The pews of Wesley United Methodist Church were overflowing with audience members of Winona State University’s choirs. Under the direction of Professor Colleen Chester and accompanied by Professor Eric Brisson, Vocal Chamber Ensemble, Treble Chorus and Concert Choir presented pieces relating to the theme of the performance: Wild and Divine on Nov. 22, 2025.
The wild and the divine are often seen to be opposing things, but as Chester explained to the audience, they are very intertwined through the music shared at the concert. The theme of Wild and Divine connected each of the pieces on the program and told a story through their lyrics. First year student and member of Concert Choir, Haley Butzer, commented on the meaning the theme brought to the performance.
“Our Wild and Divine theme was about the dual-sided nature of humanity. A good chunk of our songs were about God and Mary and the others were about the unruly and wild side of the natural world,” Butzer said. “The setlist can refer to the unpredictability of humans and the dual-ended nature of their beliefs set somewhere between divinity and nature.”
First year student and music enthusiast Kaeden Stevens has been in a multitude of choirs for years. He emphasized that the music he has interacted with has become a part of him.
“I’ve been in music my whole life. My dad was a professional musician for a little while, so [music has] been ingrained into a part of me,” Stevens said. “I always did choir in high school, and it’s always been a great outlet for me creatively and emotionally too.”
Stevens found that being a part of the Winona State choir community was a great way to connect with new people and new music, especially entering his first semester. He specifically commented on the wild nature of the pieces he sang, and the place he envisioned himself in while singing them.
“A lot of the songs that we are singing really make you feel like you’re in a wild place,” Stevens said. “I always get this picture that I’m in the woods whenever I’m singing our pieces. It’s just kind of cool to text paint and bring the audience to a place that feels divine and wild.”
Additionally, the pieces that ensembles performed came from a variety of traditions and were sung in a multitude of languages including English, German, Peruvian and more. Second year student Kaylee Dehmer appreciated the diversity the setlist provided and found the experience of singing in different languages to be beneficial for both her and audience members.
“You get to learn about different cultures when you sing [in different languages],” Dehmer said. “When I’ve gone to concerts [that are in] just one language, it’s pretty boring. [Singing in different languages] gives the performance variety.
Through the combination of lyricism and music, wildness and divinity were reflected in many different languages. The Winona State choirs presented their audience with a wonderful arrangement of choral works conveying emotion through heartfelt voices.
