Dear Choral Colleague:

Utah Valley University will once again be holding a Junior High/Middle School Choir Festival on Monday, May 8, in the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts on UVU campus. This festival is a non-competitive, feedback-only event open to 6th-9th grade singers. Performance time is followed by an informal clinic with one of our featured adjudicators. Ensemble performances will be recorded and delivered electronically.

Each ensemble may register for a thirty-minute time slot. A maximum of 12-15 minutes of music is recommended. The time remaining after the performance will comprise the clinic. (Multiple ensembles from the same school are welcome to register for additional time slots.) Choirs are welcome to listen to the performances and clinics of other ensembles surrounding their performance time. Directors should bring 2 sets of original music for the adjudicators with measures numbered.

The registration fee for each choir is $150.00. This includes audio recordings of both the performance and clinic as well as written feedback. While formal photographs are not taken, there is an opportunity following your clinic to pose for a group photo in the new space if you wish. Our student volunteers are happy to assist you in taking photos with any cameras/cell phones as needed.

We are confident that you'll enjoy a rewarding and informative experience as you perform on campus and work with our clinicians.

Registration is available through the online system links provided on the music department website. Entries are due by April 15 and will be considered in the order they are received. The slots do fill up quickly, so please register early! We will confirm your registration, coordinate a performance time, and provide additional instructions upon receipt of payment. Performance times are not available until the registration deadline has passed and all entries have been processed.

It is important you read through the UVU Festival Instruction Sheet for parking, student drop off, and other on campus information.

Feel free to contact me directly with any questions or concerns. I look forward to enjoying your excellent performances!

Sincerely,
Cherilyn Worthen
Choral Music Education
801-863-8092

Festival Instructions

  1. Buses drop students off in front (east side) of the Noorda Center for the Performing Arts. Drivers may then park in BRC, which is located south of campus across the 1200 S intersection and west of Walmart. There are signs posted in that parking lot as to where you may park. Do not park at Walmart. With over 40,000 students there is limited parking on campus - directors, please do not drive your own vehicles. It is better for you to ride the bus with your students. If you must drive, park in visitor metered parking in front of the Noorda. Buses should pick up students the same place they dropped them off, however, the bus wait can only be two deep. If you are the third bus you may be ticketed.

    Campus Map

  2. Upon arrival at the Noorda, please check in at the festival desk and turn in your scores for the adjudicator/clinician. You will be escorted to a warm up room approximately thirty minutes before your performance. Following your performance, you will be escorted to the clinic room where one of our adjudicators will work with your ensemble.
  3. Pick up your rating sheet along with your music scores after your session. These will not be returned through the mail.
  4. The person manning the festival desk will assign you a warm-up room. You will use it for warm up, storage, and to meet in after your performance. You may want to bring a parent to watch over your students' belongings.
  5. When it is your turn to perform, a UVU host will escort you to the stage.
  6. UVU will provide the following instruments and equipment on stage:
    • For instrumental groups: chairs, stands, bass drum, 4 timpani, xylophone, chimes, glockenspiel, marimba and piano. ALL OTHER PERCUSSION INSTRUMENTS, EXTENSION CHORDS, BEATERS, AND STRIKERS MUST BE PROVIDED BY YOU.
    • For choral groups: risers and piano.
  7. I encourage you to schedule your day so you can hear some of the other groups at this year's festival. Much of the benefit of this festival comes from your students hearing other groups. It is also a more rewarding experience to perform for an audience.