OWU Honor Choir Festival

The Ohio Wesleyan University Performing Arts Department is excited to announce the OWU Honor Choir Festival for choir students in grades 7-12. Music students and their directors are invited to rehearse and perform with our distinguished conductors and applied music faculty.

Payment & Forms

Announcement

The Monday, November 10 honor choir check-in and rehearsals are in:

• High School – University Hall's Gray Chapel
• Middle School – Hamilton-Williams Campus Center's Benes Rooms

The Honor Choir Festival 6:30 p.m. Performance is in University Hall's Gray Chapel. We will transport your child to Gray Chapel. You will pick up your child at Gray Chapel after the concert.

Featured Experience

There will be a concert in historic Gray Chapel inside University Hall on Monday, November 10, 2025 at 6:30 p.m.

Festival highlights for all students:

• Rehearsals with featured Conductors
• Optional Note-Learning Session and Vocal Masterclass with OWU faculty
• Two meals catered by OWU's Marketplace dining hall (lunch and dinner) in the Hamilton-Williams Campus Center.
• Grand Finale Concert performance in Gray Chapel – with OWU Choral Arts Society
• Full production concert video with live stream

Festival Fees

$55 per student covers all festival activities with conductors and full dining hall buffet lunch & dinner.  Festival fees not received by the due date (Monday, October 13, 2025) may result in the loss of a student's spot in their ensemble. Fees may be paid online or by check. See Payment & Forms for details.

Note-Learning Session: Saturday, November 8, 2025 from 1-2:30 p.m. at OWU for both High School and Middle School choirs. Followed by a voice masterclass for High School vocal students led by OWU voice faculty from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Festival Schedule

Note-Learning Session and Vocal Masterclass

• Note-Learning Session – Saturday, November 8, 2025 from 1-2:30 p.m.
• Vocal Masterclass – Saturday, November 8, 2025 from 2:30-3:30 p.m.

Date of Festival

• Monday, November 10, 2025.

Check-In Times

8-8:30 a.m. for both ensembles: 

• Middle School Choir: Jemison Hall inside Sanborn Hall
• Senior High School Choir: Choir room inside Sanborn Hall

Grand Finale Concert

• 6:30 p.m. at Gray Chapel in University Hall

Rehearsal times include multiple activities at the conductor's discretion to balance rehearsal goals with student endurance. In addition to rehearsing festival music, holding sectionals, or leading music games, the High School ensemble will break every 90 minutes and the Middle School ensemble will break approximately every 60 minutes.

Choir Enrollment & Nomination Process

Membership in honor choir is selective based on music teacher nominations. Nominations are due September 29, 2025. Instructions as to how and where to nominate students is here.

Timeline in Preparation for the 2024 OWU Honor Choir Festival

• Nominations Due: September 29, 2025
• Payment Due: October 13, 2025
• Note-Learning Session: Saturday, November 8, 2025 from 1-2:30 p.m., Vocal Masterclass  from 2:30-3:30 p.m., both at Sanborn Hall
• Festival Day: Monday, November 10, 2025 at 8 a.m. at Sanborn Hall