Pretty much every Nova Singers concert is special, but this coming weekend is guaranteed to be extra special as the choral ensemble will be a big reunion to kick off its 40^th anniversary season under director and founder Laura Lane.

Nova will provide two performances of In Our Voices on Saturday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., at First Lutheran Church in Galesburg, and on Sunday, Oct. 19, 4 p.m. at St. Paul Lutheran Church, 2136 Brady St., in Davenport.

This concert – to include a reunion of singers from the past 40 years — will feature an astounding variety of voices: great black American composers Nathaniel Dett and Moses Hogan, world-renowned Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds (in a world premiere) and the unique voice of civil rights activist James Weldon Johnson in a thrilling and inspiring creation story, according to a program release.

Nova Singers will kick off their 40th-anniversary season this weekend with the “In Our Voices” program Saturday, Oct. 18 in Galesburg and Sunday, Oct. 19 in Davenport.

Founded in 1986 by Laura Lane, Nova Singers is a 20-voice ensemble with a nationwide reputation for expressiveness, virtuosity and innovative programming. Nova Singers has performed at state, regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association, has produced eight professional recordings and has received numerous grants from the Illinois Arts Council and the National Endowment for the Arts.

“What a joy it has been, discovering each of these pieces with the Nova Singers and falling in love with each one,” Lane said in a recent release. “The Moses Hogan spirituals are gorgeous and exciting; Make Me a World by Ruth Watson Henderson is incredibly dramatic; Fern Hill by Corigliano has a thousand moments of exquisite beauty that take you out of this world and into another; and our commissioned work by Ešenvalds is fantastic! Audience members will also enjoy hearing the soloists, as their voices emerge out of the texture of the group, each in their own unique way. Finally, I’m so looking forward to alumni of Nova Singers coming up to sing Shenandoah with us. There may not be a dry eye in the house.”

Latvian composer Eriks Esenvalds is one of the most sought-after composers working today. Come hear his piece “A Lullaby” performed by Nova Singers in its world premiere Oct. 18 in Galesburg and Oct. 19 in Davenport.

Ēriks Ešenvalds’ compositions have been premiered by ensembles including the Boston Symphony Orchestra, City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Utah Symphony, Britten Sinfonia, Gewandhaus Leipzig, The King’s Singers, Latvian Voices, Choir of Trinity College Cambridge, Holst Singers, Imogen Heap, Polyphony, Choir of Merton College Oxford, Latvian Radio Choir, State Choir Latvija, Bavarian Radio Choir, Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, Latvian National Opera and Ballet, Liepaja Symphony Orchestra, ORA Singers, National Youth Choir of Great Britain, BBC Proms Youth Choir, Netherlands National Children’s Choir, and New Zealand Youth Choir, among others.

Ešenvalds has won multiple awards for his work, including the Latvian Grand Music Award three times (2005, 2007, 2015). The International Rostrum of Composers awarded him first prize in 2006 for his work The Legend of the Walled-in Woman. He was The Year’s New-Composer Discovery of the Philadelphia Inquirer in 2010. In 2018 he was bestowed Officer in the Order of the Three Stars, the highest state decoration of his home country Latvia, for merits in the field of culture.

Nova Singers’ tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $20 for adults and $17 for seniors. Students are admitted free of charge. For information about tickets, recordings, or other Nova Singers’ events visit www.novasingers.com or the group’s Facebook page.

In Our Voices is sponsored by Epic Stone.  Nova Singers’ 2025-26 season is partially supported by grants from the Illinois Arts Council, The City of Galesburg, and The Galesburg Community Foundation.

Nova Singers will celebrate the choir’s 40th anniversary with their new 2025-26 season.

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Jonathan Turner

Jonathan Turner -- who has called the Quad Cities home since 1995 -- has decades of experience as a professional journalist and pianist. His experience writing for daily newspapers, public radio and local TV encompasses a wide range of subjects, including the arts, politics, education, economic development, historic preservation, business, and tourism.

Jonathan most loves writing about music and the arts (which he now does as a freelancer for the River Cities Reader and Visit Quad Cities). He has a passion for accompanying musicals, singers, choirs and instrumentalists, including playing for QC Music Guild's 2023 productions of RENT and SWEENEY TODD. He is assistant music director and accompanist for the spring 2025 Music Guild show, ESCAPE TO MARGARITAVILLE. He wrote an original musical based on The Book of Job, which premiered at Playcrafters in 2010. Jonathan penned a 175-page history book about downtown Davenport, that was published by The History Press in 2016, and a travel guide about the QC published by Reedy Press in 2022.