FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 16, 2000 CONTACT: Lisa Lacher, (515) 271-3119 DRAKE CHOIR TO PERFORM FREE CONCERT BEFORE LEAVING ON EUROPEAN TOUR THURSDAY On Thursday, May 18, the Drake University Choir will give a concert and leave on a 12-day European tour that includes performances in Austria and Italy. The pre-tour concert will start at noon on the Jordan Stage in Sheslow Auditorium in Old Main, 26th Street and University Avenue. An ice cream social, sponsored by Drake President David Maxwell, will follow the performance at 12:45 p.m. Both are free and open to the public. "This concert is designed to thank our supporters and to offer a musical gift to the Drake and Des Moines communities," said Aimee Beckmann-Collier, director of choral activities at Drake and president of the Iowa Choral Directors Association. "We hope to have many people join us in celebrating the start of summer, the joy of music and our connection to the global community." The Drake Choir raised approximately $120,000 to fund the European tour, which will begin with a concert on Saturday, May 20, at Schoenbrunn Palace in Vienna, Austria. The 48-voice choir also will perform in Votivkirche and Salzburg, Vienna, as well as Florence and Venice, Italy, before heading back to Des Moines on May 29. The choir's European tour will include sightseeing trips and a visit to the former Nazi concentration camp in Dachau, Germany.