Choral/Vocal - UWSP Music Department

Choral and Vocal Studies at UWSP

Voice area faculty members at UWSP are nationally recognized performing artists dedicated to promoting healthy vocal production appropriate to each student's professional goals. They offer a wealth of expertise in the areas of solo song repertoire, opera, choral and general music education and vocal pedagogy. Voice students at UWSP enjoy a low teacher/student ratio in the classroom and a healthy and energetic environment for learning, regardless of major.

Voice area faculty

Susan Bender, soprano
Lucinda Thayer, Director of Choral Activities
Dennis Willhoit, tenor

Curriculum

Voice students at UWSP are mentored through a curriculum that includes classes in singer's diction, vocal literature, pedagogy, large choral and small chamber ensembles, opera workshop, and master classes presented by guest artists. Each student receives individual weekly lessons and participates in studio classes where all vocalists perform in one of our spacious performing venues in the Noel Fine Arts Center. Each voice student performs repertoire drawn from the classical vocal repertoire, including but not limited to English lute or art song, American folk or art song, opera, oratorio, German Lied and French mélodie. Every vocalist at UWSP enrolls in a broad range of classes from the music department course offerings in addition to the voice area specialty classes. Each voice studio is complete with a grand piano and A/V recording equipment to assist in each student's learning.

Performing Opportunities

Colloquium

All music students gather in Michelsen Hall every Wednesday at 4 p.m. to perform in front of their peers and faculty. This performance opportunity is a rich experience for all musicians in the department .

Guest Artist Masterclass

Bud Beyer, professor emeritus Northwestern University, Evanston, IL
Gretchen D'Armand, soprano emerita UWSP
Rodney Gilfry, baritone (premiered role of Stanley Kowalski in André Previn's Streetcar Named Desire
John Keyes, heldentenor, De Nederlandse Opera, Amsterdam
Beth Ray, mezzo-soprano, Luther College, Decorah, IA
Julie Simson, mezzo-soprano, University of Colorado, Boulder
Stephen Swanson, baritone, University of Iowa
Holly Wrensch, mezzo-soprano, Concordia University, Moorhead, MN, & UWSP alum

Opera Workshop

The Opera Workshop is offered in the spring semester and presents full productions and scenes from the standard operatic literature. It is open to any university student through audition in the fall semester.

Degrees offered

Audition Information

Perform two pieces in contrasting style (preferably from memory) and offer at least one selection in English and one in a foreign language.
Auditions occur in the spring of the year for the fall semester and in November for the spring semester for continuing students.
The student will demonstrate basic sight-reading skills, tonal and rhythmic memory exercises for the faculty panel.
Repertoire should be equal to the performance level required for Class A solos on the Wisconsin School Music Association's state contest list.
Click here for audition information

Choral Ensembles

There is a wide variety of choral experiences available to members of UWSP choirs. In the past, UWSP choirs have appeared at the WMEA state music convention in Madison, performed the Brahms Requiem with the Green Bay Civic Symphony, and Handel’s Messiah with the Central Wisconsin Symphony Orchestra. The men of Choral Union and Concert Choir join forces twice a year to sing men’s repertoire, and have toured to schools throughout Wisconsin. The Women’s Choir has sung with the University Orchestra and every other year, the Concert Choir and Choral Union perform a large choral-orchestral work with the University Orchestra. Past performances include Handel’s Messiah. Mozart’s Requiem, Beethoven’s Mass in C, Brahms’ German Requiem, and Orff’s Carmina Burana. The choirs have invited Dr. Keith Hampton to campus for a workshop and have plans for future workshops with visiting artists.

Chamber Singers

The UWSP Chamber Singers meet in the fall semester and explores small ensemble repertoire ranging from madrigals to contemporary music. It is open to any university student through audition.

Choral Union

The Choral Union is the largest choral group at the university and is open to any university student; a minimal audition is required during the first week of classes each semester. Although some repertoire is chosen for women's chorus and men's chorus, the majority of the music is for SATB choir.

Concert Choir

The Concert Choir is a select, SATB choir open to any university student through audition. This group of 32-40 singers performs a wide variety of repertoire from all stylistic periods.

Women's Choir

The Women's Choir performs a wide variety of repertoire for women's voices. It is open to any university student; a minimal audition is required during the first week of classes each semester.

Click here for questions concerning the choral auditions.