This year’s festival is March 8-10, 2012 (Thursday afternoon through Saturday afternoon concert). Our guest directors this year will be Tamra Cochran from Norton, KS High School for the Women’s Choir and Dr. Eric Foley from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary for the Mixed Choir.

• Schedule
  

• Announcement
• Audition Information
• Audition Form
• Repertoire
  

The Western Slope Choral Festival is held on the Western State College Campus each Spring, usually during the first week in March. Approximately 250 singers from 40 Colorado High Schools are selected by audition to participate in two Honor Choirs - Mixed and Women's. Each choir is directed by a nationally known choral conductor. Past conductors have included Donald Brinegar, Edith Copley, Dennis Cox, Galen Darrough, and Solveig Holmquist.

Auditions for the Western Slope Honor Choir Festival are held in Fall. Specific information about the Honor Choirs is mailed to individual high schools in September.

Tamra Cochran is currently teaching junior and senior high vocal music and music theory in Norton, KS. She has taught kindergarten through college level students, as well as directed adult choirs. Currently she is in her 23rd year of teaching. Tamra earned her B.A. from Trinity College in Deerfield, IL and a Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Kansas.

 

Tamra is honored to have the opportunity to be the clinician for the Western Slope Women’s Honor Choir. She is looking forward to working with the talented members of this year’s choir.

Dr. Eric Foley is in his sixth year as Assistant Professor of Music and Department Chair for Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He teaches undergraduate and graduate classes in music, conducting, and choral techniques and directs the chapel choir and Praise Team. He graduated with both a Bachelor’s in vocal music education and a Master’s in choral conducting from the University of Missouri-Columbia, where he studied with Dr. Duncan Couch. He completed his Doctorate in choral conducting from the University of Kansas in 2006 with Dr Paul Tucker and Dr. John Paul Johnson. His current academic interests surround vocal technique and its effect on intonation; and the impact of praise teams on the music ministry of the local church. A lifelong Missouri resident, he has taught vocal music around the state for more than 20 years with students from elementary to graduate school. His ensembles have toured across the United States and made his conducting debut at Carnegie Hall in 1998. His choirs subsequently made two additional trips in following years. He is in constant demand as clinician and judge across Missouri, Kansas and Arkansas. He has held positions as District Representative for the Missouri Choral Director’s Association and as District President for the Kansas City Metro MMEA. When not working, he enjoys fishing, hunting and other outdoor activities. He’s been married to his lovely wife Kathy for twenty seven years and has two grown sons, Alan and Ryan, a junior at Mizzou.