The University Singers from Appalachian State University’s Hayes School of Music have been selected to perform at the southern regional conference of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Feb. 21-24, 2018 in Louisville, KY. The ACDA is a music-education organization dedicated to the advancement of choral music, with a membership consisting of choral directors who represent more than one million singers across the United States.
Out of over 80 choirs that submitted recordings for the blind audition, the University Singers was one of 19 choirs selected from this 11 state region, one of only six college choirs and the only choir form North Carolina. The University Singers has been selected for this honor three times, having previously performed at the ACDA regional conference in Nashville (2004) and Winston-Salem (2012). The choir also traveled to Los Angeles in 2005 to perform and serve as a demonstration choir for the ACDA national conference.
One of six choral ensembles in the Hayes School of Music, the University Singers is a select ensemble that performs a repertoire of diverse genres and styles. Comprised mostly of music majors, this sixty-voice choir is open by audition to all university students, regardless of major.
The conductor of the group, Dr. Stephen M. Hopkins, is Director of Choral Activities in the Hayes School of Music a position he has held since 1992. He conducts the Chamber Singers and University Singers and teaches choral conducting, choral techniques, and choral literature at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. His previous teaching experience includes two years as Director of Choral Activities at West Texas State University in Canyon, Texas and seven years of public school teaching in Tennessee and Texas. Dr. Hopkins is a frequent guest clinician and adjudicator. An active composer and arranger, his compositions have been published by Hinshaw Music, Inc. and Carl Fischer.
About the Hayes School of Music
The Hayes School of Music prepares young musicians for professional lives as performers, composers, music educators, music therapists, conductors, and music industry professionals, ensuring the next generation of musical leadership for the state, region, and nation. Noted for quality instruction by national and internationally recognized faculty musicians, the school offers seven undergraduate degree programs and three graduate level programs.
About Appalachian
Appalachian State University, in North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains, prepares students to lead purposeful lives as global citizens who understand and engage their responsibilities in creating a sustainable future for all. The transformational Appalachian experience promotes a spirit of inclusion that brings people together in inspiring ways to acquire and create knowledge, to grow holistically, to act with passion and determination, and embrace diversity and difference. As one of 17 campuses in the University of North Carolina system, Appalachian enrolls about 18,000 students, has a low student-to-faculty ratio and offers more than 150 undergraduate and graduate majors.
University Singers
University Singers