Choir

 The history of music at the University of Dubuque goes back to the early part of the 20th century. As early as 1918, there was a men's glee club, a co-ed choral music ensemble, a band, and an orchestra. Beginning in the 1920s, the concert choir toured regularly. Concerts were performed in churches and schools throughout the Midwest.

During the 1950s, the choir made LP recordings and was invited to sing in a program broadcast nationally on CBS called Church of the Air. The choir also sang at a national Presbyterian gathering in Chicago.

The choir continued to travel in more recent decades with tours throughout the United States as well as Guatemala and Canada.

Today the University of Dubuque Choir is growing in numbers and expanding its performance schedule. Recently, the choir has added several new events to their calendar including an annual fall retreat where choir members get better acquainted and focus on learning much of the year's repertoire.

Fall Convocation is an opportunity for UD Choir to join with the seminary choir as part of the opening celebration of the academic year. In October, the choir performs several times during homecoming weekend.

The fall semester concludes with the choir leading the annual Christmas on the Quad celebration at the University of Dubuque. This has drawn capacity audiences and has become an important tradition at UD.

In the spring, the choir prepares for the annual UD Arts Celebration and is frequently invited to perform off-campus in the Dubuque Community.

The University of Dubuque Choir has performed concerts in 30 states and Puerto Rico over the past six years. The Choir has enjoyed visiting New York City, Boston, Gettysburg, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Phoenix, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, San Diego, Miami Beach, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, San Juan and Honolulu during these tours.

The next planned choir tour will be May 10-20, 2010. The choir will perform concerts in Iowa, Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Louisana, Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas. Choir members will experience the Gateway Arch (St. Louis), National Civil Rights Museum (Memphis), French Quarter (New Orleans), JFK Assissination site (Dallas), Oklahoma City Federal Building Memorial, and KU Carillon Tower (Lawrence)!

Dr. Charles Barland is in his eighth year as conductor of the University of Dubuque Concert Choir.  For more information about Dr. Barland, please select the faculty link at the top of the page.