Auditioned Choirs

Click on the links below to access bios and photos of each auditioned choir and conductor:

Armstrong High School Concert Choir (MN), Stephanie Trump, conductor

Aurora, Luther College (IA), Sandra Peter, conductor

Belle Chanter, Stillwater Area High School (MN), Angela Mitchell, conductor

Castle Singers, Wartburg College (IA), Jane Andrews, conductor

Creighton University Chamber Choir (NE), Barron Breland, conductor

Drake University Chamber Choir (IA), Aimee Beckmann-Collier, conductor

Great Northern Union Chorus (MN), Peter Benson, conductor

Isthmus Vocal Ensemble (WI), Scott MacPherson, conductor

Lawrence Academy Girl Choir–Bel Canto (WI), Karen Bruno, conductor

Magnum Chorum (MN), Christopher Aspaas, conductor

North Dakota State University Concert Choir, Jo Ann Miller, conductor

The St. John's Boys' Choir (MN), André-Louis Heywood, conductor

University of North Dakota Concert Choir, Joshua Bronfman, conductor

University of Nebraska-Lincoln, University Singers, Peter Eklund, conductor

Armstrong High School Concert Choir

With 40 years of tradition, Armstrong High School, Robbinsdale, Minnesota, offers seven curricular and three co-curricular ensembles involving nearly 500 of the 2100 students enrolled.  The Concert Choir consists of 94 auditioned juniors and seniors who are not only singers, but active leaders throughout their school, from student-organized clubs and academic programs, to triple-season athletes.  

Touring annually, the choir has been featured in several national venues and collegiate festivals including Carnegie Hall, Orchestra Hall, Guthrie Theater, Choral Arts Finale Festival, Luther, St. Olaf, Concordia, UW-Eau Claire, St. Cloud State, and MENC. The choir has appeared multiple times at the Minnesota Music Educators Mid-Winter Clinic.



Stephanie Trump holds the MA degree in music education from the University of Hawai'i, Manoa, and BA degrees in vocal performance and music education from Augsburg College, Minneapolis.

Trump was featured as a national MENC choral mentor in the MPR broadcast, "The State of Choral Music in Minnesota." She serves on the Minnesota Arts Consortium Board and has served on the board of ACDA-Minnesota, and as fine arts representative to the Minnesota State High School League. She is a mentor to many student teachers and active in the areas of professional development and student leadership training.

Under Trump's leadership, the Armstrong choirs have performed several commissions, dedications, and premiers by composers Dean Sorenson, Cheryl Parkes, David Dickau, Paul Oakley, Jerry Rubino, Dale Warland, Robert Sieving, and Timothy Takach.  Her choirs have sung with the Minnesota Chorale, Minnesota Orchestra, Doc Severinson, The King's Singers, Oratorio Society, Minnesota Youth Symphony, and Cantus.

Aurora

Aurora, one of seven auditioned choral ensembles at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, is comprised of 100 first-year women. They perform for worship services, participate in the annual Christmas at Luther concert and Dorian Vocal Festival, and present a spring concert with the Norsemen, Luther's choir for first-year men.  

Conducted by Dr. Sandra Peter since 1992, Aurora has released two CDs, Finding a Voice (2006) and Using Our Voice (2010).  The ensemble is featured on an instructional DVD accompanying the book, Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success, forthcoming by GIA Publications. The Madison conference marks their fifth appearance at NC-ACDA.

Sandra Peter is an associate professor of music at Luther College, Decorah, Iowa, where she conducts Cathedral Choir (100 sophomores, mixed voices) and Aurora (100 first-year women). She also teaches conducting and ear training.

In demand as a choral clinician and guest conductor, she has led All-State and honor choirs throughout the United States. Dr. Peter is an active member of ACDA, the College Music Society, and a charter member of The National Collegiate Choral Organization, as well as its state chair for Iowa.  She is a published arranger with the Neil Kjos Company and MorningStar Music and the co-editor of MorningStar's Luther College Music Series. She is a contributor to Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success, forthcoming from GIA Publications.

A native of Saint Paul, Minnesota, Dr. Peter holds degrees from Concordia College (Moorhead), University of Arizona and the University of Iowa. 

Belle Chanter

Belle Chanter is one of seven curricular and co-curricular choirs at Stillwater Area High School.  The members are 10-12 grade women chosen by audition. Belle Chanter has earned superior ratings at the Minnesota State High School League contest each year since its formation fourteen years ago. The choir has also been awarded first place in the women's choir category as well as the "Most Outstanding Choral Group" at Heritage Festivals in Chicago, IL. Belle Chanter has been invited to perform at the 2007 Minnesota ACDA fall convention, the 2008 and 2011 Minnesota Choral Arts Finale, and the 2010 Minnesota Music Educators Association convention. 

Angela Mitchell began her teaching career fifteen years ago in the Stillwater school district and currently directs four choirs at Stillwater Area High School as well as the seventh grade girls and boy's choirs at Stillwater Junior High. Choirs under her direction have been invited to perform at state and regional choral conventions every year since 2006.  

Mitchell studied piano performance at the College of St. Scholastica in Duluth, Minnesota, before earning her degree in vocal music education from Bemidji State University where she studied under Dr. Paul Brandvik. She is currently pursuing a M.A. with a choral conducting emphasis from the University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota. In addition to her teaching duties, she is a frequent guest clinician for area middle school and women's choir festivals. Mitchell is a member of ACDA, MENC, and the VoiceCare Network.

The Castle Singers

The Castle Singers of Wartburg College, Waverly, Iowa, specialize in all types of vocal jazz but are not limited to just that genre. The group tours throughout the United States and regularly travels abroad during the college's one-month May term.

In March 2011 they toured Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and their international tour in May 2012 will take them to Scandinavia, Estonia, Germany, Prague and Paris. Travelling to Brazil in 2009, they were the first Wartburg ensemble to tour in South America. They performed in Germany, Slovenia, and Italy in 2006, and in Australia in 2003, 1998 and 1994.

Members of the Castle Singers are chosen by audition and represent many of the college's more than 50 academic majors.

Jane Andrews, professor of music, has directed the Wartburg College Castle Singers and the St. Elizabeth Chorale, a women's choir, since 2001. She also teaches choral music education courses and supervises student teachers. Before joining the Wartburg College music faculty, she was director of music at the 3,000 member Atonement Lutheran Church in Overland Park, Kansas, USA. In the 1970's she was instrumental in introducing the vocal jazz genre to the state of Colorado. During the early 1990's she chaired the music department at Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. 

Most recently, Andrews conducted Handel's Messiah in the United Arab Emirates and served as a clinician in the United States and internationally. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in music education from the University of Northern Colorado, Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Colorado State University, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Missouri Conservatory in Kansas City.

Creighton University Chamber Choir

Fresh off the 45th anniversary season of the Fine and Performing Arts Department at Creighton University, the Chamber Choir looks to continue its tradition of excellence into the future. Now under the direction of A. Barron Breland, the choir is the premiere performing ensemble of Creighton, and comprises 32 students performing works written especially for a smaller or mid-sized choir. The choir enjoyed its first ever conference performance last year for the Nebraska Music Educators Association, and could not be more excited for its first ACDA invitation. Alumni of the Chamber Choir can be found in all career paths, including medicine, academia, law, Broadway, and the opera or concert stage.

A. Barron Breland has emerged from a new talented generation of conductors, set apart from others by his eclectic interests and skills equipped to perform music from masterworks of the Baroque and Classic eras to great contemporary works of art, including repertoire in various popular styles. Recent performances conducted include Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass, Handel's Alexander's Feast, Honegger's King David, and Einhorn's Voices of Light. Critics have praised the warmth and communicative power of his performances and choruses.

Breland completed his doctorate in choral conducting at the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music in 2009. While there he prepared the University Singers for a performance with Dale Warland in 2008, and the previous fall gave over 12 performances as guest conductor of the 120-member Grammy-nominated Singing Hoosiers. Currently, Breland is on faculty at Creighton University in Omaha, Nebraska, conducting the Chamber Choir and teaching classes in theory, history, and voice.

Drake University Chamber Choir

The Drake Chamber Choir is one of four choruses that provide singing opportunities for more than 250 students at Drake University of Des Moines, Iowa. The ensemble has performed throughout central and western Europe, as well as in England, and looks forward to May performances in Ireland and Wales. The Chamber Choir is the featured ensemble for Drake's Christmas madrigal dinners, tours regionally on an annual basis, and has performed for North Central Division conferences on two other occasions.

Aimee Beckmann-Collier is director of choral studies at Drake University, where she has taught since 1989.  She is a frequent clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor for choral festivals, contests, and All-States throughout the country. She has twice conducted in Carnegie Hall and Drake ensembles under her leadership have performed in England, Austria, Italy, Germany, and the Czech Republic.

Dr. Beckmann-Collier is president of the North Central Division of ACDA and has served ACDA in a number of capacities, including ICDA president, editor of Melisma and Sounding Board, and chair of the 1992 North Central conference, 1995 ICDA Summer Symposium, and the 2002 North Central conference Immersion Day. Her articles on a variety of topics have appeared in the Choral Journal and the Music Educators Journal. She is chair of the Iowa Comprehensive Musicianship Project, a mastery teaching program for music educators.

A graduate of Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana, which recently presented her with its Distinguished Alumna Award, Dr. Beckmann-Collier received master's and doctoral degrees from The University of Iowa where she studied with Don Moses. She is the recipient of Drake University' Levitt Distinguished Community Service Award, the Iowa Music Educators Association Distinguished Service Award, and the National Federation Interscholastic Music Association Outstanding Music Educator's Award.

The Great Northern Union Chorus

Start with 90+ talented singers, a gifted musical director, a pedigree of excellence, a dedication to making a difference in the world, and the result is "High Impact Harmony." The Great Northern Union Chorus is an award winning, internationally recognized, auditioned all-male a capella chorus based in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area.

Unaccompanied vocal music which is technically near-flawless, passionately performed, and tirelessly spread to audiences everywhere is the hallmark of the Great Northern Union. In July of 2010, the group achieved a second place silver medal in the Barbershop Harmony Society's International Competition in Kansas City, which featured 30 choruses representing five different countries.

Peter Benson has been the music director of the Great Northern Union Chorus since 2002. Under Peter's direction, the chorus has won awards and accolades for the chorus' clean, full sound and high energy performance.

Peter received his master's degree in choral conducting from Mankato State University. He served as director of choral activities at North Dakota State College of Science in Wahpeton, Lakeville (MN) South High School, and is currently an adjunct professor at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.

Peter travels the country coaching quartets and choruses. He has been a clinician for several festivals and workshops throughout the Barbershop Harmony Society as well as many highly regarded high school and university choral programs.

Peter, his wife Rachelle, along with two of their four sons, form the Benson Family Singers, a family quartet that performs throughout the Midwest.

Isthmus Vocal Ensemble

The Isthmus Vocal Ensemble, founded in 2002 by Artistic Director Scott MacPherson, comprises a temporary community of dedicated choral singers, drawn together each summer for a few intensive weeks of rehearsals and limited performances in Madison, Wisconsin.  The critically acclaimed choir is known for its wide variety of repertoire, ranging from Renaissance works to cutting edge pieces by living composers.  In addition to its commercial CD on the Clarion label, Andrew Rindfleisch Choral Works (2006), the ensemble recently released a CD of live performances recorded in 2010, An Isthmus Christmas.

A native of Wisconsin, conductor Scott MacPherson is the founding artistic director of Madison's Isthmus Vocal Ensemble. Since 2008 Dr. MacPherson has served as director of choral activities at Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, where he conducts choirs and leads the graduate program in choral conducting. For fifteen years prior to that he was the director of choral activities at Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas. Before moving to San Antonio, MacPherson served on the choral faculty of the University of Wisconsin-Madison for six years where he was a colleague of the late Robert Fountain. He holds degrees in choral and orchestral conducting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Southern California.  MacPherson is also the conductor of the San Antonio Chamber Choir, a professional choir he founded in 2005.

Lawrence Academy Girl Choir – Bel Canto

Bel Canto is the high school component of the Lawrence Academy of Music Girl Choir program, composed of six performing and eight rehearsing ensembles, grades 3-12. Once-weekly rehearsals focus on developing vocal skills and musical knowledge and creating powerful aesthetic moments. The program strives to create an atmosphere that encourages girls to respect the uniqueness of others, to take risks that foster individual growth, and to continue their development into self-assured young women. LAM Girl Choirs have performed at state and regional MENC and ACDA conventions, sung with children's choirs from around the globe, and worked with musicians such as Libby Larsen, Henry Leck, Malcolm Dalglish, and Roger Treece.

Karen Bruno is the artistic director of the Lawrence Academy Girl Choir program and teaches the young women of Bel Canto. She is currently the director of the Lawrence Academy of Music, a community school of music in Appleton, Wisconsin, that teaches 2,000 students from pre-school through retirement annually. She enjoys music-making with singers of all ages and backgrounds, having worked in public schools, houses of worship, and an international school in Senegal, West Africa.  

Bruno holds degrees from Smith College and Boston University, has received awards from the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association, the Danbury (CT) Music Centre, Rotary International, and Lawrence University, serves as North Central ACDA's Repertoire & Standards Chair for Children and Community Youth Choirs, is a member of Wisconsin's Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance (CMP) committee, and is a frequent clinician and adjudicator…but knows that none of this would have been possible without the collaborative, joyful work of her singers or the loving support of her husband and son.

Magnum Chorum

Recognized for expressive singing and inspired programs, Magnum Chorum brings artistry and spirit to a cappella choral music. Based in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, the 50-voice chamber choir presents colorful concerts, commissions and premieres new sacred works, and provides music for worship.  Founded in the choral tradition of St. Olaf College, the choir welcomes singers of all backgrounds devoted to musical excellence in sacred choral music.  

Magnum Chorum has performed with distinguished conductors including Anton Armstrong, Weston Noble, Dale Warland, Kenneth Jennings, Craig Hella Johnson, Philip Brunelle, René Clausen and Osmo Vänskä. Magnum Chorum's name is intended to convey the importance of the choir in expressing the divine and the infinite through voice, music, and text.

Christopher Aspaas, artistic director and conductor of Magnum Chorum, serves as associate professor of choral/vocal music at St. Olaf College. Aspaas received his Ph.D. in choral music education at The Florida State University, his M.M. in choral conducting from Michigan State University, and his B.M. in voice performance from St. Olaf. He has served on the faculties of Central Washington University and Mount Holyoke College.

At St. Olaf, Aspaas conducts the Viking Chorus, a 90-voice ensemble of first-year student men, and the Saint Olaf Chapel Choir, a 100-voice ensemble specializing in the performance of larger works like Mendelssohn's Elijah and the Brahms Requiem. In addition to conducting, he leads coursework in choral literature, conducting, and voice.

His travels as a guest conductor and clinician have taken him to twenty-two states and the Middle East. He conducted All-State choruses in Kentucky, South Dakota, Virginia and Wisconsin, and led the 2009 Anacrusis Boys' Honor Choir in Minnesota.

North Dakota State University Concert Choir

The NDSU Concert Choir dates back to 1912 and performs the highest quality traditional and contemporary choral literature. Under Jo Ann Miller's direction, the choir has performed at state, regional and national ACDA conventions, and now tours nationally and regionally every year and overseas every three years. The Concert Choir is one of six choirs at NDSU led by three choral faculty members and five master's and doctoral choral conducting graduate students. More than two-thirds of its members are music majors. The Concert Choir performs numerous concerts every year and has produced more than 30 recordings.

The St. John's Boys' Choir

Now in its 31st season, The St. John's Boys' Choir continues the tradition of enabling boys to express themselves through music, and provides an environment that nurtures and encourages creativity. Founded by the monastic community of Saint John's Abbey in Collegeville, the organization has grown to include three performing ensembles with 85 choirboys, representing home, public, and private schools in more than 15 communities around central Minnesota. The choirs now travel far beyond the walls of the Abbey Church, ministering to local communities and performing in churches and concert halls all over the world. The choir last appeared at an ACDA North Central Division conference in 1992.

University of North Dakota Concert Choir

The UND Concert Choir, composed of both music majors and non-music majors, is the premiere auditioned choral ensemble at the University of North Dakota. The choir recently celebrated its 50th year in existence. The Concert Choir has a long history of excellence, performing frequently at regional and national conventions. This past year, the choir traveled to the Netherlands and Belgium performing and working with professional conductors from around that region.

Joshua Bronfman is director of choral activities at the University of North Dakota where he directs the UND Concert Choir and Varsity Bards. He also teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in choral conducting, choral literature and choral methods. In addition to his duties at UND, he is the artistic director of the Grand Forks Master Chorale, a select chamber choir.

In 2005 Joshua was selected as a Conducting Fellow for the Eric Ericson Masterclass in the Netherlands, where he directed the Netherlands Chamber Choir and Netherlands Radio Choir. He is an active clinician, directing honor choir festivals at the elementary, middle school, high school and collegiate levels. His published articles and presentations on choral music and choral music education have reached state, regional, and national audiences. Joshua recently completed his Ph.D. in choral music education and choral conducting at Florida State University.

University of Nebraska-Lincoln University Singers

University Singers represent the finest choral singers on the Lincoln campus, performing music from the thirteenth century through the present. They have performed for state and regional ACDA and MENC conventions, and the 2002 national MENC convention in Nashville. The choir owns a rich list of distinguished alumni that matriculated to lead choirs, departments, and major university schools of music. Recent repertoire includes Hindemith's When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, the B Minor Mass, Bruckner's Mass #2, Beethoven's Mass in C, Puccini's Messa di Gloria, Elijah, Messiah, Duruflé Requiem, Honegger's King David, the Brahms Requiem, Carmina Burana, Chichester Psalms, Belshazzar's Feast, Liszt's Christus, and the operas Elixir of Love and La Bohème.

Peter Eklund, professor of music and director of choral activities, annually conducts instrumental and choral ensembles in Europe and throughout North America. His concertizing/clinician schedule averages sixty international concerts annually and includes a wide array of professional, orchestral, collegiate, liturgical, festival, and youth/student ensembles. He has conducted his choirs in Carnegie Hall numerous times; Mozart's Salzburg Cathedral, annually; Notre Dame, Paris, annually; Orchestra Hall, Minneapolis; St. Mark's, Venice; Christ Church, Oxford; Kennedy Center and National Cathedral, Washington DC; St. Paul's Cathedral, London; St. Stephen's, Vienna; and other prestigious cathedrals and abbeys in Prague, Strasbourg, Milan, Reims, Rouen, London, Monaco, Normandy, Chartres, Cambridge, Munich, Nürnberg, Coventry, Canterbury, and New York.

Dr. Eklund studied conducting with International Mahler Medal-winner James Dixon, ACDA past-president and University of Nebraska–Lincoln alumnus, William Hatcher, and recognized scholar/conductor Don V Moses. Publishers of his music editions include Hal Leonard, Colla Voce, Hope, Concordia, and Santa Barbara.