The National Lutheran Choir is a 60-voice choir dedicated to strengthening, renewing and preserving the Lutheran heritage of choral music through the highest standards of performance and literature. Under the direction of David Cherwien, the choir performs works from the entire spectrum of sacred choral music, with and without instrumental accompaniment. This rich and diverse repertoire ranges from early chant to new compositions and from simple folk anthems to complex choral masterworks.

In addition to a regular series of annual concerts in and around the Twin Cities, the National Lutheran Choir tours regularly throughout the United States and upper Midwest; conducts workshops in choral techniques, hymnody and liturgy; commissions new works; produces high quality recordings; and is broadcast over the Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media network. Most recently, the National Lutheran Choir was honored with Chorus America’s Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence (2007), and the Luther Institute’s Wittenberg Award for distinguished service to church and society (2006).

For many listeners, a concert by the National Lutheran Choir is as much an opportunity for spiritual practice as for musical enjoyment. Several concerts each year (All Saints and the Christmas Festival in particular) are structured so that concert-goers can light candles in memory of loved ones, pause during the concert for reflection, and sing as a congregation along with the choir. The National Lutheran Choir is best described as pan-Lutheran and is not affiliated with or supported by any one Lutheran church, body, or organization. People of all different religious denominations and orientations embrace and enjoy the music of the National Lutheran Choir as truly great music of any spiritual tradition belongs to us all.

The National Lutheran Choir was founded in 1986 by Dr. Larry Fleming, a native of Cut Bank, Montana whose life was changed when he received a $50 music scholarship to Concordia College. Fleming’s vision was to develop a musical organization for the Lutheran tradition that would be analogous to the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, which plays an important role both in the Church of Latter Day Saints and in the choral music community as a whole. The National Lutheran Choir would be known for a musical excellence that transcended denomination, but would also serve as a touchstone for the Lutheran church to stay connected to its musical roots and traditions.