Choral Activities

Paul Torkelson - Director, Choral Activities Program

 

The Department of Music offers four exciting ensembles with over two hundred participants performing both regionally and nationally. The University Chamber Singers, the University Concert Chorus, and the Nevada Chamber Opera maintain active performance schedules on campus, while the University Symphonic Chorus regularly performs with our local orchestras, the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra and the Reno Chamber Orchestra. For more information, contact Paul Torkelson, Director of Choral Activities.

Activities, Highlights, and Honors

• 2008 University Chamber Singers performed at the National MENC convention in Milwaukee in April.
• 2007 University Choral students performed at Carnegie Hall in New York City in January.
• 1994, 1996 University Chamber Singers performed at the ACDA Student Symposia in Las Vegas.
• 1994 University Concert Chorus performed at the ACDA Convention in Sacramento.
• Appearances at many CBDNA Northwest and Western Division Conferences, performing literature written for Wind Ensemble and Chorus such as Berlioz Symphonie funèbre et triomphale, music by Percy Grainger, and Persichetti's Celebrations.
• Collaborations with the Reno Philharmonic Orchestra performing the major choral/orchestral literature including Orff's Carmina Burana, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and Candide, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, and Mahler's Symphony No. 2.
• Collaborations with the Reno Chamber Orchestra performing chamber works including Handel's Messiah, and Bach's B minor Mass and Magnificat.
• Annual High School and Middle School Choral Festivals at UNR. Each year Choral Activities sponsors an adjudicated festival for regional high school and middle school choruses. Nationally known clinicians are engaged to work with Northern Nevada's music educators and students. The University ACDA Student Chapter is actively involved in planning and running these festivals.

Degree Opportunities in Vocal Studies

• Bachelor of Music, Applied Voice Music Major
• Bachelor of Music, Music Education Major - Voice & Vocal Studies Track
• Master of Music in Vocal Performance
• Master of Music in Choral Music Education
• Ensemble Participation Requirements for Majors & Minors

Voice Studies Faculty

• Katharine DeBoer, D.M.A. - Director, Vocal Studies; Associate Professor, Voice
• Paul Torkelson, D.M.A. - Director, Choral Activities, Voice
• Albert Rudolph Lee - Director, Nevada Chamber Opera, Voice

• Gary Aldrich - Voice
• Jon Fay - Voice
• Denell Hull - Voice
• Helen Lee - Voice

Choral Activities Links

Paul Torkelson - Director, Choral Activities

• The University Chamber Singers
• The University Concert Chorus
• The University Symphonic Chorus
• The Nevada Chamber Opera