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Choral Ensembles
The choral program at Northeastern Illinois University offers students the opportunity to study and perform the finest choral music from the Renaissance to the present. Our goal is to present a comprehensive choral experience through study and analysis, performance, and preparation of conductors. There are two choral ensembles at Northeastern: University Chorus and Chamber Singers.
University Chorus, comprised of students, faculty, and community residents, is representative of the diversity of our community. The Chorus rehearses once each week, performing at the end of the semester, and occasionally sings its semester concert off campus. This group has sung a Palestrina mass at St. Wenceslaus Catholic Church in Chicago and Ernest Bloch’s Sacred Service at Temple Sholom of Chicago. University Chorus performs music intended for a larger group and often sings with an orchestra.
Chamber Singers is a smaller, auditioned ensemble which rehearses twice each week and performs with the Chorus. This choir also serves as the recruiting ensemble for the choral program, and its repertoire is comprised mainly of music intended for a smaller group. The smaller size of this ensemble allows the singers to delve more deeply into the study of performance practice and style. Chamber Singers is also open to faculty and community residents by audition.
Michael Melton has been the Director of Choral Activities at Northeastern since 1996. He conducts the University Chorus and Chamber Singers and teaches Basic and Choral Conducting and Diction for Singers. In addition to teaching and conducting, he has worked as a singer and pianist in the Chicago area since 1982. Mr. Melton received his Bachelor of Music degree in voice and piano and his Master of Arts degree in choral conducting from the University of Iowa.
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