Vocal/Choral Ensembles

Lindsay Pope, director

The Chamber Choir is the premier touring choral ensemble in the Department of Music & Dance. The ensemble is composed of undergraduate and graduate music majors, minors, and non-majors with previous choral experience. Chamber Choir performs significant choral works from all style periods, including masterworks with orchestral accompaniment. The ability to read music or to learn music quickly is essential.

Stephen A. Paparo, director
The University Chorale is the oldest and largest choral ensemble in the Department of Music & Dance. The ensemble is composed of undergraduate and graduate music majors, minors, and non-majors from the Five Colleges. The ensemble performs a wide variety of music, including classical masterworks, world music, contemporary works, and popular repertoire. The ability to read music or learn music quickly is essential; previous choral experience is preferred, but not required.

Lindsay Pope, faculty coordinator

Conductors’ Chorus is open to both conductors and singers and serves as a hands-on learning experience for graduate and advanced undergraduate conductors. Dr. Pope runs classes in a masterclass setting, with student conductors receiving podium time every week. Singers who wish to learn more about the art of conducting and how to train voices will find this class to be illuminating and fun. The ensemble performs during class time 3–4 times per semester, under the direction of the student conductors. We highly encourage music education majors and anyone else interested in leading an ensemble to enroll.

Mitch Chakour, director (See the Jazz Ensembles webpage for details and how to audition)
The primary ensemble for vocal jazz studies at UMass Amherst, it has been named "Best Collegiate Jazz Choir" by DownBeat magazine. Consisting of 8–12 singers and a rhythm section that is often augmented by horns, the ensemble performs both standard and contemporary jazz repertoire arranged by faculty, students, and nationally recognized vocal jazz arrangers.

Marjorie Melnick, William Hite, & Jamie-Rose Guarrine, coordinators (Voice faculty)
A Performance Workshop for singers; A four-semester sequence designed for the future educator and performer alike. Students acquire lyric stage and production skills. Semester II culminates in a Scenes program; Semesters III and IV study and present a full operatic production. Periodic collaboration with the University Orchestra. Admission is by audition or instructor approval regardless of sequence.