Choral Music at
East Carolina University

Dr. Daniel Bara [e-mail]
Director of Choral Activities
(252) 328-6243

Lisa Stockard
Graduate Assistant Conductor – MM Performance: Conducting

Erica Washburn
Introduction
The East Carolina University School of Music is home to four choral ensembles open to all students at the university (music-majors and non-music-majors) based on a brief placement audition at the beginning of each semester. University students who have past experience singing in high school, college, or church choral programs are highly encouraged to be part of the choirs at ECU regardless of academic major. Each of ECU’s choral ensembles can be taken for a single fine arts credit.

For more on choral conducting, visit our Choral Conducting web page.
For more on choral music resources, visit our Choral Music Resources web page.

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Choral Opportunities at ECU

The Women’s Chorale
Dr. Daniel Bara, Conductor
MUSC 1665 - rehearses T-TH from 12-1:30pm
This choir of 40-50 singers is open to all female university students and performs a wide variety of SSAA repertoire. The Women’s Chorale is home to female students of all levels of vocal ability, ranging from graduate voice majors to music education majors to non-music majors. Rehearsals emphasize the fundamentals of healthy singing, music reading, choral discipline, and professional performance aesthetics. The Women’s Chorale typically performs twice each semester, both on campus and in the community, often in conjunction with the University Chorale or Chamber Singers.

The University Chorale
Dr. Daniel Bara, Conductor
Lisa Stockard, Assistant Conductor
MUSC 1635 - Rehearses M-W-F from 12-1pm
The 110-120 voice University Chorale is open to all university students, and is typically comprised of an equal balance of music-majors and non-music-majors. Presenting at least four concerts per academic year, this ensemble is lead by faculty and graduate student conductors whose collaboration and individuality result in marvelous programming variety and a stimulating array of pedagogical approaches. Geared to sing primarily accompanied works from the eighteenth through twentieth centuries, the University Chorale is also home to the School of Music’s graduate assistants in voice who serve as section leaders within the sections of the ensemble. The University Chorale combined with the Chamber Singers and the ECU Symphony Orchestra to perform at the 2003 Fall NCMEA Conference in Winston-Salem.

The Chamber Singers
Dr. Daniel Bara, Conductor
MUSC 1675 - Rehearses M-T-W-TH from 1-2pm
Because of the more demanding rehearsal and performance schedule, the 32-36 voice Chamber Singers invites only the most gifted and passionate choristers from ECU to be amongst its ranks. Designed to perform twentieth-century a cappella repertoire at a professional level, this ensemble also delves into the repertoire of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries on a biannual basis in order to present baroque masterworks using historically informed performance practices in collaboration with ECU’s Early Music Ensemble. The televised performances of G. F. Handel’s complete Messiah performed on original instruments in the spring of 2003 attracted impressive audiences and earned rave reviews. The Chamber Singers, most of whom are voice majors from within the School of Music, tour annually and received a standing ovation for their performance at the 2002 NC-ACDA conference in Greensboro, NC. The Chamber Singers will combine with the University Chorale and the ECU Symphony Orchestra to perform at the 2003 Fall NCMEA Conference in Winston-Salem.

The ECU Choral Scholars
Dr. Daniel Bara, Conductor
MUSC 1675 - Rehearses F from 1-3pm
A subset of the Chamber Singers of ECU, this 14-voice ensemble is composed of those students capable and eager to perform a more diverse choral repertoire in a chamber music setting. This ensemble, which was new in the 2003-2004 academic year, requires considerable individual preparation outside of its singular weekly rehearsal time, and because of its size, requires excellent musicianship and collaborative singing ability. The repertoire for this ensemble will range from Renaissance madrigals and motets to lighter 20th century genres including jazz and novelty works. This ensemble will perform at all Chamber Singers concerts, as well as making regular recruitment appearances at high schools around the state.