UArizona Choirs

06/23/2026

On May 30, DMA student Sunny Park successfully presented her lecture recital titled "A Conductor’s Guide to Selected Polychoral Motets from Sulpitia Lodovica Cesis’s Motetti Spirituali (1619)." Congratulations on this milestone achievement, Sunny! The University of Arizona School of Music

05/24/2026

Gabriel Machado (MM 2019) is making HUGE waves in his home country of Brazil! Gabriel is bringing choral music to Brazilians throughout the country as Artistic Director of the National Virtual Choir, Alma Coralis, Lumen Coralis and the “Vem cantar” tour. Over 46,000 people have sung in these projects since 2019. Alma Coralis and Lumen Coralis are regular choirs that rehearse weekly, and Vem cantar is a one-day, in-person choir that is offered in many cities throughout Brazil. During the pandemic, the National Virtual Choir had over 5000 participants, and this project continues today. Maestro Machado created the company that hosts these four choirs. His goal is to have one million Brazilians singing in choirs by 2030, and we think he will make it. Thank you for the transformational work you are doing and congratulations on your many successes, Gabriel! You can follow Gabriel on Instagram at maestrogabrielmachado.

https://www.instagram.com/reel/DYufuScFS6I/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

05/23/2026

UA Symphonic Choir (Dr. Elizabeth Schauer, conductor) and Desert Voices (Dr. James Higgs, conductor) raised over $1700 in support of Pima Animal Care Center at their Spring 2026 Menagerie Concert. Dr. Higgs visited PACC in April to drop off the check. Many thanks to everyone who performed and/or donated to make this possible!

05/22/2026

UA Choirs was honored to receive a gift of $5000 from the estate of Marsha Dean, who was a staunch supporter and enthusiastic patron of the University of Arizona choral program. We are profoundly grateful for this gift and the possibilities it creates, as well as the generosity and deeply compassionate and loving spirit of Marsha that it reflects. Marsha was a member of the St. Mark's United Methodist Church Chancel Choir, and sang under the direction of numerous UA conductors in this choir, including Bradley Barrett, Jamie Spillane, Elizabeth Schauer and Jordan Shomper.

05/20/2026

UA Choirs is pleased to share that Chelsea Cannon (BM Music Education) has been accepted into the 2026 Sarteano Choral Workshop in Italy and also has been awarded a Medici Scholarship in support of attending. Congratulations Chelsea!

05/18/2026

Four choral conducting majors participated in graduation ceremonies this weekend - Margaret Lauren Palermo graduated with her DMA; Xinke Shen graduated with her MM, and Brandon Brown and Chad Pittman will finish up their DMA degrees this summer. Congratulations and thanks for all that each of you contributed to the choral program, The University of Arizona School of Music, and the Southern Arizona community during your time with us! Best wishes to each of you on your journeys.

05/14/2026

UA Choirs is happy to share that Macy Halverson has been named the Spring 2026 Outstanding Senior for The University of Arizona School of Music! Congratulations, Macy, on this award for which you are most worthy! Macy was nominated by Dr. Kristin Dauphinais and Dr. Elizabeth Schauer.

05/12/2026

Congratulations to choral faculty member, Dr. James Higgs, who presented last week on his scholarship about and edition of Terza Messa by Marianna Martines for the fifth International ACDA Symposium on Research in Choral Singing - thank you for continuing to champion this important work and composer! Dr. Higgs was invited to present for the symposium since he was the winner of ACDA's 2024 Julius Herford Dissertation Prize, which he received earlier this year. The University of Arizona School of Music

05/11/2026

Save the Date for UA High School Honor Choir!!!

October 23-24, 2026

The audition portal will be open from July 24th through September 4th

More details and link to the FAQs:
https://events.trellis.arizona.edu/f44lNu67/g/0R30dM0R9D/uahshc-2026-audition-portal-5a3UV41PuUf/overview

05/09/2026

Congratulations to the students of the UA choral conducting studio, who had choral and recording reviews published in the Winter 2026 issue of The Choral Scholar, the official publication of National Collegiate Choral Organization, and many thanks to Dr. Angelica Dunsavage (DMA 2020), Chief Editor of Publications for NCCO, for collaborating on this project!
Choral Reviews:
Miserere by Mark Butler (Brandon Brown)
I know that my Redeemer Liveth by Cecilia McDowall (Abe Gibson)
Spring Outing by Shutong Li (Jiang Yani)
Ficus enim non florebit by Guarionex Morales Matos (Omaris Torres-Frey)
Stay With Me by Guanyu Cao (Xinke Shen)
Light of the Northern Frontier by Surigalatu (Mengda Jiang Bilinski, DMA 2024)
Recording Review:
I Sing of a Maiden (Music of Kevin Allen) (Chad Pittman)

Feature articles: "Celebrating 65 Years", Andrew Bruhn and "Singing Together, Worlds Apart", Alfred Addaquay Reviews by University of Arizona graduate program