The Department of Music hosts festivals and events that provide musical opportunities for our students and the local community. Hundreds of high school students perform alongside university ensembles in various choral and band festivals. Numerous professional guest artists are brought to campus to interact with our students in intimate and hands-on settings.
Meet instructors. Experience classes. Check out classrooms. Get to know students.
Music Major for a Day is an opportunity for high school students to attend classes, rehearsals and lectures in the Department of Music. Students may customize their experience by choosing from a variety of options. Private lessons may be available with our outstanding faculty. The event is free, but space is limited, so register early.
For more information:
Email: mkrause@stcloudstate.edu
Phone: (320) 308-3223
The 14th Annual BIG SING Honor Choir event is happening on October 14th, 2022.
This year we have the fantastic opportunity to work with Minnesota’s very own Timothy Takach as our guest clinician and conductor.
You may bring up to 16 students to participate and the registration deadline is Friday, September 23rd.
Similar to past events, we will host a few workshops for the you as the director, led by Timothy Takach. A few additional details about the event:
Reading session and workshop with Timothy Takach.
SCSU currently has no COVID restrictions.
| 8:45 – 9:30 a.m. | Registration |
| 9:30 – 11 a.m. | Rehearsal 1 with Timothy Takach and Dr. Moline |
| 11 a.m. - 12 p.m. | Sectional Rehearsal (S, A, T, B) |
| 12 – 1 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1 – 2 p.m. | Sectional Rehearsal (SA/TB) |
| 2 - 2:15 p.m. | BREAK |
| 2:15 - 4:30 p.m. | Rehearsal 3 with Takach and Moline |
| 5 p.m. | Big Sing Finale |
| 8:45 – 9:30 a.m. | Registration |
| 9:30 – 10:50 a.m. | Observation/Networking |
| 11 - 11:50 a.m. | Reading session with Timothy Takach |
| 12 – 1 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1 – 1:50 p.m. | "Engaging your Students" with Timothy Takach |
| 2 - 3 p.m. | Director’s Workshop with Dr. Catherine Verrilli |
| 3 - 4 p.m. | Observation/Networking |
| 5 p.m. | Finale performance |
We hope you can join us at the Big Sing event!
This annual choral concert is typically the last Monday of October in Ritsche Auditorium.
It features performances by Concert Choir, Chamber Singers, Sauk Rapids-Rice High School Concert Choir, Apollo High School Concert Choir, Cathedral High School Concert Choir, Tech High School Concert Choir, St. John’s Preparatory School Concert Choir, Sartell High School Concert Choir, Holdingford High School Concert Choir and the Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota.
High school musicians from across Minnesota are participating in a festival March 24, 2023 at St. Cloud State.
Directors may nominate their most outstanding musicians to rehearse and perform with St. Cloud State faculty and guest clinicians.
We are pleased to welcome the following guest clinicians to St. Cloud State for this year's event.
To form two festival bands, students will be selected based on the directors' recommendations and instrumentation needs. Nominations are accepted through March 6. After March 6, email Catharine Bushman about possible openings.
The festival includes full-ensemble rehearsals with expert clinicians, master classes with St. Cloud State faculty, performances by St. Cloud State ensembles and performances by the clinic bands.
Sessions for directors will include topics such as rehearsal strategies, score-study tips, programming concepts and assessment strategies. Marchfest guest clinicians will provide a session to directors. The director schedule mirrors the student schedule, making it easy for a director to participate.
The culminating activity for students, directors and the public is a concert 5:30 p.m. Friday, March 24 in Ritsche Auditorium. Tickets at the door will be $5 for adults and $3 for students and seniors.
| 7:30 a.m. | Registration in the lobby of the Performing Arts Center (PAC) |
| 8:30 a.m. | Rehearsals in PAC Center Stage and PAC 113 |
| 10 a.m. | Sectionals for Huskies Band Session 1 for directors |
| 11:30 a.m. | Lunch provided in Garvey Commons |
| 12:45 p.m. | Sectionals for Red & Black Band Session 2 for directors |
| 3 p.m. | St. Cloud State Wind Ensemble Concert |
| 3:30 p.m. | Sound checks in Ritsche and music vendor break |
| 5:30 p.m. | Finale Concert: Marchfest Festival Bands |
Catharine Bushman
Wind Ensemble / Music Education
csbushman@stcloudstate.edu
320-308-2082
This annual event offers the finest repertoire, ranging from exciting new works to beloved choral and instrumental classics, and features performances by a variety of SCSU ensembles at the Cathedral of St. Mary in St. Cloud.
A day of scheduled events to engage area brass students in a day of musical enrichment. Activities include clinics and masterclasses with Dr. Jonathan Brandt (trumpet) and Dr. Lauren Husting (trombone).
Ensemble performances will feature faculty ensembles, Brass Choir and guest artists.
Concerts and masterclasses are open to family, friends and the general public.
The David Swenson Memorial Foundation Guest Artists Series enriches the Percussion Studies curriculum by bringing renowned percussion artists for public performances and workshops intensives throughout the academic year.
Past artists include, among others: drum set artists Gordy Knudson, JT Bates, Nate Wood, and Dave King; marimba artists Nancy Zeltsman, She-e Wu, and Leigh Howard Stevens; percussion groups Third Coast Percussion, Loop 2.4.1, and Brad Dutz/Chris Wabish; improvisational percussionist Tatsuya Nakatani; marimba and live capture electronics artist Nathaniel Bartlett; and live looping artist Martin Dosh.
Celebrate Minnesota's handmade electronic music with music, robots and a robot concert.
Students and community members learn how to build musical robots, compose music for the robots and present a robot concert. Participants learn the history of mixing electricity, instrument building and automatons.