Lift every voice – Chorus of 168 to remember those who died in the Murrah Bombing


OKLAHOMA CITY – After weeks of rehearsal, a chorus of 168 voices, drawn from 28 local churches, will remember those who perished in the 1995 bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.


The public concert will be held twenty years after the bombing — Sunday, April 19 — at 5 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, 1001 NW 25. 

There is no charge for the event and tickets are not required. 

The doors open at 4:15 p.m.Presented by the Oklahoma Alliance for Liturgy and the Arts (OALA), in conjunction with the Kemp Concert Series at First Presbyterian Church, the event will consist of music paired with inspirational readings, prayers and reflections. 

Speaking at the service will be former Oklahoma City Mayor Ronald Norick, who was mayor at the time of the bombing, and Rev. Nick Harris, who was pastor of First United Methodist Church that is located near where the federal building stood.

The choir will be conducted by Dr. Anton Armstrong of Saint Olaf College in North field, Minn., one of the nation leading choral conductors. He led a similar chorus in New York City for the 10th commemoration of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center.

The combined chorus held its first rehearsal on March 1 at First Presbyterian Church. The choir will rehearse again on Sunday (April 12), from 3-5 p.m.  Then, on April 18, the chorus will participate in an all-day rehearsal/choral workshop with Dr. Armstrong.  

The event is underwritten by the 7-Eleven Foundation, Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores, and The Oklahoman.

The Oklahoma Alliance for Liturgy & the Arts (OALA) is a Christian not-for-profit inter-denominational  organization enhancing communal worship by promoting the visual and performing arts in Oklahoma churches. Rev. Stephen Bird, pastor of Epiphany of the Lord Catholic Church in Oklahoma City, serves as president.

The planning committee for the April 19 event is headed by Nancy Krause, director of music at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church. 

Other committee members are Tony Carillo, music director of Peace Lutheran; Michael Scott, music director at the Cathedral of Our Lady of Perpetual Help; Warren Puffer Jones, music director at First Presbyterian; and Bob Waldrop, music director at Epiphany.

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