Choral
If you like to sing, why not join a choir? Several different ensembles are available to majors and non-majors.
Head of Choral Area
- Dr. Chris Dekker
Choral Faculty
- Chapel Choir
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The Chapel Choir is Hope’s premier choral ensemble. Made up of 40 auditioned choristers,
Chapel Choir has toured extensively throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has traveled
to Europe on six occasions. In May 2009, the choir toured South Africa. In addition
to being featured in the college’s annual Christmas Vespers program, which is broadcast
throughout the United States on PBS television and National Public Radio, the choir
has sung at The National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., the Crystal Cathedral in Garden
Grove, California, and at numerous choral conferences. DIRECTOR
COURSE LISTING
Audition required
- Collegium Musicum
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Collegium Musicum, a mixed chamber vocal ensemble of 20 members, is open to all students
by audition. Collegium typically meets in the fall semester. A Madrigal Dinner in
early December is the highlight of the semester. Collegium members are accomplished
vocal musicians who have had previous experience singing in small ensembles.DIRECTOR
COURSE LISTING
Audition required
- Women’s Chamber Choir
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Made up of 20–30 singers, Women’s Chamber Choir is an auditioned group which meets
twice weekly throughout the fall and spring semesters. This ensemble tackles a wide
variety of fine literature for treble voices and has built up quite a following since
its inception in 2001. Women’s Chamber Choir is frequently joined on its concert programs
by 12th Street Harmony and Luminescence, Hope’s male and female close-harmony groups.COURSE LISTING
Audition required
- College Chorus
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Hope’s largest choral ensemble, College Chorus, is composed of music majors and non-majors with varying degrees of choral music experience. College Chorus participates in Christmas Vespers, and, in tandem with Chapel Choir, performs a large choral-orchestral work each spring. (Recent performances include presentations of Mozart’s Coronation Mass and Grand Mass in C Minor, and Duruflé’s Requiem.) In April 2009, the Hope choirs teamed up with the Holland Chorale and Symphony to present the Verdi Requiem.
DIRECTOR
COURSE LISTING
No audition required
- Opera Workshop
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Opera Workshop is offered in the spring semester, providing the opportunity for students to combine stage movement, acting and singing in the context of the performance of scenes and full productions of operas and musical dramas.
DIRECTOR
Course Listing
Audition required
- Gospel Choir
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The Gospel Choir is a group of students who have come together from all different backgrounds, cultures and denominations to glorify God through worship in a variety of gospel and contemporary Christian music styles. This ensemble performs quite often in weekly Chapel services and the Gathering.
Learn more about Gospel Choir at Campus Ministries.
DIRECTOR
CJ Grier
No audition required
- Luminescence
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The newest of Hope’s choral ensembles, Luminescence has been in operation since fall
of 2003. Its founders modeled the group after 12th Street Harmony, and, like its male
counterpart, Luminescence receives a variety of performance opportunities on and off
campus. CONTACT
COURSE LISTING
Audition required
- 12th St. Harmony
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This male a cappella ensemble was created in 2001 and quickly became a sought-after performing group on
campus and throughout the Holland community. With oversight from the Director of Choral
Activities, the day-to-day running of 12th Street Harmony is self-directed by members
within the group. Recently, they appeared on the local news channel WZZM 13. Watch the broadcast.CONTACT
COURSE LISTING
Audition required
The Hope College Chapel Choir uses special robes created by the most influential designers of the 20th century.
- The Chapel Choir Robes
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The Chapel Choir robes were designed 50 years ago by Charles and Ray Eames, a husband-and-wife team among the most influential designers of the 20th century. Filmmakers, poets, painters and furniture designers, the couple was hired in the 1940s as consultants by the Herman Miller Company, which had been impressed by a widely acclaimed furniture-design exhibition at the New York Museum of Modern Art featuring the work of Charles Eames. In 1952, when the Herman Miller Company started a mixed chorus, Ray Eames offered to design robes for the choir. No one knows whether the robes were produced in California, where Charles and Ray kept an office, or in Holland, where some believe they were sewn by local seamstresses. In 1960, the Herman Miller Mixed Chorus disbanded and the robes were given to Hope College, where they became the performing apparel of the Chapel Choir.
The robe colors are intended to symbolize the four primary voice parts, from highest and brightest (yellow) to lowest and darkest (purple). The black horizontal lines represent an extended grand staff, and the other black swatches stand for random notes in the universe. Purity of tone and faith are represented by the prevailing white that appears on every surplice. No one would ever describe these robes as subtle; they are very much in line with the bold and quirky designs of mid-century modernism. But, as the work of Charles and Ray Eames, they hold a special place in 20th century art and design, and would be at home in art galleries everywhere.
Miller Center for Musical Arts221 Columbia AvenueHolland, MI 49423
workP. 616.395.7650
music@hope.edu