Vocal Activities

Baylor Women's Choir Festival

Each February, Baylor Music Education welcomes over 350 women's choir singers to campus for a day of music-making. The Baylor Women's Choir Festival is for women's choirs in the Central Texas region. Singers arrive on campus and heat to sectionals where they are handed three new pieces of music. The sectionals are taught by upper-level Baylor Music Education students, parenting to become middle school or high school choir directors. Following the sectionals, a mass choir is formed and handed over to a guest clinician, who rehearses the choir and prepares them for the concert later in the day.

Past guest clinicians include:

• Anton Armstrong
• Jeffrey Ames
• Jessica Naples
• Lynne Gackle
• Jo Scurlock Dillard
• Derrick Brookins
• Dinah Menger

The concert features the Baylor Women's Choir, Bella Voce, selected female soloists from the Vocal Division of the Baylor Music School, and culminates with the Festival Choir, combining all of these choral voices in song. Singers leave with new songs, new friends, new memories, and, of course, a specially-designed t-shirt commemorating the day!

UIL Sightreading Fest

Who doesn't love sight-reading? Sight-reading is a major part of the UIL Large Group contest process. It can also be intimidating for singers and directors alike. The UIL Sight-Reading Fest gives singers from local high schools intensive practice in UIL Sight-reading procedures, while giving valuable experience to our Music Education majors who will be navigating choirs of their own through the UIL process in a few short years. Teaming up with local high schools, we collaborate for a night of sight-reading overload. Treble choirs, tenor-bass choirs, and mixed choirs are led through the UIL Sight-reading process by upper-level Music Education majors. The choirs' directors serve as the judges, listening to their own choirs' performances, while making sure the Baylor directors are adhering to all of the proscribed UIL rules and regulations. Throw in some ice-breaker games and some pizza, and everybody wins!

Intermediate School Vocal Solo Festival

Students in 6th grade are just embarking on their choral journey through middle school and high school. The Intermediate School Vocal Solo Festival provides a first-time experience for many of these singers to prepare and sing a solo for feedback in front of a judging panel. With the guidance of their teacher, each singer selects a song to prepare for the festival. Upper-level Music Education majors serve as judges for this event, providing feedback to these young singers, and gaining valuable experience working with developing voices.

For more information on these and other vocal music education events, please contact Michele Henry.