Seward, NE (03/24/2025) — Senior church music major Ethan Gillespie was recently awarded the Norma-Aamodt Nelson Student Scholar Award by the Association of Lutheran Church Musicians. The award was created in 2021 to honor long-time church musician Norma Aamodt-Nelson, who recently passed away. The award has now been given three times, and each of the previous times, Concordia University, Nebraska students were the recipients with Renata Pepperkorn winning in 2021 and Thomas Schulteis winning in 2023.

The award is open to any undergraduate student preparing for a career in church music. The audition has two parts: a solo performance and a recording demonstrating their ability to lead a congregation in song. This is a video audition and is submitted as a recording. They also submit a written portion explaining the pieces that they chose for the audition and how they could be used within the context of the Lutheran liturgy.

Gillespie will receive a cash prize of $500, and a fully funded trip to this summer's ALCM conference, held in Raleigh Durham, North Carolina. At this conference he will "officially" receive the award. He has also been invited to perform at the conference, which is an amazing opportunity and honor for a church musician. Both previous winners of the award, Renata Pepperkorn and Thomas Schulteis, will be involved in the conference as well.

When asked what led him to pursue church music, Gillespie said, "When I was eleven my grandfather was dying. He was a church musician and played organ. Though I don't remember much of what I said, my cousin and I promised our grandfather that we would learn organ. Thirteen years later and I've been playing organ for about twelve years!"

Gillespie hopes to be called into the church and be able to support the church's song through playing and leading other instrumentalists in their support of the Lutheran liturgy and hymnody.

In his free time, Gillespie enjoys building Lego sets and creating new ideas and watching MLB trivia videos on YouTube. He also writes his own choral and instrumental music. He is currently in the process of completing his first large-scale work that another church musician commissioned.

"I am glad to be a part of furthering and continuing a tradition of excellence here at Concordia University, Nebraska!" Gillespie said.

About Concordia University, Nebraska

Concordia University, Nebraska, founded in 1894, is a fully accredited, coeducational university of The Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod located in Seward, Nebraska, which currently serves more than 1,700 students. Concordia offers more than 100 undergraduate, graduate and professional programs in an excellent academic and Christ-centered community that equips men and women for lives of learning, service and leadership in the church and world. For more information, visit cune.edu.

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