UMD Honor Choir Festivals

Date: Monday, October 23, 2023 

Time: 8:30am-3:30pm (8:00am registration), with a 4:00pm concert

This festival provides your dedicated high school singers (grades 9-12) with a day of choral singing, focusing on experiencing great repertoire and developing vocal artistry and technique. This festival is designed for students who have a passion for choir, or who are considering a music major in college.

This event is auditioned. Participants in the festival are nominated by their directors and will submit a short recording of excerpts from our festival literature prior to the event as their audition. Directors are invited to nominate quartets of singers (8 singers maximum). If you do not have a balanced quartet, please go ahead and nominate deserving students and we will notify you of their acceptance. Students nominated will be required to successfully complete their recordings for final acceptance.

This festival is intentionally select. Singers who would benefit from a non-auditioned experience are invited to attend our January festival!

Optional opportunity for your singers! Soloists are invited to prepare a solo for a voice lesson with our faculty, and two students will be selected for the opportunity to be featured on our concert as a VOCAL HONORS OUTSTANDING SINGER. Seniors may audition for our voice faculty for consideration for acceptance as a music major and scholarship recipient.

Fees: $25 per student (cost includes a festival t-shirt, access to part recordings, and a recording of the concert). A student pizza buffet is available for an additional cost. Participating directors receive a free luncheon at no charge. Parents may attend the festival concert at no charge.

DATES TO REMEMBER:

• Nominations are open now, and you will receive rolling acceptance of students through the deadline. Register Here

• The deadline to nominate students is October 6. You are encouraged to nominate students before this deadline - and you may submit your recordings whenever they are ready!

• The deadline for students to submit their recordings is October 13. Instructions will be sent after your nominations are received.

• Payment is due at at our online store or by making alternate arrangements with Dee Charles at dcharles@d.umn.edu 

Festival Clinicians: Dr. Ryan Deignan (bio) and Mr. Chris Fettig (bio)

Repertoire:

• Franz Schubert, arr. Liebergen “Sanctus” from Mass No. 4, (SATB w/piano Alfred 00-47543) Audition: piano begins m 1, sing mm 3-25 (59 seconds total). All voice parts may sing solo at m 10 before continuing on their own parts at m 18.

• Laura Farnell, Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep (SATB w/ piano Alliance Music Publications, AMP 0727). Audition: piano begins m 28, sing measures 31-43 (48 sec total).

• Robert Hatfield "All Too Soon" (SATB w/ piano Boosey & Hawkes M051475070) Audition: piano begins m 81, sing m 85 downbeat through m 109 downbeat (1 minute total)

• Isaac Horn/arr. Ryan Deignan "Rain Clouds" (SATB www.jamesmdeignan.com) Audition: use accompaniment track found in folder below beginning at 3:12, sing measures 89-102 (35 sec total)

• For all audition recordings, please sing along with the piano accompaniment track found in the folder below. The SATB and part predominant tracks are for student practice and learning. Thank you!

Complimentary materials for teaching this repertoire (watermarked scores and part recordings) may be found here: Vocal Honors Materials. 

All singers are asked to bring their own scores. UMD will not provide scores or copies the day of the event.