The Alma Choir
60 Voices (SSAATTBB)
Rehearsals: M-Th 5:00 pm - 6:15 pm, and Fridays at 4 pm. The Alma Choir rehearses in the College chapel. Rehearsals are open to the public and visitors are always welcome.
Alma Choir in Zakopane, Poland (2004)
Alma Choir members are drawn primarily from the junior and senior classes. The singers have all earned their way into the Alma Choir through membership in the College Chorale and/or the Women's Glee Club.
The Choir's reputation continues to grow with each new concert season and the release of each new CD recording. No other college choir in Michigan maintains the performing, touring and recording calendar that the Alma Choir enjoys.
Concert tours are taken both nationally and internationally. The annual February tour has taken the Choir to concerts in virtually every major North American city from Toronto to Miami. The Choir has made four week-long tours through Florida and has traveled the snowy route around Lake Michigan. The 2006 tour included performances in New York City, Washington DC (at the National Cathedral), and Philadelphia.
A 2007 tour is planned through the midwest. In December of each year the Choir, along with the Chorale and Glee Club, take the popular FESTIVAL OF CAROLS concert on the road to the Midland Center for the Arts.
Sopranos in Edinburgh, Scotland (2006)
Overseas tours, taken every second year, provide a valuable cultural experience for Alma Choir members. In May 2006, the Alma Choir traveled through the highlands of Scotland. Previous tours have taken the Choir to Poland, the Czech Republic, France, Belgium and two tours of Scotland and the British Isles. The 2008 tour abroad is still in the planning stage.
The Choir has accepted prestigious invitations to perform for conferences of the American Choral Directors Association in 1988 (Stravinsky Mass), 1994 (Brahms Requiem), and again in 1996. The Alma Choir has sung for the Michigan Music Education Conference three times (1988, 1995, and 2003) and will perform for the conference again in January 2007 in collaboration with the College Percussion Ensemble. These invitations reflect the high regard in which professional music educators hold the Alma Choir.
Auditions:
-- Current Alma students should call (or e-mail) Dr. Nichols at 7221 to set-up a membership audition.
-- High school students should contact Dr. Nichols to discuss the audition process and arrange an audition time. Phone (989) 463-7221 / email nichols@alma.edu
Students enroll for 1 upper level credit: MUS 351
Alma Choir members in Paris (2000)
