The Knox College Choir will showcase the program for its upcoming concert tour of France, in a free, public send-off concert at 3 p.m., February 26 at First Lutheran Church, 364 E Water St., Galesburg.

The program includes a new work, "Leaves," commissioned by the choir from Ēriks Ešenvalds, one of today's best-known choral composers.

Ešenvalds will visit the Knox campus to work with the choir and give a free, public lecture at 12 noon, Wednesday, March 1, in Jay Hall, Ford Center for the Fine Arts.

A world-renowned Latvian composer, Ešenvalds has been praised by The New York Times as the "next big thing in musical mysticism." His works have been premiered by ensembles such as the Boston Symphony and the King's Singers. Ešenvalds' most recent premieres have included the multimedia symphony "Nordic Light," the score for the film "Mellow Mud," and his second major opera "The Immured."

The Knox College Choir's tour of Southern France features a series of concerts from March 14 through March 23. The 50-voice vocal ensemble has toured throughout the United States during the College's Spring Break, and embarks on a European tour every four years.

The Choir will give its Home Tour Concert at 7:30 p.m., March 31, in Knox College's Kresge Hall.

Directed by Laura Lane, professor of music and an award-winning choral conductor, the Knox College Choir has performed several times in Carnegie Hall, has recorded several CDs and has worked with many renowned composers, including Stacey Gibbs, Abbie Betinis, Jaakko Mäntyjärvi, Rollo Dilworth, Ruth Watson Henderson, Thea Musgrave, and the late Moses Hogan.

All Knox College Choir concerts are free and open to the public.

Below, Knox College Choir, in rehearsal and concert