Concert at Woodbury’s King of Kings to Benefit Christian Cupboard

The Woodbury Chorus and Orchestra will present “A Global Music Festival” at 4 p.m. on April 7, 2013, at King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1583 Radio Drive, Woodbury.

This concert will feature a wide variety of orchestral and choral music from countries including Japan, Korea, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, France, Czech Republic, and Mexico and the United States.

The concert is free and no tickets are required.

During the program, a free will offering will be taken to benefit the Christian Cupboard Food Shelf.

The Woodbury Chorus and Orchestra was organized in 1985 at King of Kings Lutheran Church and performed their first concert to benefit the Christian Cupboard. Since that time they have helped raise enough money for food shelves to buy more than 1.83 million meals.

Robert Murphy began serving as the director of Woodbury Chorus and Orchestra in September of 2010. He has been music director at St. Mark’s Lutheran Church in North St. Paul for over 25 years, and is the accompanist for several middle and high school choirs in St. Paul.

Associate Director Andrew Peterson is the band director at South St. Paul High School, as well as organist for Our Redeemer Lutheran Church in St. Paul. Associate Director Richard Alton of Olivia, MN, taught music in public and private schools for 35 years, retiring in 1997. He has been a member of the Woodbury Chorus and Orchestra for 11 years.

Kim Sykes, the newest Associate Director, is from Neenah, WI, and earned a degree in music education from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities in 2010. She is now in her third year as the choir director of South St. Paul High School where she teaches all choirs 7th-12th grade and runs the show choir and varsity a cappella group.

Woodbury Chorus and Orchestra, founded in 1985, is an arts organization that is unique in the Twin Cities. All members, including the directors, are unpaid volunteers and dedicated to helping those in need. Its primary mission is to raise funds for food shelves in the areas where they perform, through freewill offerings taken at their concerts. Since 1991, WCO has raised more than $366,000 in donations.