Meet the Augustana Choir's new director

Dr. Eric Newell steps into the role of director of choral activities with a deep appreciation for the Augustana Choir’s rich history and a passion for choral music. In this Q&A, he shares what drew him to Augustana, what he’s looking forward to and his hopes for the choir’s future.

Q: What is your musical background and what inspired you to pursue choral conducting?

At the age of 5, I asked my parents after church one day to enroll in piano lessons (so I’m told). That was my primary and only instrument until high school, when I heard a choir singing in four parts and was immediately convinced that there was no higher aspiration worth pursuing, no greater art form worth practicing, than this one. 

Still armed with a pragmatic mindset as I entered college, I opted for a business degree but was helplessly magnetized to join two choirs, enroll in voice lessons and eventually pursue a BA music major. I did graduate in business, but decided to pivot in my senior year and apply to MM choral conducting programs with the hope that one day I might have the rare opportunity to hold a position like this one.

Q: What about Augustana and the Augustana Choir stood out to you when you were applying for the position?

A decade before I ever dreamed of doing this job, I found a recording of Esenvalds’ "Long Road" from the Augustana Choir’s 2014 Tour album and thought, “wow, that’s a beautiful sound.” It was evident from the recording, without even seeing the choir, that there was a deep care and high standard for choral music at Augie — I could hear that each of the singers took individual responsibility for leading themselves and for finding a connective love to the music in front of them.

When I visited campus last Halloween to interview, this beautiful culture was confirmed in my brief interactions with students, and I had the chance to learn more about the incredible tradition of choral music at this institution. There are very few schools in the nation that can claim such a strong relationship with ensemble singing and playing, and I am still in some amount of disbelief that I had the blessing to end up at this one.

Q: What’s impressed you the most about Augustana and the Augustana Choir?

By far, student leadership and sense of accountability paired with community. Students at Augustana will happily and humbly take direction, but I have found they are even more curious and desire to grow beyond a chapter in a textbook or a lesson of the day. 

This translates to the Augustana Choir in how students show up: memorized before we spend time in rehearsal on memorization, having listened to our repertoire and falling in love with it in their dorm rooms and on walks across campus, and reminding each other of standard rehearsal etiquette before they sit down to dinner together at Gerber. I couldn’t ask for a better program to inherit, and I thank Jon Hurty and the rest of our department for cultivating a sense of belonging and accountability.

Q: What’s one goal you have for the Augustana Choir this year?

I have been very excited to recruit with the choir over the next year or three (or five, or 10 …) and intend to waste no time. This will look like visiting Quad Cities high school choral programs during their school day, partnering with them for their concert performances, threading the Augie Choir more deeply into our High School Choral Festival, and making contact with as many high school directors (especially Augie alumni!) as possible in our spring Midwest tour.

Q: What are you are looking forward to this year?

My first Christmas at Augustana concert will be magical, and I look forward to “steering that ship,” so to speak. I also very much look forward to preparing Brahms’ "Schicksalslied" with the Oratorio Society — what a storied history of that organization, and what a heart-wrenching work of music to be our first project together. Of course, the thrill of connecting with each singer in the Augustana Choir as we sing a fully memorized spring tour program also has to be on this list!

Q: What do you enjoy doing in your free time?

My evenings are typically consumed with cooking, and when I can, hosting others for a meal. I love tennis — both playing and watching — and am happy to have a bit more time in this chapter of life to get back on the court once in a while. My first home purchase (Rock Island) has also meant that I spend all weekends on any number of tasks of upkeep!

Q: What is something people may not know about you?

I was born on July 4th in Washington, D.C. It’s nice to selfishly imagine the fireworks I hear each year are for me instead of our nation’s birthday. :) 

Q: What piece(s) of music are you currently enjoying right now?

I recently found an album of the 1966 Augustana Choir and Henry Veld, and have been loving the opportunity to enter what sounds and feels like a different time, but which clearly operated with similar principles to which the choir still aspires. Ralph Vaughan Williams’ "The cloud-capped towers" (30:30) is a personal favorite of mine, and to listen to our musical “ancestors” singing that piece with such sensitivity has made these first weeks of a new Augie choral chapter feel that much more like a full-circle moment.