Vocal Music at UTSA

At UTSA, students in the voice/choral area are involved in a variety of activities throughout the school year that help them to build their vocal skills, broaden their musical perspectives, and experience the excitement of live performance. Each voice student participates in at least one of the choral ensembles each semester. These are Concert Choir, Women's Concert Choir, and UTSA Chorus. The Concert Choirs rehearse three times each week, while UTSA Chorus rehearses twice. A mid semester concert is given by each group, and they join forces with the UTSA Orchestra for the performance of a major work at the end of the fall semester each year. At the end of the spring semester all choirs combine for the UTSA Choral Cavalcade. The Concert Choir and Women's Concert Choir perform for the spring Fiesta Under the Stars. From time to time the Concert Choir will join forces with the San Antonio Symphony Mastersingers and perform a major work with the symphony. The Concert Choir spends several days in the early spring touring South Central Texas or the Rio Grande Valley. The Women's Concert Choir participates in the Texas Collegiate Women's Choir Festival held once a year on various campuses and sings frequently off-campus for a variety of community events. Sixteen students from the Concert Choir are selected each year as the UTSA Madrigal Singers. In addition to concert work during the fall semester, this group produces the annual UTSA Holiday Cabaret. The UTSA Jazz Choir is a select ensemble of 12 singers who rehearse and perform for various occasions during the spring semester.

Voice students receive one hour of private vocal instruction per week. Individual studios meet at 11 a.m. on Thursdays for a performance seminar where students have the opportunity to sing for one another. In early November, students sing competitively at the Texoma Region auditions of the National Association of Teachers of Singing. UTSA students have consistently distinguished themselves as outstanding performers in this event. Students compete again in early April in the South Texas auditions of NATS. On campus, selected students have the opportunity to perform concert and operatic repertoire with orchestra in the UTSA Concerto and Aria Competition, in Lyric Opera productions, and in the Choral Masterwork in the fall. . During the spring semester, the UTSA Lyric Opera program allows students to participate in full productions of operas, operettas, and musicals. UTSA students have appeared in major roles with the San Antonio Symphony and in supporting roles with the San Antonio Lyric Opera. Upper level voice students who have had course work in Vocal Pedagogy have the opportunity to instruct young students from local middle schools and high schools. Through a NATS program to encourage the development of young teachers, they are able to establish NATS associate membership and enter their students in the South Texas event.

Course work in foreign language diction, opera literature, vocal literature, choral literature, conducting, and vocal pedagogy all help UTSA vocal/choral students build a firm foundation for successful careers in teaching and performance.

A particularly exciting development in the vocal area at UTSA is the recent addition of the Vocal Arts Laboratory. This laboratory, coordinated by John Nix, houses specialized equipment for the study of voice production. This cutting-edge facility makes world-class vocal research resources available to our distinguished voice faculty and students.

Students have the opportunity to serve as camp counselors and coordinators for the UTSA All State Choir Camp held during the third week in June. Some 250 students attend the camp, which is largely supervised by upper level music students.