A Cappella Choir to compete in annual German festival and tour Europe in 2027
09/28/2026
Choir will perform in Prague and Leipzig before competing at the International Johannes Brahms Choir Festival
By Brett Buckner
Jacksonville State University’s A Cappella Choir will compete in the 14th annual International Johannes Brahms Choir Festival and Competition in Wernigerode, Germany, May 19 - 23, 2027. Before the competition, the choir will tour Europe, performing concerts in Prague, Czechia, and Leipzig, Germany.
“I am excited to share and promote the richness and diversity of American music with our audiences in Czechia and Germany, particularly its many genres—including art music, spirituals, gospel, folk music, hymn arrangements, Broadway, and country,” said Dr. Eliezer Yanson Jr., Jax State’s Director of Choral Activities.
For the tour, the choir is adding the country classic, My Home’s in Alabama to its repertoire. Originally written by Alabama’s Teddy Gentry and Jax State alumnus Randy Owen, the song is receiving a new arrangement by Jax State graduate student Silas Tankersley.
Other selections the choir will perform include Alleluia by Randall Thompson, Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machineby Eric Whitacre, In stiller Nacht by Johannes Brahms, Pamugun by Francisco Feliciano and Daniel, Daniel, Servant of the Lord, a spiritual arranged by Undine Smith Moore.
The competitive element of the Brahms Festival and Competition will, above all, help Jax State students grow into a stronger musical ensemble, Yanson said.
“Through travel and participation in this international event,” he said, “JSU students will gain a broader perspective on the world and their place within it.”
The festival brings together choirs from around the globe, providing students opportunities for musical and cultural exchange while performing for international audiences.
“This experience directly supports the JSU mission of preparing students to be competent, ethical professionals and engaged, responsible, global citizens,” Dr. Yanson said.
Jax State student Devonte Roszell participated in the choir’s 2025 European tour, which included competition in the CantaRode International Choral Festival in the Netherlands.
“Performing in Europe was a dream come true,” said the 20-year-old junior from Oxford. “Being on the stage was surreal, and the atmosphere was beyond words. Seeing the different cultures come together to celebrate the art of music was like worlds colliding.”
The competitive climate of the experience influenced Roszell as a performer in ways that he carries with him still.
“They all had strong looks and a unique persona they all carried from their cultures,” he said. “This has made us as a choir stronger too, with us having a stricter look and our repertoire being more representative of our home with songs like My Home’s in Alabama.
For Roszell, performing for diverse audiences also gives the choir an opportunity to share its love of music with people from different backgrounds.
“Music is what I believe brings the world together, and we can use that concept to fill people with the love that music brings us,” he said. “I've always said that I want to love people the way music loves me, and I can do that through performing.”
So, when the opportunity to return came up, Roszell didn’t hesitate to represent Jax State again.
“It’s so much fun performing with the best while also being a part of the best, and I feel that’s what Jax State is all about,” he said. “On this tour, I’m looking forward to meeting new people from different cultures and sharing the love of music with everyone around me while I’m there.”
For Shealee Griffith, the 2027 tour will bring an entirely new experience. The 19-year-old sophomore from Talladega will be taking her first trip abroad. Griffith has long wanted to visit Europe, particularly Germany, because of the country’s rich musical history.
“Germany was the birthplace of many prolific composers like Bach, Handel, Beethoven, Brahms, Schumann... the list goes on and on,” she said. “Performing in such an important place in musical history is an honor, one that I know we in the A Cappella Choir will look back on fondly many years from now.”
As a relatively small choir from a small university in Alabama, the chance to compete alongside choirs from around the world is “astounding … scary, and wonderful,” Griffith said, “and it is humbling to be accepted to perform and be judged there.
Griffith is particularly excited to meet other choir members and learn from them and their directors.
“This competition is more than an opportunity for us to show our skill as a choir,” she said. “It is a way for us to build new relationships with choristers from all over the world and to strengthen the bonds we already have within our choir.”
For Griffith, traveling and competing abroad will expose choir members to different places, cultures, people and religions while giving them a greater appreciation for the music they perform.
“More than that, we can foster relationships with those that have vastly different lives than us; in troubled times like these, we can still be drawn together,” Griffith said. “That is the power of music - to understand someone else's life, even if only for a moment.”
The cost of the 2027 trip is $3,499 per student, and Yanson hopes to raise $30,000 to help offset the students’ travel expenses.
“Reaching our fundraising goal,” he said, “would reduce each student’s contribution to $2,800.”
The choir has set up a site for donations. Donations can also be mailed to the JSU Foundation at Self Hall 240, Jacksonville State University, 700 Pelham Road North, Jacksonville, AL 36265. Checks should include “JSU Choirs” in the memo line.