Throughout the Ohio State music department, many different musical ensembles have competed in various cutthroat competitions meant for different schools to prove their strengths. Despite its main purpose as a form of entertainment, these competitions prove that the Buckeye music department can be just as fierce as those fighting Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium on a cool fall day.

In hopes of sharing talents in a collaborative effort, OSU has decided to hold an intercollegiate festival. Schools will be able to actively develop friendly relationships, as well build a network for growth in the world of music.

The Ohio State music department will be holding the third annual Ohio Intercollegiate Choral Festival on March 6 at 7 p.m. in Weigel Hall.

The festival will include groups from Ohio State, Wright State, Mt. Vernon Nazarene University and Ohio University.

Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt, director of choral activities, helped organize the festival and is the on-site host. Her assistant is Michael Goede. Goede is a graduate conducting assistant in the OSU School of Music.

Apfelstadt is a professor of Choral Studies and the conductor of OSU Chorale, which is participating in the festival.

Along with the OSU Chorale, OSU’s Women’s Glee Club will also be participating.
The Chorale group is composed of a 48-member ensemble. This group performs on campus, throughout the community and on an occasional tour. In order to be a part of the Chorale group, students must audition. The group is only comprised of sophomores through graduate students, and sophomores must be invited to audition.

The Women’s Glee Club, which has 16 members, features music by female artists, as well as a variety of treble repertoire.

Other school groups that will be performing include Wright State University Chamber Singers, Ohio University Concert Choir and Mt. Vernon Nazarene Singers.

“All these groups sing a variety of music, classical and contemporary choral literature. For example, the OSU Chorale will sing pieces by American composers writing in the 20th and 21st centuries: Gawthrop, Staheli, Hogan,” Apfelstadt said.

The Ohio Choral Director’s Association first inaugurated the festival in 2008. The association modeled the festival off of a similar festival in North Carolina.

The festival will benefit the students, teachers and audience in attendance in many ways. Meant to unify the choral world in Ohio, the festival proves that choral music can be shared and used as a teaching tool.

“We hear a variety of music, some unfamiliar and some known. We get to hear other groups’ interpretations. As a teacher, I can come back to class on Monday and we discuss what we heard: what was good, what inspired us and what we could emulate,” Apfelstadt said.

The Ohio Intercollegiate Choral Festival will begin at 9:30 a.m. Admission is free and the festival will be open to the public.

“There will be lots of great music sung by talented singers, some of whom are music majors, but many who are not,” Apfelstadt said.