Penn Choir Biography

Penn High School Choir is comprised of six choirs, totaling approximately 200 singers. Located in Mishawaka, Indiana, the Penn Choirs have had a rich history of performing both domestically and internationally. The choirs have performed in Carnegie Hall & Avery Fisher Hall (2012 & 2014), St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland (2016), Hearts Academy and Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii (2018), and Disney World (2022).

Penn Choir is an organization that welcomes all students who have the desire to sing and improve their individual voices. Founded by Wilber Eslinger in 1958, Penn Choir has grown to be made up of seven individual choir, ranging from beginning to advanced levels. All choirs teach students how to become musically literate by using Solfege (for pitch) and Takadimi (for rhythm). These systems are just two of the many systems available, but we have found them to be effective for teaching students how to become musically independent. In addition to developing music literacy skills, our students learn what it means to not only sing well but also how to be a performer.

Each year, Penn Choir puts on a minimum of seven concerts (Fall, December, March, & May). The most popular concert series is our annual Sounds of the Season winter concerts, typically the first full week of December. Those concerts are Thursday & Friday night (7:30pm) and Saturday afternoon (2:00pm). In addition to the seven concerts, our choirs compete annually at the Indiana State School Music Association (ISSMA) events, including Solo & Ensemble, Organizational, and State Qualifications. During even-numbered years, our advanced choirs (Bella Voce & Gold Standard) travel and go on a performance tour. The next spring break trip will take us to New York City.

For more information, please email the directors, or follow us on social media: Facebook, Instagram, & YouTube.