Choir Festivals
Get to know UNC Choirs through our choir festivals and special events.
The choirs are highly active, with multiple ways you can come to campus to grow as a singer with our faculty and guest artists. Choose from Singers in the Middle Choral Festival for developing middle school vocalists and Sound Summit: A Choral Festival for High School Choirs with memorable performances and special guest artists.
Get Tickets to the Finale Concerts
Don't miss your students in action at the evening finale concerts for our choir festivals! Plus grab tickets to the special guest artist concert at Sound Summit.
Singers in the Middle
Registration
Cost: $25 per student (includes t-shirt)
Deadline: February 1
Schedule
- 9am Arrive and Check-in
- 9:30am Rehearsal Session 1
- 10:45am Break
- 11am Rehearsal Session 2
- 12:15pm Lunch
- 1:45pm Rehearsal Session 3 (Featuring a mini concert by UNC Glee)
- 3:30pm Snack Break
- 4pm Concert Run-through
- 5pm Change into concert attire
- 6-7pm Concert (Students released to parents directly from concert)
Singers in the Middle Details
Please purchase the music below for the festival.
Singers in the Middle Treble Selections:
Singers in the Middle Tenor Bass Selections:
Concert Attire for Students
Black dress pants/slacks (no denim), black dress shoes, black socks on bottom. All students wil wear the In the Middle t-shirt on top.
Students Should Bring:
- Black binder or choral folder
- Pencil
- Sack lunch
Planning Ahead
- If you plan to bring more than 10 students, please invite a parent chaperone as well.
- It is up to the students/teachers of each school to have a plan for lunch/dinner. There are a few places to eat nearby or students may bring a sack lunch. Quite a few teachers have also ordered pizza for students in the past which is both convenient and cheap.
- Snacks will be provided by UNC.
- Teachers are encouraged to be in the room during rehearsal times so clinicians can focus on the music instead of behavior, but feel free to bring a laptop and get some work done.
Meet the Singers in the Middle Clinicians
William Ecker
William Ecker is in his 17th year teaching choir around the state of Colorado, most recently at Timnath Middle High School where he is currently starting a new choir program. Prior to Timnath, Mr. Ecker’s choirs have consistently received the highest ratings at CHSAA competitions across the state through his work at Fort Collins High School. His students were frequently accepted to the Colorado All-State Choir record high numbers.
Mr. Ecker completed his Bachelors of Music Education Degree with a Vocal emphasis from the University of Northern Colorado in 2008 and completed his master’s in choral conducting in 2016 at the University of Northern Colorado under Dr. Galen Darrough and Dr. Jill Burgett.
Prior to teaching at Fort Collins High School, Mr. Ecker held a music position at Weld Central Middle School, building the program from 35 students to 225 over 6 years. In 2013, he became a founding board member of the Colorado Middle School All-State Choir. William Ecker has served many roles in the Colorado All-State Choirs, namely as co-chair of the Colorado Middle School All State Board as well as Onsite coordinator for both the High school and Middle School All state Choirs for many years.
Phil Drozda
Phil Drozda is proud to have been a public-school music educator for the past seventeen years, and is presently the Director of Choirs at Overland High School in the Cherry Creek School District. In his current role, he conducts five choirs at a diverse, comprehensive high school in Aurora, CO. Mr. Drozda holds a Master of Music degree in music education from the University of Northern Colorado and a Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Colorado-Boulder.
Prior to his appointment at Overland, he was the choir director at Prairie Middle School from 2011-2019. During his tenure at Prairie, Mr. Drozda’s choirs gained a reputation for musical quality and passionate, joyful performance, and they have been invited to perform at the Colorado Music Educators Association Clinic and Conference three times. He also taught middle school choir at Mesa Middle School in Castle Rock, CO, and Northglenn Middle School in the Adams 12 School District. Though he now primarily works with high school singers, Mr. Drozda is a middle school teacher at heart. He seeks to be a strong advocate for middle level choral music, and he knows that middle school-aged students are capable of incredible things!
Sound Summit: A Choral Festival for High School Choirs
Why attend?
- Perform in a state-of-the-art venue
- Take home a professionally recorded video of your choir
- Receive coaching from nationally recognized adjudicators
- Be inspired by Apollo 5’s special performance
Registration
Cost: $250 per choir
Open to high school and advanced middle school choral ensembles. Space is limited—early registration is encouraged!
Adjudicators
- Dr. Jill Burgett
- Dr. Clelyn Chapin
- Prof. Jeff Talley
Awards
- Non-auditioned
- Auditioned Tenor/Bass
- Auditioned SATB
- Auditioned Treble
February 27 Schedule
- 8am Registration Opens
- 9am-12pm Choir Performances
- 12pm Lunch
- 1-2pm Apollo 5 & Vocal Master Class
- 3:30pm Snack Break
- 2-5pm Choir Performances
- 6:30-7:15pm Award Ceremony
February 28 Schedule
- 10am Registration Opens
- 10:30am-12:30pm Choir Performances
- 12:30pm Lunch
- 1:30-2:30pm Apollo 5 & Vocal Master Class
- 2:30-4:30pm Choir Performances
- 5-5:30pm Award Ceremony
March 1 Schedule
- 2pm Apollo 5 Concert
