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.
The 15th Annual BIG SING Honor Choir event is happening on October 13, 2023.
You may bring up to 16 students to participate and the registration deadline is Friday, September 25.
A few additional details about the event:
Click here to register your students for the Big Sing 2023 Festival!
Honor Choir Schedule
| 9:15 - 9:45 a.m. | Registration |
| 10:00 – 11:30 a.m. | Rehearsal 1 with Dr. Moline and Shruthi Rajasekar, PAC |
| 11:30 – 12:15 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:15– 2:30 p.m. | Rehearsal #2 with Dr. Moline |
| 2:30 - 2:45 p.m. | BREAK |
| 2:45 - 3:30 p.m. | Rehearsal #3 with Dr. Moline |
| 3:30 - 3:45 p.m. | Snack Break/Game Time |
| 3:45 - 5:00 p.m. | Rehearsal #4 with Dr. Moline and Shruthi Rajasekar |
| 5:00 - 5:30 p.m. | Participating Choirs Sound Check |
| 6:00 p.m. | Big Sing Finale |
| 9:15 – 9:45 a.m. | Registration |
| 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. | Observation/Networking -
welcomed participation in first rehearsal with Shruthi Rajasekar PAC Center Stage |
| 11:30 - 12:15 p.m. | Sectional help |
| 12:15 – 1:15 p.m. | Lunch in Garvey Commons |
| 1:15 – 2:15 p.m. | Reading Session with Shruti Rajasekar - PAC 271 |
| 2:15 - 2:30 p.m. | Break |
| 2:30 - 3:30 p.m. | Workshop with Dr. Catherine Verrilli - PAC 271 |
| 3:30 - 5 p.m. | Observation/Networking |
| 5:00 - 5:30 p.m. | Participating Choirs Sound Check |
| 6:00 p.m. | Finale performance |
We hope you can join us at the Big Sing event!
This annual choral event takes place in the spring in Ritsche Auditorium. It is FREE and open to the public.
Choral Connections features all SCSU Choral Ensembles, as well as choirs from around the St. Cloud area. We hope to see you there!
Director's Invitation Packet
Nominate Students Online (link will open December 2023)
High school musicians from across Minnesota are participating in a festival Friday, March 22, 2024 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 1. After March 1, 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 22 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.
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.