Mansfield University Concert Choir is a highly select ensemble of singers, representing some of the finest talent from the Northeast. While the majority of the singers in the ensemble are undergraduate music majors, membership is open to all students at the university through an audition process. The Concert Choir rehearses four hours a week on choral literature spanning five centuries and in a variety of languages and styles. Having been invited each of the last sixteen years to perform at choral conventions, the choir has achieved a reputation of excellence on the regional, state, national, and international level. The Concert Choir travels each year throughout the Northeast USA region and has performed in Italy, Austria, Germany, France, Hungary, The Czech Republic, Greece, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Slovenia on their triennial tours abroad.
In 1996, the choir was a finalist in the Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choral Festival in Tours, France; the winner of a Gold Medal and a special prize for “Artistic Interpretation” at the Robert Schumann International Choir Competition in Zwickau, Germany in 2002; and they won Fourth Place in the International Choir Competition in Varna, Bulgaria, in 2005. In November 2006, they performed at the Inaugural Conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in San Antonio, Texas. Most recently, they won the Championship in the Gospel & Spiritual Category and placed second among 36 choirs in the Mixed Youth Choir Category at the 2008 World Choir Games in Graz, Austria. In addition, the choir has produced ten compact discs. The singers are frequently praised for the emotional spectrum in their performances, their warm vocal color, and their diverse repertoire. An audition takes place in August before each academic year.
Sixteen consecutive years of conference performance invitations for the Mansfield University Concert Choir!
World Choir Games
Winner of Championship and 2 Gold Medals
July 2008, in Graz, Austria
National Collegiate Choral Organization
November 2006, in San Antonio, Texas
ACDA Eastern Division Convention
Interest Session – “Developing a Choral Color Palette”
February 2006, in New York City
Grand Prix International Choral Competition
4th Place among Mixed Choirs
May 2005, in Varna, Bulgaria
Pennsylvania Music Educators State Conference
April 2005, in Hershey, PA
Pennsylvania ACDA Summer Conference
August 2004, in Lewisburg, PA
MENC Eastern Division Convention
March 2003, in Providence, RI
Robert Schumann International Choir Competition & Festival
Gold V Medal Winner
Special Prize for Artistic Interpretation
May 2002, in Zwickau, Germany
Pennsylvania Music Educators State Conference
April 2001, in Hershey, PA
MENC Eastern Division Convention
March 2001, in Pittsburgh, PA
ACDA Eastern Division Convention
February 2000, in Baltimore, MD
Pennsylvania ACDA Summer Conference
August 1999, in State College, PA
Pennsylvania Music Educators State Conference
April 1998, in Erie, PA
MENC Eastern-Division Convention
February 1997, in Baltimore, MD
Florilège Vocal de Tours International Choral Competition
Finalist – May 1996 in Tours, France
MENC Eastern-Division Convention
March 1995, in Rochester, NY
MENC National Convention
April 1994, in Cincinnati, Ohio
Pennsylvania Music Educators State Conference
April 1993, in Wilkes-Barre, PA
In addition, the Mansfield University Student ACDA Chapter was chosen as the Outstanding Student Chapter in the Nation in 1997 and 2001 by the American Choral Directors Association.
Concert Choir Recordings:
True Light:
Consecrate the Place and Day:
The Mansfield University Festival Chorus is a mixed chorus of over100 voices which is open to all university students as well as community singers. The group rehearses three hours a week and performs a wide variety of choral styles in the fall semester and major choral works during the spring semester. Large scale performances with orchestra and professional soloists include Handel’s Messiah, Vivaldi’s Gloria, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Haydn’s Creation , Vaughan Williams’s Dona nobis pacem, Bach’s B Minor Mass, Mozart’s Mass in C Minor, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and the Requiems by Brahms, Mozart, Rutter, and Verdi. Members of the group also join with the Concert Choir to form separate women’s and men’s choruses in the fall semester. The Festival Chorus has produced seven compact discs and numerous cassette recordings. Students must vocalize for placement into the soprano, alto, tenor, or bass sections.
The Mansfieldians is a highly select ensemble of 12 singers which specializes in vocal jazz as well as madrigals and music for the vocal chamber ensemble. The Mansfieldians perform with the Mansfield University Jazz Ensemble each year and present Madrigal Dinner concerts during the holiday season. They rehearse three hours a week and make frequent guest appearances on behalf of the university. In 2003, the Mansfieldians performed at the Music Educators National Conference (MENC) Eastern Division Conference in Providence, RI, and at the Pennsylvania Music Educators Association (PMEA) State Conference in Hershey, PA, and in the 2006 Vocal Jazz Festival at Carnegie Hall with conductor, Phil Mattson. In addition, they won the Jazz Vocal A Cappella Category at the World Choir Games in Graz, Austria, in 2008. Dr. Sheryl Monkelien co-directs the ensemble with Dr. Dettwiler.