The Shepherd University Department of Music Preparatory Division is pleased to announce auditions for the 2015-2016 season of the Shepherd Preparatory Chorus on Wednesday evening, September 2nd, beginning at 6:00 p.m. at the Frank Arts Center on the Shepherd University campus.
Directed by Dr. David Gonzol, Associate Professor and Director of Music Education at Shepherd University, the Shepherd Preparatory Chorus is comprised of both male and female vocalists who are currently in grades 3-8. The chorus meets throughout the school year on Wednesday evenings from 6:10 – 7:30 p.m. at the Frank Arts Center. Concerts will be presented on December 9, 2015 and April 27, 2016 at 7:30 p.m. in the Frank Arts Center Theater. The tuition fee for the Shepherd Children’s Chorus is $125 per semester and includes two free family member admissions to each concert.
The Preparatory Chorus provides outstanding choral music education to young vocalists and is designed to introduce children to the vocal and musical skills needed for choral singing. Students learn how to use their singing voice in a healthy and artistic manner and are taught to read music through the Kodály-based pedagogical approach. Chorus members will learn to sing in many languages, and their repertoire is comprised of many genres of music. Each rehearsal also includes the opportunity to play Orff instruments, and for the children to participate in activities that are fun and socially rewarding.
Dr. Gonzol holds degrees from Messiah College and Temple University. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland at College Park and earned Mastery Certificates in the Kodály and Orff Schulwerk approaches from the University of St. Thomas. He taught music in public schools in Pennsylvania and Idaho, and at colleges and universities there, as well as in Maryland and Minnesota. Dr. Gonzol is a frequent clinician, giving presentations to chapters as well as state, regional, and national conferences of the Organization of American Kodály Educators and the American Orff Schulwerk Association. He is a visiting educator at area schools and libraries, and his research is published in the Philosophy of Music Education Review, Kodály Envoy, and The Mountain Lake Reader. A tenor and recorder player, he has directed school and church choirs, including the 2006 Elementary Honors Choir in Frederick County, Maryland. In 2005, Schott published a collection of his Orff arrangements, Round the Corner and Away We Go, and in 2009, he was awarded Shepherd University’s first-ever Distinguished Graduate Faculty Award.
For additional information or to register for the chorus, please contact Kari Edge at 304-876-5555 or email kedge@shepherd.edu. Information regarding the Preparatory Chorus and other Preparatory Division activities can also be found at the Shepherd Department of Music Website at