Choral Studies
Join your voice with ours.
The LSU School of Music offers a variety of choral ensembles for students, each with an individual character and musical mission. Students from all colleges on campus are encouraged to participate in choral singing and enjoy the music and fellowship of singing in a chorus. Chorus members represent a broad cross-section of the LSU student population, including music majors, other majors, undergraduate, and graduate students.
Interested in the LSU Choirs? Fill out the School of Music Information Form at the link on this page and let us know!
Choral Studies Offerings
Ensembles
All students receive a single semester hour credit for participation in each LSU choir. Each chorus presents 1 to 4 performances each semester. Choral hearings are held in the week before classes each semester for interested students. No experience or special music training is required to participate in a choral ensemble at LSU. Visit the Ensemble Auditions page for more information on choral hearings.
Meets: M/W/F, 12:30 p.m. to 2:20 p.m.
The LSU A Cappella Choir, LSU’s flagship touring choir, has achieved national and international prominence through its performances in many of the most prestigious performance venues in the world. During their seven European tours since 1991, they have been invited to perform high Mass in Notre Dame in Paris and St. Peter’s in the Vatican. They have given invitational performances at the famed Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and the Mendelssohn Hochschule in Leipzig, Germany. The choir’s rich history includes invitational performances for divisional and national audiences of the American Choral Directors Association. In 2016, the Choir gave in invitational performance before the Association of British Choral Directors national conference in Winchester, UK. They have also performed before the Louisiana Music Educators Association, the American Society of University Composers, the College Music Society, and the American Musicological Society and have received invitations to perform in Russia, South America, Israel, Bulgaria, and Italy. Most recently, they performed as the host choir for the 2017 National Collegiate Choral Organization conference.
The choir is chosen each year from the LSU student population and remains a representative cross section of LSU with majors and non-majors as well as both graduate and undergraduate students. Each spring, A Cappella Choir, LSU Chorale, the Tiger Glee Club, and the Symphony Orchestra collaborate to perform a choral-orchestral masterwork concert.
Conductor: Trey Davis
Meets: M/W/F, 2:30 p.m. to 3:20 p.m.
The LSU Chorale is comprised of soprano and alto voices from all academic disciplines within the university. It is the second oldest choral organization on campus, founded in 1935. This chorus performs a wide variety of repertoire both on campus and in the local community. Past performances have included singing at the LSU French House, the Louisiana American Choral Directors’ Association Convention and LSU Shreveport. Along with the Tiger Glee Club, the LSU Chorale recently performed in Varna, Bulgaria, and will have the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall in Spring 2020. Each spring, A Cappella Choir, LSU Chorale, the Tiger Glee Club, and the Symphony Orchestra collaborate to perform a choral-orchestral masterwork concert.
Conductor: Trey Davis
Meets: M/W/F, 3:30 p.m. to 4:20 p.m.
The LSU Tiger Glee Club is comprised of tenor and bass voices from all academic disciplines within the university. As the oldest choir on the LSU campus (founded in 1916), the Tiger Glee Club performs a wide variety of literature ranging from standard choral masterworks to spirituals, folksongs, and barbershop settings. In addition to its regular concerts each semester, the Tiger Glee Club is frequently asked to perform for civic organizations and athletic events such as the LSU basketball team and the LSU Baseball team. Along with the LSU Chorale, the Tiger Glee Club recently performed in Varna, Bulgaria, and will have the opportunity to sing at Carnegie Hall in Spring 2020. Each spring, A Cappella Choir, LSU Chorale, the Tiger Glee Club, and the Symphony Orchestra collaborate to perform a choral-orchestral masterwork concert.
Conductor: Laurence Hebert
Meets: M/W/F, 4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m.
This unique music ensemble is comprised of singers from all academic disciplines within the university. The group performs a variety of gospel music, from today’s Christian contemporary to traditional Southern gospel. The focus is on the music’s unique features, interpretation, and performance practices, all culminating in preparation for public concerts.
The LSU Gospel Choir was formed in 1978, admitting students without audition. This choir is part of a component that expands the school’s musical offering and increases the opportunities for diversity of music exposure and expression across the university community.
In 1996 the LSU Gospel Choir toured France, playing to sell out audiences in more than 5 cities, including Paris. The LSU Gospel Choir was recently honored as a historical treasure here at LSU and was featured in a documentary honoring the late A.P. Tureaud, Sr.
Conductor: Graduate Conducting Majors
The LSU Chamber Singers is an advanced chamber ensemble that serves as the resident recital choir for graduate students in choral conducting. It is comprised of graduate students and select undergraduate students in the vocal and choral departments. Chamber Singers performs four recitals each semester that cover a wide variety of genres and time periods. Chamber Singers serves as a training choir for professional choral singing profession, as singers prepare a diverse repertory of music at a high artistic level over a shortened rehearsal period.
Graduate Degrees
The graduate-level choral conducting program at LSU provides comprehensive experience in ensemble leadership, rehearsal technique, choral literature, academic writing and research, score study, and organic musical gesture. The program is offered at both the MM and DMA levels.
Program highlights include:
- Recitals with the LSU Chamber Singers, an advanced chamber ensemble that serves as the graduate recital choir
- Weekly conducting studio class in a collaborative environment
- Opportunities to mentor undergraduate conducting students
- Performances and conducting opportunities with university choral ensembles
- A resident graduate string quartet to conduct during Choral Literature courses
- Private applied lessons for Doctoral and Master’s students
- Experience in choral program administration through service on the choral staff
Successfully pre-screened candidates will be invited to an on-campus interview and audition at the end of January or beginning of February. The graduate audition in choral conducting consists of a personal interview with the Director of Choral Studies, an individual musicianship audition, and a rehearsal with one of the LSU choral ensembles. Additional activities include meetings with current graduate students, the Associate Director of Choral Studies, and the Graduate Studies Director; attendance at a graduate conductor’s Chamber Singers recital; and an informal reception, following the recital.