About the choir
The University Choir is Porter’s largest ensemble, with 84 voices this fall in soprano, alto, tenor and bass sections. Tenors are, as at every institution in recorded history, the scarce part. The choir sings everything from Renaissance motets to folk arrangements to new commissions, in five or six languages a year, with diction coaching built into rehearsal. Roughly a quarter of the members have never sung in a choir before. The rest sang in high school and missed it.
Inside the choir is the Chamber Singers, a group of 24 chosen by audition. It rehearses one extra evening a week, sings the harder repertoire and takes the off-campus engagements: the December program at Porter Falls Public Library, a spring exchange concert with a neighboring college choir, and the Ring of Iron anthem.
Director and rehearsals
The choir is conducted by Tomas Cruz, associate professor of music history and choral music. The Chamber Singers are led by Mei Fontaine, associate professor of vocal and choral music. Rehearsals:
- University Choir: Monday and Wednesday, 5:30–6:50 p.m., Choral Room (Applied Arts Building 160).
- Chamber Singers: also Thursday, 6:00–7:30 p.m., same room.
- Section rehearsals: three or four per term, posted a month ahead. A student assistant runs them.
The 5:30 slot was picked because it clears almost every afternoon lab in Founders Hall and the Health Sciences Center. Dinner at The Forge stays open until 8, and the choir knows this.
Credit
Register for MUS 1630 University Choir or MUS 1635 Chamber Singers, each for 0 or 1 credit and repeatable. Either counts toward the music minor. If you have no music-reading background and want one, MUS 1010 Music Fundamentals pairs well with a first term in the choir. Individual voice lessons are available to non-majors for credit, with ensemble members getting priority. See music lessons for non-majors.
Concerts this season
| Date | Program | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| Sun, Oct 11, 3 p.m. | Fall Choral & Wind Concert, with the Wind Symphony | Heritage Auditorium |
| Sat, Dec 5, 7:30 p.m. | Winter Choral Concert, the one with the candles (LED; Facilities asked) | Heritage Auditorium |
| Sun, Dec 13, 2 p.m. | Chamber Singers at the library | Porter Falls Public Library |
| Sun, Mar 21, 3 p.m. | Spring Choral & Orchestra Concert, with the Porter Falls Chamber Orchestra | Heritage Auditorium |
| Sat, May 15 | Commencement: the alma mater | Ironclad Fieldhouse |
Tickets for the Heritage Auditorium concerts are $8 public, $5 seniors 65+ and youth, and free for Porter students through the box office. The library concert is free. The March program is a large work for choir and strings, with the string players drawn from the chamber music program and community musicians.
How to join
The University Choir does not cut anyone. A voice placement takes about ten minutes. Cruz checks your range, has you match a few pitches and asks you to sing a verse of any song you know, including “Happy Birthday.” There is no sight-reading test. Placements run in the first week of each term. The next ones are January 25–28, 2027, and you can also join after the October concert by emailing the department.
Chamber Singers auditions are held at the same time and add a prepared piece of about two minutes and a short sight-reading exercise. Choir members get black concert folders. You supply black clothes, and a few loaner outfits are kept in the Choral Room for anyone who needs one. Sign-up details are on ensemble auditions.
Fictional information
UW–Porter Falls is a work of parody. The University Choir, the Chamber Singers, their directors, rehearsals and concerts are invented; there is no choir to join and nothing here describes a real ensemble.