For a singer, few things compare to hearing the reverberation of a choir ring through vaulted cathedral ceilings. But in Kansas, cathedrals are hard to come by. The Hesston College Bel Canto Singers and the Goessel High School Elbiata Singers managed to find one of the few scattered on the Kansas prairie – St. Fidelis Church: The Cathedral on the Plains in Victoria, Kan. – will collaborate to present a concert in the unique space.

The combined choir will present a program of sacred and secular choral music with the theme “A Prairie Winter Sojourn” at 5 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 27. The concert is free and open to the public, though a free-will offering will be collected to cover program costs and for the ongoing work of the church.

Located north of Wichita, Hesston College and Goessel High School are only about 15 minutes apart and both are well known for their outstanding performing arts programs and long traditions of vocal excellence. Bel Canto Singers and Elbiata Singers are Hesston College and Goessel High’s premiere choirs with members selected by competitive audition. Bradley Kauffman of Newton, Kan., directs Bel Canto and Renae Schmidt Peters of Hesston, Kan., directs the Elbiata Singers.

St. Fidelis Church is located less than 15 minutes east of Hays. The acoustics make the two-hour drive worthwhile for the choirs and the audience.

“This performance gives the choirs an opportunity to present a specific type of legato music within a sympathetic architecture,” said Kauffman. “Bringing the legato voice together with a generous, live acoustic can be a uniquely inspiring experience. It is an aesthetic that inspired medieval and renaissance to modern composers.”

St. Fidelis Church was nicknamed The Cathedral of the Plains by William Jennings Bryan in 1912. The Romanesque church completed in 1911 features many elements found in its European inspiration, including German windows and works of art, Austrian hand-carved stations of the cross and an Italian marble altar. In 1971 it was placed on the National Register of Historic Places as a “building of architectural significance,” and was named one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas in 2008. The church is open to the public every day of the year, with mass being celebrated daily.

A charter bus leaving from Hesston at 1 p.m. Jan. 27, will travel to the concert for anyone wanting to attend. Seats on the bus can be purchased for $25 by calling Hesston College Alumni and Church Relations at 866-437-7866. Reservations and payment must be received by Friday, Jan. 25.