A Langley band will be the opening act for a chart-topping group on tour in the United Kingdom.
Trinity Western University’s new music group, Trinity Worship Project, are already out on tour as the opening band for a U.K.-based Christian music group called Rend Collective and its The Good News Tour: United Kingdom Part 2.
Trinity Worship Project was formed out of TWU’s newly launched worship arts program, explained Scott Fehrenbacher, senior vice-president of external relations at TWU.
“This is an amazing opportunity for our musicians and future worship leaders to have the chance to tour with international recording artists and get first-hand exposure to the professional music industry,” Fehrenbacher said.
“These students have worked incredibly hard this year to reach this place. Touring with Rend Collective is an invaluable reward for their achievements. These opportunities represent what sets our Worship program apart,” he added.
The band joined Rend Collective for tour dates that started last week in the U.K., and included Cardiff, London, and Manchester. This Thursday (May 17) they’re performing in Inverness, Glasgow, Belfast, and Dublin – several of those shows already sold out.
The TWU’s worship arts program, which started in September 2017, has already been recognized as one of the top worship studies programs in North America by Worship Leader magazine. Bart Millard, award-winning lead singer and songwriter with Mercy Me, serves as the program’s senior advisor, lending his expertise to encourage emerging leaders in Christian music.
“I have a passion to see students be better equipped to be worship leaders and to make a difference in the world,” said Millard, who is also the inspiration behind the film I Can Only Imagine, released earlier this year.
What also sets TWU’s worship program apart is its balanced approach, said David Squires, dean of TWU’s school of arts, media + culture. Squires is currently on tour with the band.Students study worship alongside another concentration in liberal arts, making the program biblically grounded, historically informed, and culturally engaged.
The university also launched Worship Lab Radio last school year, a new online Christian radio station aimed at filling a current void in Christian music and offering a new outlet for indie worship artists.
It also helps worship leaders across North America connect with emerging artists.
Their worship lab radio is also an integral tool for TWU worship arts students, providing them the opportunity to get their music played along with other indie artists looking to impact the next generation of Christian music.
Founded in 1962, Trinity Western University is a private Christian post-secondary institution in Langley that offers liberal arts and sciences, as well as professional schools in business, nursing, education, human kinetics, graduate studies, and arts, media and culture.