College of Fine Arts and Design

The Chamber Singers performing group was created in 1986 to provide a chamber ensemble experience for students at UCO.  In 1987, they were reorganized to rehearse and perform unaccompanied choral literature for local and regional patrons. In addition to its a cappella literature, the Chamber Singers perform a Vocal Jazz Concert at the UCO Jazz Lab each semester, showcasing the variety of literature available for small vocal ensembles. They have performed extensively in the surrounding area including Kansas City, Dallas, New Mexico, Colorado and Wyoming, as well as many performances each year in the Oklahoma City/Edmond area.  Recent performances have included music by Giovanni da Palestrina, Thomas Tallis, Tomás Luis da Victoria, Paul Hindemith, Jan Sandström, and Morten Lauridsen, as well as George Gershwin, Duke Ellington, Johnny Mercer, and Thomas "Fats" Waller.

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Concert Chorale
Dr. Karl Nelson , Conductor

The Concert Chorale was created in 1992 to sing the highest quality choral literature from all style periods. As UCO's premier choral ensemble, the Concert Chorale is chosen each year from the UCO student population, including majors and non-majors.  Members of this ensemble have performed at the 2009 Oklahoma Music Educators Convention, and three international tours (Italy, 1999, 2008, and Ireland, 2001).They have also toured Texas, Louisiana, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado, and Missouri as well as Oklahoma. They have sung with major orchestras including the Wichita Symphony and the Manhattan Symphony in New York City's Carnegie Hall, and they have sung with the OK Chorale, Oklahoma City's award winning barbershop chorus. Recent performances include The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn, Requiem in D Minor, KV 626 by W. A. Mozart, Gloria by Francis Poulenc, Hymn to St. Cecilia, Op. 27 by Benjamin Britten,Gottes Zeit ist die allerbeste Zeit, BWV 106 by J. S. Bach, Liebeslieder Walzer, Op. 52 by Johannes Brahms, and Magnificat by Halsey Stevens.

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Cantilena
Dr. Karl Nelson, Conductor

Cantilena, the women's ensemble at UCO, was created in 1997, renamed in 2002, and again renamed in 2005. The ensemble was formed to give UCO's vocal majors an experience with women's literature from all style periods. It also gave the non-majors a quality group in which to continue their musical pursuits. Cantilena performs four major concerts each year in conjunction with the  Concert Chorale.  Recent performances include Cosmosis by Susan Botti, Petites voix by Francis Poulenc, Missa in G Minor, Op. 187 by Josef Rheinberger, Gesänge für Frauenchor, Op. 17 by Johannes Brahms, A Ceremony of Carols, Op. 28 by Benjamin Britten, and Songs of Henry VII by Paul Ayres.  Collaborations include The Creation by Franz Joseph Haydn, Requiem in D Minor, KV 626 by W. A. Mozart,Gloria by Francis Poulenc.

The Cantare, the Men's ensemble at UCO, was created in 2002 to fill a need in the education of our music majors. This ensemble performs four major concerts per year in conjunction with the Choriste and the Concert Chorale.

Edmond Community Choralse
Dr. Karl Nelson, Artistic Director

The Edmond Community Chorale was created as a "town and gown" ensemble in1988 to fulfill an invitation to sing with John Rutter in New York City's Carnegie Hall and to fill a need in Edmond for a community choir. Open to all community singers and students by audition, the ECC sings high quality major works from all style periods, with and without orchestral accompaniment. Members from the ECC have made up the core of the ensemble that sang at the Sienna International Choral Festival in Sienna, Italy in 1999 and performed six concerts in Ireland and England in 2001. They have performed annually for the Mayor's Tree Lighting and Essay Contest and performed for the nationally prominent 4th of July celebration in 2002. They performed once again with John Rutter at Carnegie Hall in May 2010.

For information about the Edmond Community Chorale please contact Dr. Nelson at: knelson15@uco.edu