34th Annual High School Choral Festival

Sunday, October 1st | 2:00 PM - Monday, October 2nd, 2023 | 4:30 PM
NDSU Reineke Fine Arts Building

We are pleased to invite you to the 34th Annual NDSU High School Choral Festival on Sunday, October 1 and Monday, October 2, 2023. We look forward to this opportunity to work with your students and host you on our campus.

The festival’s registration will begin at 1:15 p.m. on Sunday, October 1 and will be followed by a concert featuring the NDSU Concert Choir and Madrigal Singers at 2 p.m. Joining us for the concert will be the West Fargo High School Madrigal Singers conducted by Brady Ritland. Rehearsals will begin after the concert. The Choral Festival Concert is scheduled for Monday, October 2 at 4:30 p.m. Admission to both concerts is free.

We are excited to offer the following choirs for your students. The Tenor/Bass choir for 9th and 10th grade students will be conducted by Michael Weber; the Soprano/Alto choir for 9th and 10th grade students will be conducted by Charlette Moe. The auditioned Chamber Choir for students in grades 11 & 12 will be conducted by Jo Ann Miller. The mixed choir for 11th and 12th grade students will be conducted by Brian Stubbs. Brian is the choral director at Brainerd High School in Minnesota. Brian works with students in grades 9-12 and has an excellent musical and vibrant choral program.

Auditions for the NDSU High School Chamber Choir will be submitted online during the first week of school in the fall with a due date of September 12, 2023. Each student will submit an electronic file with the student singing a folksong or an art song – no Broadway or pop music. Students should identify which part they are auditioning for, i.e. soprano or alto. The size of the NDSU High School Chamber Honor Choir will be 24 – 32 voices. We will announce the selected singers on September 14, 2023.

All students will be expected to have their music learned prior to the festival so they can create a true musical experience and enjoy creating music with their peers. It will be the student’s responsibility to get the music and learn it before the first rehearsal. Links for rehearsal tracks will be sent next week.

For the other festival choirs, each school may send one SATB quartet to the Mixed Choir and a balanced quartet to the Soprano/Alto Choir and a balanced trio to the Tenor/Bass Choir. If you have any questions about participation, please do not hesitate to contact any of us. We will take registrations on a first-come basis. The registration fee for each student is $50, which includes a t-shirt, supper on Sunday night, and lunch on Monday. Choral directors will be the guests of the NDSU Challey School of Music.

Online Registration

Online Registration for the Chamber Choir

Rehearsal Tracks

Chamber Choir Schedule

Mixed Choir Schedule

SA Choir Schedule

TB Choir Schedule

Please send a certificate of liability insurance from your school to james.l.fornes@ndsu.edu.

Registrations are due by Wednesday, September 20, 2023.

We have the philosophy that the directors should choose the students who will best represent their school at the Choral Festival. To create the most successful experience and to be fair to all participants, please do not select singers who are so inexperienced that they cannot sing their part independently. We know that you will take this request in the spirit in which it is intended. Thank you.

The music to be performed in the festival choirs is as follows:

Music will be available through Popplers Music in Grand Forks. sharon@popplersmusic.com

You may bring payment for the festival to the registration table or send to:
Jo Ann Miller
NDSU Dept. 2540
P.O. Box 6050
Fargo, ND 58108

Please let us know if you have any questions. We look forward to working with your students at the 34th Annual NDSU Choral Festival!

Jo Ann Miller, Director of Choral Activities Jo.miller@ndsu.edu
Michael Weber, Associate Director of Choral Activities m.weber@ndsu.edu
Charlette Moe, Assistant Director of Choral Activities Charlette.moe@ndsu.eduz