At UW-Whitewater, there are five choirs that students can join: Vocal Jazz, Concert Choir, Harmonia, Chamber Choir and Hawk-Kor. These choirs bring such great joy to the community, students, and the Center of the Arts. This article will shine light to each choir while showing some thoughts from students who are a part of the choirs.
Vocal Jazz
“Vocal Jazz is an audition-based vocal ensemble that sings in different genres of jazz,” said Vocal Jazz instructor Sharri VanAlstine. “It involves harder music to learn and is dependent on self-work for the students.”
She described Vocal Jazz as different from band and theatre by having vocal techniques and lyrics that instruments can’t do and it involves moving with no script or choreography. VanAlstine expressed how much the choir has grown, not only in the ensemble but with the musicality and involvement of the students and community.
“Jazz is an amazing genre that is an American form of music and can do anything,” VanAlstine said.
Concert Choir
“Concert Choir is made of mixed voices ranging from bass to soprano and has the concept of diving into world music,” said Concert Choir director Robert Gehrenbeck.
He explained that the coolest aspect of this choir is its focus on spiritual and world music. He enjoys watching the students within the choir discover and enjoy the music they are working on.
Concert Choir isn’t the only choir that Gehrenbeck runs; he is also at the helm of Harmonia and Chamber Choir.
Harmonia
“Harmonia is a choir that is [an] only soprano and alto voices ensemble where the music is composed by female composers,” Gehrenbeck said.
He explained that this choir is proud of the work they put into it and how this choir touches on feminist issues that are happening and bringing light to it. Gehrenbeck describes the students as prideful of their work.
Chamber choir
“Chamber choir is an audition-based choir that is open to all voices. This group focuses on classical music but may incorporate pop or musical theatre music as well,” Gehrenbeck said.
He said the coolest aspect of this choir is how they go on tours and have music with themes such as Halloween or basing it on a project that involves Native American composers. Gehrenbeck’s favorite aspect of this choir is how advanced the music is and the sense of accomplishment that is felt throughout the whole ensemble.
Hawk-Kor
“Hawk-Kor is a hybrid choir of bass and tenor that goes beyond music literature and involves a mix of music ranging from contemporary and classical to music theatre with spoken dialogue,” conductor Brian Leeper said.
The coolest aspect of this choir is how it incorporates a lot of different people who are both music and non-music-affiliated majors or minors. Leeper’s favorite aspect is the camaraderie of members and the willingness the men of this choir are willing to take by being bold and taking a chance to try something new.
Students of choirs
Noah Ward is a part of Hawk-Kor, a Vocal Jazz and Chamber choir. He expressed his love for the environment of choir where he can have fun and goof around with his friends while still learning and singing music.
Ambria McCray is in Harmonia and is a pianist for Vocal Jazz. She described how she loves exploring the different genres from both choirs and can learn new material from piano and vocals.
Cora Schutte is in the Chamber Choir and Vocal Jazz. She enjoys how much the choir brightens her day, and the safe environment, where she can relax and have fun, even if the music can be hectic and challenging.
Jacob Myhre is a member of the Chamber Choir, Vocal Jazz, and Hawk-Kor. He enjoys the community within the choirs and how he can have goofy moments with his friends.
Kaylee Flegner is a member of the Concert Choir and Harmonia. She enjoys singing with others within the choir community, which helped her discover who she is and realize that this is the environment she is meant to be in.
Ricky Tietz is a part of Chamber Choir and Hawk-Kor and loves to be able to sing, and make music. The choirs give him an outlet to share his passion with others while showing others how music brings us closer together.
All of these choirs have a concert in rotation throughout the year that are open to the public. All the choirs are open to any students regardless of their major, skill, and experience. So if you are hesitant about trying out or you want to but feel like you don’t have the skill or experience to be in one of the choirs, go for it and sign up or audition for the choir. You never know if you will fall in love with the craft just like the professors and students have.
