LSM is excited to launch the Annual Alumni Composition Commission project, which aims to support and showcase alumni composers through commissioned works. This year's inaugural alumni composer, Lawton Hall (LSM 2005-2006), has been commissioned to write a new work for brass that will be premiered at the Praetorius Brass Faculty Recital at LSM 2024.

Two esteemed faculty members of LSM are joining forces in an upcoming performance this March. Nicole Lee, piano faculty, will be collaborating with Dr. Kevin Sütterlin, LSM Festival Orchestra conductor, and the Fox Valley Symphony Orchestra, of which Sütterlin is the music director. The highlight of the evening will be Lee's performance of Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor.

LSM is thrilled to share that the award-winning Verona Quartet musicians will join the LSM 2024 Faculty and serve as Artists in Residence for the duration of Lutheran Summer Music 2024.

The Association of Lutheran Church Musicians will hold a music and worship conference in conjunction with LSM 2024 at Valparaiso University. The conference, overlapping with LSM week 4, will bring together hundreds of church musicians from across the country for several days of learning, fellowship, and shared musical experiences.

LSM is excited to announce that we have been featuring our wonderful alums through the Alumni Spotlight series for over a year! We are proud to continue highlighting our former students' experiences and their journeys after LSM.

LSM is thrilled to announce that over 80 alumni, parents, friends, and families have committed three-year pledges or legacy (estate) gifts, bringing us to 85%, or just over $5 million of our $6 million dollar goal!

Thanks to your advocacy, dedication, and enthusiasm, 2023 was a milestone year for Lutheran Summer Music in countless ways. We invite you to learn more about this past year in our 2023 Year in Review.

As a laboratory for musical artistry and learning, LSM continues to develop new resources during each summer’s academy and festival. We are pleased to share these free downloadable resources for students, teachers, and congregations.

2023 was the final summer Doug Geston, owner of Westmark Productions, shared his audio and visual expertise with the LSM community. Doug is happily retiring after 25 years of recording concerts, recitals, and worship services. Thousands of LSM students, faculty, and families have enjoyed Doug’s high-quality recordings as a way to encapsulate their profound experiences each summer.

Although the last chord of LSM 2023 rang out more than two months ago, the sights and sounds of a wonderful and robust summer continue to reverberate in many ways—a fitting reminder on this feast day that earthly music is but a foretaste of the great and promised feast with choirs of saints and angels.

Now is the time to invest in our shared future. With a combination of current and legacy gifts, the creation of endowments, a focus on alumni enthusiasm, and your enduring generosity it is our goal to raise $6 million to secure the future of LSM through the STRENGTH and STAY campaign.

Peter Wessler served as the LSM Academy Director for 17 years before his death in 2020. LSM established the Peter Wessler Memorial Scholarship Endowment Fund to honor him and to ensure his legacy continues into perpetuity. Henry was chosen as the designee for this award due to his warm presence and leadership among students during the 2023 Academy.

LSM’s inaugural Alumni Award was presented to Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati during LSM 2023 at the annual Board of Directors Board of Directors Reception on Saturday, July 22, 2023. Dr. Rapayati delivered a heartfelt acceptance speech that expounded on the fortuitous ways LSM comes into our lives, continues to shape us, and leads us down paths of service and meaning. Read her touching full speech here.

Lutheran Summer Music is pleased to present the recipient of the 2023 Carl Schalk Scholarship Award: Eliana from Kirkwood, Missouri. LSM has established the Dr. Carl Schalk Scholarship Endowment fund to honor Dr. Schalk’s legacy not only in name, but in the promise that the future of music and the Church which he served so faithfully will be preserved through the training and nurturing of young people.

Performing a Bach cantata within worship is a long-standing tradition and special treat for the LSM community every summer. This experience connects LSM to generations of the church dating back to Bach’s first known cantata in 1707. This year, LSM will perform Cantata BWV 18. The service will include other Bach movements, including his famous “Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring” from BWV 147. 

The value of the LSM experience and its transformational impact are immeasurable. LSM is committed to ensuring that all students, regardless of their financial circumstances, can be part of this life-changing community of music and faith. The 2023 Faculty & Studio Sponsors help ensure that ALL students are able to confidently dedicate time to building genuine relationships, pursue excellence in music, search for meaning, explore vocations, prepare for college and young adulthood, and obtain a sense of belonging and renewed faith.

This summer, Lutheran Summer Music expanded its efforts with an extensive outreach initiative, bringing the LSM experience off campus and into the local and global community. Faculty, students, and fellows are offering their musical gifts in church services, retirement communities, and even full-length recitals off campus. LSM also enhanced the livestream experience for over 20 recitals and concerts that serve the national and international audience of LSM.

In recognition of the deep importance of LSM and the work of our faculty and students, the Rupert Dunklau Foundation has awarded LSM a $25,000 match grant for any new, increased, or renewed gift (if it has been more than 36 months) to LSM!

LSM is thrilled to announce Dr. Sangeetha Rayapati as the inaugural LSM Alumni Award recipient. A professor, performing artist, and the mayor of Moline, IL, Dr. Rayapati is an exemplary model of a collaborative leader and humble servant working for positive change in her community.