Music Festivals and Workshops
George Fox University’s music department hosts several music festivals and workshops for both high schools as well as professionals in the field. These include both a Band Festival and a Choir Festival that are OSAA-approved state-qualifying events.
The Choral Conductors Workshop with Rod Eichenberger and the Choral Symposium are for professionals to further their education and hone their skills as directors. Please select the link below to obtain general information, guidelines and application materials.
Choral Symposium – Saturday, Oct. 21, 2017
Rod Eichenberger will again headline George Fox University’s Choral Symposium. The emphasis of this Symposium is to help you, the conductor, improve skills in the following areas:
- Develop conducting gestures that will improve communication between you and your choir
- Acquaint you with body-mapping techniques that will allow you to remove muscular tension from your conducting, allowing your students to sing with more freedom and better tone quality, and
- Discover new methods and practical ways to incorporate sight-reading into your rehearsals
You and your choir will participate in either a morning or afternoon session containing four workshops. Session 1 is from 8 a.m. to noon, and Session 2 is from 1 to 5 p.m. There is room for four choirs in each session, so if interested please respond quickly. The way to assure your place in the Symposium is to send in your application with the preferred session time and the registration fee. Placements will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis.
The format of the event will be a brief warm-up for everyone before you and your choir report to three different sites:
Each workshop will last approximately 40 minutes. At the end of the workshops all choirs will gather in Bauman Auditorium to hear a short performance by the George Fox University Concert Choir. All students and directors are expected to be in attendance for their entire session (8 a.m. to noon and 1 to 5 p.m.).
Questions? Email Danielle Warner
Submit your application by:
Email: music@georgefox.edu
Fax: 503-554-3902
U.S. Mail: George Fox University, Attn: Music Department, 414 N Meridian St. #6007, Newberg, OR 97132
State-Qualifying Choir Festival – Friday, March 2, 2018
The George Fox University Choir Festival will be an OSAA state-qualifying event. It is open to choirs in all divisions and will be adjudicated by at least two certified judges. Choirs will be adjudicated by their own divisions' criteria (sliding scale). Since this event is not a league event, there will not be a designated winner and qualifying scores will only make performing groups eligible for inclusion in the OSAA tape pool.
Each choir will have a 20-minute warm-up and performance time slot. However, in order to qualify for state, each choir's repertoire and length of program (minimum and maximum) need to conform to all qualifying standards as outlined in the OSAA Music Handbook. Immediately after the choir's performance will be a 20-minute off-stage evaluative workshop.
The way to assure your place in the Festival is to send in your application with the preferred time and the registration fee. Placements will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis.
State-Qualifying Choir Festival Application
Questions? Email Danielle Warner
Submit your application by:
Email: music@georgefox.edu
Fax: 503-554-3902
U.S. Mail: George Fox University, Attn: Music Department, 414 N Meridian St. #6007, Newberg, OR 97132
State-Qualifying Band Festival – Thursday & Friday, March 8-9, 2018
The George Fox University Band Festival will be an OSAA state-qualifying event. Three certified judges will adjudicate the performance and provide comments; one judge will be in the sight-reading room. Two awards will be mailed after the festival – one for outstanding band of the day and one for outstanding sight-reading band of the day.
The way to assure your place in the Festival is to send in your application with the preferred day and time and the registration fee. Placements will be determined on a first-come, first-served basis.
State-Qualifying Band Festival Application
Questions? Email Dick Elliott
Submit your application by:
Email: music@georgefox.edu
Fax: 503-554-3902
U.S. Mail: George Fox University, Attn: Music Department, 414 N Meridian St. #6007, Newberg, OR 97132
Choral Conductors Workshop with Rod Eichenberger – Summer Workshops
This five-day professional development workshop, designed for conductors of choirs at all levels, gives special emphasis to the important role non-verbal skills can play in rehearsal and performance.
- Explore movement activities designed to improve intonation, timbre, rhythmic accuracy and to expand dynamic range
- Examine the effect of the conductor's posture and gesture on vocal production and choral tone
- Experience how effective pacing and affirmative instruction improves both focus and retention in the choral rehearsal
- Enhance practical conducting skills during daily master classes
- Enjoy daily reading sessions from a large packet of octavos personally selected by Rod Eichenberger
Workshop dates, locations, information and online registration are available on our website: choralconductorsworkshop.com
Questions? Email Debbie Hawblitzel
