Ensembles
A Cappella Choir | University Singers | Collegium Singers | Concert Choir | Grand Chorus | Men's Chorus | Women's Chorus
On November 19, 2013, the UNT A Cappella Choir celebrated its 75th anniversary. In the spirit of honoring and continuing that tradition, the A Cappella Choir is proud to represent UNT at the TMEA Convention in San Antonio, Texas in February 2015.
The University of North Texas A Cappella Choir is led by Dr. Richard Sparks, interim director of choral studies. The 48-voice choir, selected by competitive auditions from the more than 1,500 music majors within the College of Music, is the premier ensemble in the UNT choral program comprised of seven choirs and a Collegium Musicum. Founded in 1938 by Wilfred Bain, the choir has enjoyed a rich performance history including a three-month tour of Europe under the sponsorship of the US Department of State in 1966. The choir gave refereed performances for the national conferences of the ACDA in 2013 (Dallas), 2005 (Los Angeles), and 1999 (Chicago), and for the National Collegiate Choral Organization national convention in 2008 (Cincinnati). The A Cappella Choir was the only American choir to be featured on the programs of the 2nd Daejeon (South Korea) International Choral Festival in 2012 and the 9th Annual Taipei International Choral Festival in 2009. The choir has made numerous appearances for TMEA and the ACDA Southwestern Division. For additional information, contact Dr. Sparks at 940/369-7407 or Richard.Sparks@unt.edu.
The UNT A Cappella Can be found on YouTube in numerous performances over the past few years.
The University Singers consist of between 55 and 65 singers and is conducted by Dr. Greg Hobbs. This ensemble (formerly the Chamber Choir) will explore a wide variety of repertoire from a cappella to works with instrumental ensemble or orchestra. Repertoire performed last year, for example, included music by Vivaldi, Brahms, Bruckner, Howells, Walton, and Britten. The University Singers also combine annually with the UNT Grand Chorus to present extended works with orchestra. Recent performances include Verdi and Mozart's Requiems, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and the premiere of Jake Heggie's Ahab Symphony, which is avaiable on iTunes, CDBaby, and Amazon. For more information or to audition for University Singers, please contact Dr. Hobbs at greg.hobbs@unt.edu.
The Concert Choir is comprised of 64 voices and conducted by Dwight Jilek. Open to students in all majors, full auditions are held in August, the week prior to the beginning of the academic year. To fill second semester openings, a second round of auditions is normally held in December. In addition to performances for schools, professional conferences, the metroplex community, and the university, Concert Choir combines annually with the UNT Grand Chorus to present extended works with orchestra. Recent performances include Brahms' Requiem, Mozart's Coronation Mass, Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, Mahler's Second Symphony, Orff's Carmina Burana, Britten's War Requiem, Beethoven's Mass in C, and the world premier of Jake Heggie's Ahab Symphony. For audition information, contact Mr. Dwight Jilek at dwightjilek@my.unt.edu.
Collegium Singers, conducted by Dr. Richard Sparks, is a chamber choir dedicated to period performance, usually in collaboration with UNT's Baroque Orchestra or other musicians from our fine and extensive early music program. The choir consists of members of the other student choirs, plus graduate students in voice or early music. The repertoire is extensive. In 2011 the Collegium Singers, along with the Baroque Orchestra, were invited to perform music by Agostino Steffani at the Boston Early Music Festival, the premier such festival in the world. In June 2012, 14 members of the Collegium Singers were invited to perform the Victoria Requiem at the Berkeley Early Music Festival--that performance, recorded live, can be found here.
Their performance from December of 2011 of the Vivaldi Gloria on YouTube has had more than 1,000,000 hits.
The choir will be performing at the Boston Early Music Festival in June 2015 and have been invited to perform at the National Collegiate Choral Organization convention in Portland, OR in November 2015.
For more information or to audition for Collegium Singers, please contact Dr. Sparks at richard.sparks@unt.edu.
The University of North Texas Grand Chorus is comprised of over 160 singers drawn from the A Cappella Choir, University Singers, Concert Choir, and other interested individuals. The Grand Chorus has a distinguished history of performing under the leadership of many of the world's most highly respected orchestral conductors. The late Georg Solti called the UNT Grand Chorus one of America's best choirs. The Grand Chorus sings annually with the UNT Symphony Orchestra, UNT Chamber Orchestra, UNT Wind Symphony and/or regional symphonies. Over the past few seasons the choir has given performances of Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Mass in C Major, Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Mozart's Coronation Mass and Requiem, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Britten's War Requiem, Howells' The Hymn of Jesus, and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. In the spring of 2013, the Grand Chorus, Symphony Orchestra and tenor Richard Croft, gave the premier of Jake Heggie's Ahab Symphony. April 2003 saw the performance and commercial recording of Orff's Carmina Burana in a new complete edition for Wind Symphony, Choir and soloists. The compact disc is available from Klavier Records and the DVD is available from the UNT College of Music.
The University of North Texas Men's Chorus is open to tenors and basses interested in singing challenging music in a variety of styles. Men's Chorus personnel come from diverse backgrounds, including both music majors and non-music majors. An audition is not required for enrollment in Men's Chorus. Placement in appropriate sections will occur after individual voicing during the first week of classes. For more information, contact Dean Jilek at deanjilek@my.unt.edu.
The University of North Texas Women's Chorus consists of 80 voices and is open to sopranos and altos interested in singing challenging music in a variety of styles. Women's Chorus personnel come from diverse backgrounds, including both music majors and non-music majors. An audition is not required for enrollment in Women's Chorus. Placement in appropriate sections will occur after individual voicing during the first week of classes. For more information, contact Matt Brady at mattbrady@my.unt.edu.
Ensemble Schedules
Faculty-Conducted Choirs
A CAPPELLA CHOIR, Richard Sparks, conductor
Monday 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Tuesday 6:00 - 8:00 PM*
Wednesday 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Thursday 2:00 - 2:50 PM
UNIVERSITY SINGERS , Greg Hobbs, conductor
Monday 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Tuesday 6:00 - 8:00 PM*
Wednesday 2:00 - 3:30 PM
Thursday 2:00 - 2:50 PM
CONCERT CHOIR, Dwight Jilek, conductor
Monday 1:00 - 1:50 PM
Tuesday 1:00 - 1:50 PM; 6:00 - 8:00 PM*
Wednesday 1:00 - 1:50 PM
Thursday 1:00 - 1:50 PM
COLLEGIUM SINGERS, Richard Sparks, conductor
Tuesday 2:00 - 2:50 PM
Thursday 4:15-6 PM should be kept available for rehearsals with the Baroque Orchestra Friday 1:00 - 2:50 PM
GRAND CHORUS , Richard Sparks, conductor
Tuesday 6:00 - 8:00 PM
*The members of A Cappella Choir, University Singers and Concert Choir comprise the GRAND CHORUS, and must be available for combined rehearsals on Tuesday evenings as scheduled. Normally, only a few evenings are required each semester; these will be included in the schedule of rehearsals and performances distributed at the first rehearsal of each ensemble.
MEN'S CHORUS, Dean Jilek and Chris Hathaway, conductors
MTWTh 1:00-1:50 PM
WOMEN'S CHORUS, Matt Brady, conductor
MTWTh 12:00-12:50 PM