Potter College News

The WKU Chorale will be traveling to Spain over Spring Break to perform in Madrid, Toledo, Valencia, and Barcelona, Spain under the direction of Dr. Paul Hondorp, in his 23rd year as Director of Choral Activities at WKU.

This is the first international trip for WKU Choirs since the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, the WKU Chorale performed in Spain in 2015. They also performed abroad in Italy in 2008 and Costa Rica in 2018. For many of the students, this trip will be their first time abroad and, for some, their first time on an airplane.

The ensemble will be performing American and Spanish selections in designated churches during their trip. They will also be performing in La Sagrada Familia, the largest unfinished Catholic church in the world.

This life-changing experience is giving WKU Chorale students the opportunity to share their music with the people of Spain and to learn, perform, and share the music of Spanish composers, often performing that music in the space for which it was composed.

Additionally, students will sing in Catalan, a Spanish indigenous language, as well as other languages. 

“Sharing music with a foreign audience is always special, as music can speak more poignantly than words,” said Hondorp. “These students rehearse together four days a week, semester after semester, and are extremely excited to share this journey together. They will bring a message of beauty and peace from our department, university…and perhaps even our country.”

For more information about choirs at WKU, please visit https://www.wku.edu/sing/.

- WKU -

Western Kentucky University prides itself on positioning its students, faculty and staff for long term success. As a student-centered, applied research university, WKU helps students expand on classroom learning by integrating education with real-world applications in the communities we serve. Our hilltop campus is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, which was recently named by Reader’s Digest as one of the nicest towns in America, just an hour’s drive from Nashville, Tennessee.