The Voice-Choral Area at the NDSU Challey School of Music is committed to providing exceptional aesthetic opportunities for students to develop and grow as musicians. Ensemble participation is an integral part of the educational process for all musicians and is required in all music degrees. We also feel strongly that building community through ensemble participation creates a lasting bond between the conductor, the singers and the entire CSoM.
Students register for ensembles based on auditions and the recommendations of the voice-choral faculty. The student’s degree program will determine, in part, which ensembles are most suitable for them. Students should discuss ensemble participation with their advisor. For vocal health considerations, it is recommended that students register for not more than two ensembles per semester.
BM in Vocal Music Education students must participate in a major vocal ensemble for seven semesters and participate in a minor ensemble for two semesters.
BM in Vocal Performance students must participate in a major vocal ensemble for eight semesters and participate in a minor ensemble for four semesters.
BS/BA in Music students must participate in a major vocal ensemble for six semesters.
Students who receive music scholarship(s) are required to participate in an ensemble every semester, in consultation with their advisors.
For updated information on ensembles, visit Music Ensemble Opportunities on Campus on the NDSU website.
Under the direction of Dr. Charlette Moe, this SA choir of 50 members continually programs music that highlights female composers and music written specifically for the woman's voice. This non-auditioned choir, with campus-wide participation, rehearses TuTh from 3:30–4:45pm. Cantemus frequently collaborates with The Statesmen of NDSU. Cantemus hosts an Annual Treble Voice Choir Festival in February. Please contact Dr. Charlette Moe for more information.
The NDSU Concert Choir has a distinguished tradition of performing eminent choral literature at the highest level of artistry. Under Jo Ann Miller's direction, the choir has performed at state, regional and national music conferences. Membership is by audition and the 60-voice choir has singers from many majors within the university.
Concert Choir meets M-W-F from 12:00–12:50 p.m. and T-Th from 12:30–1:45 p.m. Their concert schedule includes the Fall Choral Concert, in combination with the NDSU High School Choral Festival; the yearly full choral department performances of Handel’s Messiah; a regional spring tour; biennial performances with the Fargo Moorhead Symphony and overseas tours every three years. Please contact Dr. Jo Ann Miller for audition information.
The Madrigal Singers is an auditioned ensemble selected from the Concert Choir. They perform vocal chamber music from the Renaissance through the 21st century. In addition to concert performances throughout the year, the annual Madrigal Dinners feature fully costumed productions of Renaissance revelry. Conducted by Dr. Michael Weber, the Madrigal Singers perform for numerous NDSU celebrations, tour each spring with the Concert Choir and also tour separately throughout the region. The Madrigal Singers were chosen to perform at the 2020 North Dakota American Choral Directors Association conference. Please contact Dr. Michael Weber for audition information.
NDSU Opera presents fully staged and costumed operas and operettas with orchestra in Festival Concert Hall, as well as staged and costumed scenes from operas with piano accompaniment in Beckwith Recital Hall. The NDSU Opera program opened the 2019–2020 NDSU Baroque Festival with Handel’s masterpiece Giulio Cesare. Other recent productions include: Ravel’s L’enfant et les sortilèges, Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro and The Impresario, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Albert Herring, Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi, and Gilbert & Sullivan’s Patience and HMS Pinafore. NDSU Opera has also presented baroque operas such as Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and John Blow’s Venus and Adonis at the NDSU Baroque Festival. NDSU Opera rehearses MWF from 3:00–4:50 p.m. Please contact Dr. Kelly Burns for audition information.
The Statesmen is a non-auditioned TBB choir. The Statesmen has singers from many campus majors and rehearses TuTh from 3:30–4:45pm. The Statesmen perform twice a semester near campus. They represented NDSU at the 2009 and 2015 North Dakota Music Educators Association convention in Bismarck, ND. Please contact Dr. Michael Weber for more information.
The University Chamber Singers is an auditioned, mixed choir of 35 freshmen-through-senior members who represent many different majors and disciplines across the NDSU campus. This ensemble performed at the 2018 North Dakota American Choral Director’s Conference and at the 2014 Northern Plains Kodály Chapter Honor Choir Festival. Besides performing at two concerts per semester, UCS participates in the NDSU Madrigal Dinners each December. UCS is conducted by Dr. Charlette Moe and rehearses MWF from 11:00–11:50am. Please contact Dr. Charlette Moe for audition information.
This choir meets to provide a choral ensemble for graduate choral conductors as they prepare their conducting recitals. Rehearsal times vary. This ensemble is not always offered every semester. Students should speak to their advisor before registering.