WSU Choral Festival
Save the Date: This year’s Choral Festival is October 22, 2022
Each year, the WSU School of Music welcomes high school students throughout the region for an educational choral festival. The goal of this event is to excite, encourage, and educate students while developing a spirit of camaraderie and commitment to choral arts. We offer the opportunity to receive feedback from respected clinicians who will help your choir to improve technique, maximize artistic expression, and set goals for the year.
We are excited to be able our first choral festival since 2019. We welcome your schools to return if you’ve been before and enjoy a familiar experience as well as new opportunities.
CliniciansWSU’s choral faculty, Dr. Dean Luethi and Dr. Matthew Myers, will provide clinics to the choirs throughout the day. To learn more about the clinicians, visit their biography pages.
Festival FormatEach participating choir will have 40 minutes on stage to perform and receive feedback from one of our guest clinicians. This will enable the audience to take part, listen in, and learn from comments given by the clinician to each of the participating choirs.
Opportunities for Solo SingersOur voice professors, Dr. Julie Wieck and Dr. Aaron Agulay, are offering masterclasses to students who are interested in auditioning for WSU, preparing for solo/ensemble contests, and/or developing their solo vocal technique. Students should prepare a solo work from classical or musical theatre repertoire. We will provide an accompanist. Please be prepared to enter names and song selections for these soloists on the ensemble registration form. If you’re not sure of repertoire yet, no problem — just leave that area blank.
Video RecordingsEach director will receive a quality video recording of both the performance from the audience and a recording of the interaction between the director and the clinician from the stage.
Goal SettingEnsemble directors may request to schedule a post-festival Zoom meeting with their clinician to help in interpreting the feedback from the festival and setting goals for their ensembles for the academic year.
Festival ScheduleThis year’s WSU Choral Festival will take place on Saturday, October 22, 2022. Performances/clinics will begin at 9 AM and continue throughout the day. The final concert featuring WSU’s choirs as well as selected high school ensembles will be held in Bryan Hall Theatre, across the street from the School of Music, at 5 PM. The concert will conclude around 6:30 PM.
We will provide a detailed schedule of performing groups and times in early October, after festival registration closes.
RegistrationRegistration for each ensemble is $250, and a $50 discount will apply for additional ensembles from the same school. Full refunds will be given should WSU cancel the event or if schools are unable to attend for any reason.
You may consider checking with your building administrator to see if ESSER monies are available to support your attendance at our festival. This is a wonderful opportunity for your students to begin the year in a supportive, energetic, and educational environment while engaging with a well-known clinician.
Registration will open on August 15 and will close on September 30. Please register your ensemble as soon as you are able, as participation is first-come, first-served.