticipate the first chords that will announce the sights and sounds of LSM 2024!

Blessings,

Chad Fothergill (LSM ’00)

Cantor, Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival

Chad Fothergill

Strength and Stay: A 40th Anniversary Campaign for Lutheran Summer Music

Ensuring Music, Faith, & Leadership for Our Future

A 40th Anniversary Campaign for Lutheran Summer Music

Each morning during Lutheran Summer Music (LSM), the entire community gathers together in the chapel to sing Carl Schalk’s setting of “Luther’s Morning Prayer”.

As the harmonies mix and voices combine, students and faculty form a deep bond through music, creating a sense of belonging and renewed faith, and amplifying all that we are devoted to at LSM.

After over 40 LSM summers, the program remains committed to its original ideals while innovating for today’s students.

• Students continue to experience significant growth in musicianship and form lifelong friendships

• LSM’s nationally renowned faculty members uphold the highest standard of musical and educational excellence

• LSM videos and livestreams reach hundreds of thousands of people across the country and beyond

• Alumni continuously share stories about the lifelong impact of the program

• The original vision of Carlos Messerli, Paul Bouman, and Carl Schalk has remained intact since 1982

The STRENGTH and STAY campaign focuses on four priorities:

I. Invest in TOMORROW’S LEADERS - Student scholarships remove the most common barrier to LSM attendance.

II. Invest in EXCELLENCE - Faculty positions and vital programmatic areas secure LSM’s commitment to excellence.

III. Invest in INNOVATION and EMERGING NEEDS - Creative initiatives coupled with unrestricted contributions position LSM as a national leader in music education and church music.

IV. Activate LSM ALUMNI - A culture of lifelong involvement for alumni places the future of LSM in their hands.

Be Part of a Powerful and Lasting Future for LSM

Now is the time to invest in our shared future. With a combination of current and legacy gifts, the creation of endowments, a focus on alumni enthusiasm, and your enduring generosity it is our goal to raise $6 million to secure the future of LSM through the STRENGTH and STAY campaign.

The STRENGTH and STAY 40th anniversary campaign is made up of parents, alumni, and friends of LSM—people like you—making 3-year pledges at all levels and remembering LSM in their estate plans. Over 60 individuals and families have committed, with 65% of the total $6 million campaign goal already secured!

Let’s have a conversation about how you can be involved. Learn more by contacting Thomas Bandar, Executive Director, or by selecting one of the following options:

2023 Peter Wessler Scholarship Recipient Interview

Henry at LSM 2023

Lutheran Summer Music is pleased to present the recipient of the 2023 Peter Wessler Scholarship Award: Henry from Tuckahoe, NY.

Peter Wessler served as the LSM Academy Director for 17 years before his death in 2020. LSM established the Peter Wessler Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund to honor him and to ensure his legacy continues into perpetuity. In an overwhelming display of gratitude for Peter's commitment and impact, over 140 people, including LSM alumni, faculty, staff, and personal friends, made contributions to LSM in Peter's memory.

Henry was chosen as the designee for this award due to his warm presence and leadership among students during the 2023 Academy. In addition to receiving funds through the Peter Wessler scholarship, Henry also successfully fundraised through crowdfunding toward his LSM attendance.

Henry, a first-year voice and trumpet student this past summer, sang in the Festival Choir, played in the Festival Band, and took part in Jazz Ensemble and Musical Theatre electives. He also served on the Student Council and earned a reputation among the community as a student who showed care and welcome for everyone around him – he even gained notoriety for giving away dozens of miniature duck figurines as a token of friendship and fun to his fellow students, and faculty and staff. Just as Peter Wessler’s family deeply felt the positive impact of LSM in their own lives, Henry’s family experienced the same, as his father Steve is also an LSM alum.

Dean Mennicke sat down with Henry during Festival Week 2023 to ask him about his LSM experience:

As a new student to LSM, what was one of the biggest things that struck you at the beginning of the program?

I noticed when I got here, the fellows and the staff were making sure that everyone feels welcome and safe, and I think there’s very important – especially when you’re living with strangers for four weeks – that the people in charge of you really want you to be safe and comfortable.

Did it take a while for you to find your footing as a new student?

As a new student coming here, I knew that everyone would be a musician, but I wasn’t sure that anyone would want to pursue it as a career like I would like to. I was very pleasantly surprised to see when I came that a lot of people are passionate and looking for new experiences.

Tell us about the people you met and some of the friendships you made.

Henry playing in the LSM Jazz Ensemble Concert

It's not just the people on your floor that you make friends with. I've made friends in choir, in jazz band, in musical theatre, and there's always someone to talk to. If you just see them in the dining hall, you can be like, "Hey, musical theatre friend! Hey jazz band person, it's great to see you, what's up? What are you working on?” And it really builds a sense of community that you get when you walk in here.

What does the LSM community as a place of belonging mean to you?

LSM brings together a lot of different people from all over the country and from different backgrounds, from different levels of experience – and that has made me feel like I belong more.

What did you observe musically at LSM and how students come in with different musical levels and experiences?

Our directors will take time even during rehearsal to make sure that someone has the resources to get their part right, or to figure out something. In sectionals for band and choir the same thing happens – it’s much more personal. Even though you’re in a band of 90-something people, you feel a connection with your director. Our choir director was great at welcoming students of all different skill levels. At home, I sing in a couple different choirs – my church choir, my school choir, and I serve as a Choral Scholar for another congregation. I’m used to getting challenging music, but not so much going through it in a way our (LSM) director does. And it was nice to have that different experience. I could tell that even the people who were newer to choir and choral singing were improving every single day.

What do you think is the most fun part of LSM?

It’s a lot of fun to be in a community with people who show common interests with you, who are serious about music, and who are also here to have fun.

Henry will be returning to LSM 2024 for his second summer. Congratulations to Henry, and sincere thanks to the many donors that honor the memory of Peter Wessler and make this scholarship possible.

Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati Accepts LSM's Inaugural Alumni Award

Tom Bandar, Executive Director and Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati

LSM’s inaugural Alumni Award was presented to Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati (LSM Student 1990-91, Counselor 1997, Voice Faculty 2000-03) during LSM 2023 at the annual Board of Directors Reception on Saturday, July 22, 2023. With over 100 guests in attendance and just hours before the final orchestra concert, the energy in the room was palpable.

Dr. Rapayati delivered a heartfelt acceptance speech that expounded on the fortuitous ways LSM comes into our lives, continues to shape us, and leads us down paths of service and meaning. Read her touching full speech below:

Good Evening everyone. It truly is an honor to accept this award, I am humbled and privileged, but even more importantly, I am so very thankful to have been a part of the LSM community for over 30 years.

I am only standing here today because in 1990, I saw a poster in the choir room at my home church advertising Lutheran Summer Music at Augustana College, Rock Island, Illinois. I told my mom I wanted to go. My mom came from the Lutheran Choral Tradition in Minnesota and she must have leapt for joy inside to be able to send me as a camper and to see what all those years of piano lessons and singing might reveal. Neither she, nor I, nor anyone else, could have imagined the blessings that would flow from that experience and truly, I do believe that LSM set in motion a stream of blessings that continues to flow, renewing my spirit and helping me walk in the world with a rootedness to my vocational calling year after year.

I know that that stream of blessings flows through the lives of many other LSM alumni who are active in their communities doing important work. I’m amazed at how the life paths of friends and colleagues I had at LSM have crossed, time and again over the years. I went to college and grad school with at least 5 or 6 alumni and I’ve collaborated outside of LSM recitals with colleagues I served with on teaching staff. As program alumni, we can look back at our 4, 8, and sometimes 12 or 16 weeks of LSM experiences and point to transformational moments in rehearsal, performance, or in the cafeteria and practice rooms that have made a lasting impact on us. Some of us found our life partners here as well! In just a few days, Michael and I will celebrate 25 years of marriage- a relationship sprouted on this campus at LSM ‘97.

I know that the nurturing community of LSM is what I drew on when I told my voice teacher here at Valparaiso University, that I wanted to add a music major because I wanted to teach voice and help singers feel the way I had been made to feel as a student at camp. That deep care, recognition and fostering of talent, setting high performance goals, and infusing all of it with deep connection to faith life– that was what sustained me through my growing years and still is making an impact on my professional life as I do what I told my teacher I wanted to do.

It is an honor to accept this inaugural alumni award and one I will treasure always. I am so excited to see the direction LSM is going and to know that the transformative experiences I had are still happening for students. I wish you all the best as you guide the program into the future and create many more young people who are nurtured and renewed through the study of music and its place in our world.

2023 Carl Schalk Scholarship Recipient Interview

Lutheran Summer Music is pleased to present the recipient of the 2023 Carl Schalk Scholarship Award: Eliana from Kirkwood, Missouri. LSM has established the Dr. Carl Schalk Scholarship Endowment fund to honor Dr. Schalk’s legacy not only in name, but in the promise that the future of music and the Church which he served so faithfully will be preserved through the training and nurturing of young people.

Students awarded the Dr. Carl Schalk Scholarship are identified by their own pursuit of church music, and by their desires to use their musical gifts to the service of the church and to proclaim Christ.

Eliana, an organ and clarinet student, returned to LSM for her second summer in 2023. In addition to receiving funds through the Carl Schalk scholarship, her home congregation (St. Paul’s Lutheran Church in Des Peres, MO) also financially supported her attendance to LSM.

We asked Eliana some questions about her study of church music and her LSM experience:

How do you pursue church music in your home congregation?

I play postludes, preludes, interludes, and take organ lessons at my church. I pursue church music here at home by applying the techniques I have learned through my organ lessons and through the other courses I took at LSM.

How did you pursue church music at LSM 2023?

Through organ lessons at LSM, I learned how to play along and lead a congregation. I used this on Cantata Sunday at LSM, when I played the Agnus Dei in a service. This was my first time leading a congregation, which was easier because I was playing in front of musicians who knew the pressure of playing in front of people. I also pursued church music by singing in the choir. As a church musician in the future, I need to know different areas of what I will be doing.

What is important to you about the music of the church?

The importance of church music is that what we are playing and what we are singing is to the glory of God and not to the glory of ourselves. Also, it gives grounding in the theology of the church and helps make the theology more accessible. I was able to participate in worship through the liturgy before I could even read. As I heard in a sermon once, "You don't hum a sermon, but you do hum a hymn.” Granted, this sermon was for the retirement of a church musician. This may be funny, but it's also true. You may not remember a sermon from your childhood, but you remember the message of the childhood hymns. This is why I think church music is so important to me. 

Congratulations to Eliana, and thank you to all who have contributed toward the Dr. Carl Schalk Scholarship Endowment.

Check the “Dedicate my donation in honor or in memory of someone” box and enter Dr. Carl Schalk.

2023 Bach Cantata Preview

Performing a Bach cantata within worship is a long-standing tradition and special treat for the LSM community every summer. Bach cantatas provide a wide range of musical challenges and delights, from beautiful chorales to energetic fugues, as well as poignant texts sung enthusiastically in their original German. This experience connects LSM to generations of the church dating back to Bach’s first known cantata in 1707.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is widely considered one of the greatest composers of all times. But at the heart of who he was as an individual was a church musician. Bach served as a cantor for a number of years, and during that time wrote more than 300 cantatas—though sadly over 100 have been lost. Inconceivably, Bach composed a new cantata weekly during his cantor days, and the text always centered around the theme of that Sunday's gospel reading. 

Chad Fothergill, LSM’s cantor and organ instructor shares, “Bach cantatas show that music can carry a theology and sense of faith and craft. The experience of performing a cantata affirms to students that music can come uniquely close to equal footing as theology when you hear the music in its original context.” 

An able musician, Martin Luther (1483–1546) instinctively understood music’s role in proclamation, prayer, and teaching. He was an advocate for musical instruction in schools and churches; he also encouraged his colleagues and students to pursue their musical gifts.

For this reason, Lutherans have embraced varied forms of musical expressions in worship—from plainsong and solo pieces to large choral and orchestral works, and everything in between. It was this context that allowed Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) to be trained and then later serve as a Lutheran cantor, or church musician.

LSM has included one of Bach’s cantatas in a worship service each season since 1997. This year’s liturgy includes the cantata Gleichwie der Regen und Schnee vom Himmel fällt (Just as the rain and snow fall from heaven), BWV 18, one of Bach’s earliest cantatas. It was chosen for its quotation of Isaiah 55, the appointed first reading for July 16th. The cantata will be sung in place of the psalm and second reading.

LSM’s Bach Cantata Eucharist Service will be held on Sunday, July 16th at 10am in the Chapel of the Resurrection. Livestream and further information on remaining concerts and recitals can be found HERE. Learn which cantatas were performed previously at LSM HERE.

The 2023 LSM Bach Cantata is generously underwritten by the Sukup Family Foundation.

LSM 2023 Faculty & Studio Sponsors

We are grateful to the many alumni, parents, and friends who have supported LSM 2023 programs and scholarships. For LSM 2023, every faculty studio has been generously sponsored, aligning supporters with LSM’s nationally renowned faculty members. These sponsorships secure LSM’s commitment to musical and educational excellence, and help ensure that all students, regardless of their financial circumstances, can be part of this life-changing community of music and faith.

The following is a listing of the 2023 Faculty & Studio Sponsors:

• Dr. Bruce Atwell HORN | sponsored by Philip Hahn

• Rev. Nathan Baker-Trinity CHAPLAIN | The Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Endowed Chaplain Chair

• Thomas Bandar VIOLA | sponsored by James and Joanne Albers

• Michael Beert LOW STRINGS | sponsored by Karin Swenson Moore and Nicholas Moore

• Monte Belknap VIOLIN | sponsored by George and Andrea Pauli

• Elise Blatchford FLUTE | sponsored by Paul and Diane Jacobson

• Dr. Cole Burger PIANO | sponsored by Thomas and Kathleen Schmidt

• Alexis Cairy VOICE | sponsored by Karen Rayapati

• Ezechiel Daos ASSOCIATE CANTOR | sponsored by Linda and Robert Kempke

• Dr. Jeffrey Scott Doebler FESTIVAL CONCERT BAND | Ensemble Directorship sponsored by Carol Wessler in memory of Peter Wessler

• Dr. David Eyler PERCUSSION | sponsored by Christine and William Drotning in memory of Eric Drotning

• Chad Fothergill CANTOR | The Regina Holmen Fryxell and Patricia Schad Leege Endowed Organ and Church Music Chair | The Linda and Robert Kempke Cantor Chair | The Paul Bouman Endowed Chapel Choir Chair

• Julian Goods VOICE | sponsored by Paul Georgeson

• Dr. Shannon Gravelle FESTIVAL CONCERT CHOIR | The Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Endowed Festival Choir Director Chair

• Elizabeth Gray VOICE | sponsored by John Lunde in memory of Joyce Povlacs Lunde

• Daniel Greco VOICE | sponsored by Robert and Susan Ellefson

• Dr. Gregory Hamilton LOW STRINGS | sponsored by Nancy Jones and Michael Hovland

• Rachel Handlin VIOLIN, VIOLA | sponsored by Pamela Smith in memory of Arden and Yvette Tollefson

• Matthew Jahnke BASS | sponsored by Nancy Jones and Michael Hovland

• Hannah Johnsrud SACRISTAN | sponsored by Craig Mueller and Ernest Vasseur

• Christina Giuca Krause PIANO | sponsored by Beth Nelson Chase and John Chase

• Dr. Benjamin Krause COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE | sponsored by Tom and Sylvia Luekens

• Anne Krentz Organ LITURGICAL COMPOSER-IN-RESIDENCE | sponsored by David Schack and Claire Bushong

• Nicole Lee PIANO | sponsored by Alan and Carolyn Morrisson

• Cheryl Taylor Lemmons COLLABORATIVE PIANO | sponsored by Seth Hartwell and Elizabeth Drotning Hartwell in memory of Eric Drotning

• Dr. Stacy Maugans SAXOPHONE | sponsored by John and Connie Schoening

• Catherine McCord Larsen VOICE | sponsored by Stephen and Elizabeth Hogberg

• Jorge Montilla Moreno CLARINET | sponsored by Sallie Streib in memory of Dr. Erich Streib

• Dr. Paul Morton TRUMPET | sponsored by Pamela and Keith Killinger

• Austin Smith OBOE | sponsored by Jeanine Krause

LSM 2023 Half-Session Concert

LSM Expands Outreach Initiatives

LSM 2023 students: Jordyn (bass), Abigayle (organ), & Cora (piano)

This summer, Lutheran Summer Music expanded its efforts with an extensive outreach initiative, bringing the LSM experience off campus and into the local and global community. Faculty, students, and fellows are offering their musical gifts in church services, retirement communities, and even full-length recitals off campus. LSM also enhanced the livestream experience for over 20 recitals and concerts that serve the national and international audience of LSM.

Throughout the summer, fellows and faculty have shared preludes, offertories, descants, and more during services in three Valparaiso Lutheran congregations: Trinity Lutheran, Christ Lutheran, and Immanuel Lutheran. The energy of the LSM community spread through collaboration with church musicians, worshipping alongside new friends, and sharing in post-service conversations.

LSM students also joined in the excitement. Three students, Abigayle, Jordyn, and Cora traveled 30 miles northwest to perform at Abigayle’s home congregation, Christ Lutheran Church of Hammond, IN, where Abi serves as her church’s organist. With the help of her friends, they provided musical leadership for the entire service.

The LSM fellows, accompanied by Nicole Lee (LSM Piano Faculty and Outreach Coordinator), gave a full-length recital at Trinity Lutheran Church. The afternoon concert included solo works, duets, a vocal quartet, brass quintet, and more. Followed by a joyous reception, musicians and attendees conversed about big and small topics: hometowns, faith backgrounds, musical aspirations, and so much more.

LSM musicians also shared their talents with many local retirement communities, including Pines Senior Village, Meridian Woods, and Valparaiso Senior Village. Both formal recitals and informal lunchtime music provided an uplifting presence to many who could not easily attend concerts on campus. Several local retirement communities have also arranged group transportation to bring their residents to Valparaiso University to enjoy LSM concerts in person.

Efforts to enhance the livestream experience have provided hundreds of LSM community members around the world the opportunity to easily tune in to over 20 LSM concerts and events. Simulcasting to three platforms, live chats, digital programs, and the addition of text overlay all help bring the LSM experience closer to home. The 2023 Livestream Archive is also now available, providing the chance to catch a missed concert or rewatch your favorite moments from the summer.

Fellows at Trinity Lutheran

Faculty and fellows perform at retirement communities

Jorge Montilla Sr., father of LSM Clarinet Faculty, Jorge Montilla, joins LSM via livestream from Venezuela

LSM Awarded $25,000 Match Grant from the Rupert Dunklau Foundation

Multiply your Difference

Your first-time, increased, or renewed gift will now be generously matched!

There is no better time to make your impact to help guarantee that young musicians can learn and grow at LSM for years to come.

In recognition of the deep importance of LSM and the work of our faculty and students, the Rupert Dunklau Foundation has awarded LSM a $25,000 match grant for any new, increased, or renewed gift (if it has been more than 36 months) to LSM!

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Your gift changes lives

The impact of your gift guarantees that young musicians will be able to learn, grow, and transform with LSM for years to come.

Your gift today opens the door wider for every student to see themselves at LSM, regardless of financial circumstances thanks to a growing scholarship fund. Here’s what just a few of our 2023 applicants expressed about why they wish to be part of Lutheran Summer Music:

Student from Pennsylvania:

 "For me, music and church simply belong together, whether that is in the sonatas or concertos of J.S. Bach, in a simple hymn, or in more modern worship music. What strikes me about LSM is not just the music, but the collaborative rather than competitive spirit, boosted by the faith life that is such a big part of LSM."

Student from Minnesota:

"I want to attend LSM because I would learn a lot from intensive music study. I love music because it expresses feelings in a deeper way than just words."

Student from Virginia:

"It is not often I am part of a group where I feel like I truly belong, and I hope LSM is the place I can find that."

Student from Washington:

"I want to attend LSM because I am truly happiest when I make music alongside other people. I also hope to learn a little more about my faith, and how I can serve the church with my musical gifts." 

Student from Texas:

“I want to attend LSM for three primary reasons: to improve my musical skills, to make new friends, and to devote four weeks of my summer to self-improvement and faith. Aside from the obvious goal of musical improvement, I hope to use this opportunity to discipline myself and find more ambition to be productive in my day-to-day life. I also hope that my time away from home will allow me to spend more time reflecting on God.”

Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati, LSM’s Inaugural Alumni Award Recipient

Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati

LSM is thrilled to announce Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati as the inaugural LSM Alumni Award recipient. A professor, performing artist, and the mayor of Moline, IL, Dr. Rayapati is an exemplary model of a collaborative leader and humble servant working for positive change in her community. The award will be presented to Dr. Rayapati during LSM 2023 at the annual Board of Directors Reception on Saturday, July 22, which begins at 5 pm.

Dr. Rayapati has spent seven summers with LSM—first as a student in 1990 and 1991, as a counselor in 1997, and as a voice faculty member from 2000-2003. She earned degrees in music and nursing from Valparaiso University. While working in nursing, she completed graduate degrees in vocal performance from the University of Minnesota. Her career path has focused on caring for others and helping bring out the best in people through thoughtful collaboration.

In 2001, she began serving on the music faculty at Augustana College, the very campus that hosted her first summer with LSM. Dr. Rayapati now teaches her students in the same studio that held her first LSM private lesson. In April 2021, Dr. Rayapati was elected mayor of the city of Moline, IL. Her work has focused on rebuilding city staffing and services while increasing equity, focusing on redevelopment and preparing Moline for future growth.

Upon notification of receiving this award, Dr. Rayapati shared,

My two summers at LSM as a camper, my year as a counselor, and the several years spent as voice faculty were integral parts of my growth as a musician and as a human being. The Lutheran call to vocation and to meet the world where its needs are was reinforced over and over in the experiences I had and the relationships I cultivated that have remained with me to this day. Even a phone call with my mother while at camp where she reminded me to 'stay open to possibilities' is indelibly in my memory as a guiding principle, learned while a part of this community. I strive to keep those two ideas of vocation and possibility in my life at all times and am thankful for the role Lutheran Summer Music has played in my life. It is an honor to be recognized for my work by the same organization that inspired it.

Read more about Dr. Rayapati in an April, 2023 article from the Quad-City Times: Maker her voice heard: Sangeetha Rayapati leads Moline as mayor, students as a professor

LSM Annual Alumni Award

The purpose of the LSM Annual Alumni Award is to recognize those alumni who have made significant contributions to their community, church, or society at large, and whose accomplishments, affiliations, vocations, or careers have positively shaped our world and reflect the spirit of LSM.

Charles Sukup, 2023 Dr. Carlos Messerli Service Award Recipient

LSM is pleased to announce that longstanding advocate, leader, and supporter Charles Sukup of Sheffield, Iowa, is this year’s recipient of the Dr. Carlos Messerli Service Award for outstanding service to the mission of Lutheran Music Program. The award will be presented to the Sukup family during LSM 2023 at the annual Board of Directors Reception on Saturday, July 22, beginning at 5 pm. 

Charles & Mary Sukup

An avid organist and church music enthusiast and a board member of the Sukup Family Foundation, he has been a generous benefactor in numerous ways, including committing funds to underwrite LSM’s annual Bach Cantata Service for more than ten years and most recently creating the Eugene and Mary Sukup Church Music Program, in honor of his parents. In addition, Sukup served on the LSM Board of Directors for three terms from 2010-2019.

Reflecting on what has motivated him to be an active participant in LSM’s mission of transforming lives through music and faith for nearly 15 years, Charles shares,

As one grows older we see the importance of transformative experiences in our life.  Lutheran Summer Music has proven to be one of those mountain top experiences for many that combines faith, community, and musical excellence.  It has been an honor and joy to support the Lutheran Music Program which has transformed and magnified a multitude of lives.

Dr. Carlos Messerli Service Award 

In 2018, the Lutheran Music Program Board of Directors inaugurated the first annual Dr. Carlos Messerli Service Award. The award is given each year to someone who follows Dr. Messerli's example of outstanding service to the mission of Lutheran Music Program. 

Be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with all your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 5:18b-20

Recipients:

2023: Charles Sukup

2022: John Lunde

2021: Dr. Carl Schalk

2019: Phyllis Duesenberg

2018: Dr. Carlos Messerli

Meet the Elisabeth Esther Ebert Williams 2023 Collegiate Fellows!

LSM Fellows serve as teaching assistants to the faculty and role models to the students. Fellows demonstrate high-caliber musicianship and a commitment to an inclusive and welcoming community. Our 2023 Fellows were selected for these prestigious positions after a rigorous application and audition process, and are excited to play an important role in the 2023 community and program.

Meet the Elisabeth Esther Ebert Williams 2023 Collegiate Fellows >

LSM 2023 Exceeds Enrollment Goal

Lutheran Summer Music (LSM) is thrilled to announce that LSM 2023 has exceeded its strategic enrollment goal and will welcome the largest student body since 2005. This admissions achievement marks a significant milestone for the organization, with over 150 students – full program capacity – ready to embark on a transformative musical journey this summer.

MaryLynn Mennicke, Dean and Director of Admissions

A sincere thanks to longstanding donors to LSM and to the hundreds of teachers, alumni, church musicians, pastors, and many other advocates across the country who believe in the LSM mission and who have nominated, encouraged, and supported students from their community on their journeys to attend LSM.

MaryLynn Mennicke, Dean and Director of Admissions, shared:

“We owe so much of this growth to our alumni who have shared about their LSM experience within their communities, schools, or churches, and to many church musicians and leaders – particularly those who were with us in summer 2022 for the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians (ALCM) conference at Valparaiso. These ALCM members saw first-hand what was taking place at LSM and were excited to go home, tell youth in their congregations about LSM, and nominate students to attend. Connecting with LSM advocates is such a joy – to get the phone call or the email, ‘You HAVE to meet this young person. They would love LSM!’ – is such a delight.”  

This capacity enrollment will enable students to perform in full ensembles with optimal instrument and voice balance and ensure a quality musical experience for every student. LSM has hired additional faculty and staff to support the incoming class, both musically and in their residence and daily experience. Growing the LSM community also secures LSM’s position as the nation’s premier faith-based music academy for high school students, and revitalizes the mission of Lutheran Summer Music: to connect people through faith and music in a nurturing community, and to see churches and communities renewed through music for the sake of the world.

Students are eager to get to campus and join the community this summer. Two incoming students shared:

"It is not often I am part of a group where I feel like I truly belong, and I hope LSM is the place I can find that."

"I want to attend LSM because I am truly happiest when I make music alongside other people. I also hope to learn a little more about my faith and how I can serve the church with my musical gifts."

Scholarship support is vital in recruiting new students and expanding LSM’s reach. While tuition for LSM is already heavily subsidized through significant support from hundreds of generous donors, financial limitations remain the most significant barrier to students attending LSM. This year, the overwhelming support through the inaugural Step Up LSM initiative provided funding to make the program possible for many new students who had applied for scholarships and LSM Match Grants to support their own fundraising efforts.

Many church musicians and pastors who nominate students also secured financial support for students through their congregations. Dean Mennicke continued:

“It is deeply moving to see so many church musicians, pastors, music teachers, and church members lift up their youth, celebrate their musical gifts, and show such care for them as individuals. One pastor shares, “I have to brag about [my student]. He plays organ for services all the time, and our congregation is so blessed by him.’ Another church member calls and says, ‘Look out for [student]. You won’t be able to miss her. She is so vibrant. And don’t tell her that this tuition check came from me.’ These are daily connections. There is so much hope and joy for the future that our young people are building in the church and in the world – and for right now! We all get to live vicariously through the LSM experience that these students will enjoy.”

Imagine this community coming together and learning from LSM’s nationally renowned faculty as they grow in their musical development. Hear their voices combine in hymnody and song in the Chapel of the Resurrection. Feel the energy of a growing community of young musicians who have found a joyful home and place of belonging. Know the impact will be profound, as 40 years of alumni can attest.

Let us rejoice and give thanks. Soli Deo Gloria!

Just Announced: Artistic Residency & Public Concert with Apollo's Fire

Musicians from the award-winning Apollo’s Fire ensemble will join the LSM 2023 community from June 30 - July 2 to work with students and present a public concert on Saturday, July 1 at 7:30pm.

Named for the classical god of music, healing and the sun, Apollo’s Fire is a GRAMMY®-winning ensemble.  The period-instrument orchestra was founded by award-winning harpsichordist and conductor Jeannette Sorrell.  Dedicated to the baroque ideal that music should evoke the various Affekts or passions in the listeners, Apollo’s Fire brings to life the music of the past for audiences of today, with Passion. Period. The Apollo’s Fire musicians are creative artists who share Sorrell’s passion for drama and rhetoric.

CONCERT DETAILS

Saturday, July 1- 7:30 PM

Chapel of the Resurrection, Valparaiso University

Free & Open to the Public

Learn more about Apollo’s Fire >

Underwritten by the Bach Institute at Valparaiso University

Walk Alongside Our Musicians This Summer: Sponsor a Concert

Because of the generosity of many donors, the vast majority of LSM 2023 faculty studios, concerts, and events have been sponsored although a few still remain. Are you able to help LSM ensure all events are supported for 2023?

• Post-Concert Receptions: $500

  • Half Session Final Concert

  • Festival of Hymns

  • Festival Band Concert

  • Festival Choir Concert

  • Festival Orchestra Concert

• Praetorius Brass Faculty Recital: $1,500

• Festival Band Concert: $10,000

• Musical Theatre Student Performance: $2,000

• Jazz Ensemble Student Performance: $1,500

To sponsor one of these remaining opportunities, make a gift online or contact Lisa Hartwig for more information. Thank you for your consideration!

Now Accepting Nominations: LSM Alumni Award 2023

LSM is excited to introduce the first inaugural LSM Annual Alumni Award. With over 4,000 alumni, the LSM community continues to do diverse and great work around the world. Whether it is through the arts, worship, social service, scientific research, education, or any other field, the LSM spirit lives on in these individuals.

The purpose of the LSM Annual Alumni Award is to recognize those alumni who have made significant contributions to their community, church, or society at large, and whose accomplishments, affiliations, vocations, or careers have positively shaped our world and reflect the spirit of LSM.

Nominations are due by May 31, 2023. To submit, please complete the following form: https://forms.gle/akwupybPPe6f7GYW8

The award will be presented at the Alumni Reception on the evening of Saturday, July 22, 2023 at Valparaiso University.