University of North Texas 
The University of North Texas A Cappella Choir is the premier ensemble of the UNT Choral Studies program comprised of nine choirs. Since its founding more than 85 years ago, the A Cappella Choir has had a distinguished history of conductors that include Wilfred Bain, Frank McKinley, Hal Gibbons, Mel Ivey, Jerry McCoy and Allen Hightower. The A Cappella Choir frequently performs at regional, national and international conferences including engagements at the American Choral Directors Association national conference in Los Angeles, California in 2005; Dallas, Texas in 2013, 2022 and 2025 and in Chicago, Illinois in 1999. They have performed as well at the clinic/convention of the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) in 2020. TMEA is the largest music education convention in the United States with nearly 30,000 attendees. They've also performed at the National Collegiate Choral Organization convention in Cincinnati, Ohio in 2008 and at international choral festivals in 2012 in Daejeon, South Korea and in 2009 in Taipei. In 1966, the choir participated in a three-month tour of Europe under the sponsorship of the United States Department of State. The Czech Republic portion of this 2025 tour is under the auspices of the Czech Music Initiative of the University of North Texas funded by the Czech Educational Foundation of Texas. The choir closes its visit to Europe with concerts in Germany and where they compete in the invitation only International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Bavaria.
Choral Ensembles
Meeting Time
Monday-Friday | 1:00-1:50 PM
Monday-Friday | 1:00-1:50 PM
The University of North Texas Camerata is composed of soprano and alto singers of all majors. Camerata performs annually at UNT ChoralFest!, as well as presenting both fall and spring concerts. Students are encouraged, but not required, to complete a choral audition to participate in the ensemble.
Meeting Time
Monday-Thursday | 12-12:50 PM
Monday-Thursday | 12-12:50 PM
The University of North Texas Camerata is composed of tenor and bass singers of all majors. Chorale performs annually at UNT ChoralFest!, as well as presenting both fall and spring concerts. Students are encouraged, but not required, to complete a choral audition to participate in the ensemble.
Meeting Time
Monday-Thursday | 12-12:50 PM
Concert Choir is an auditioned mixed choir open to students of all majors in the university. Auditions are held in August, the week before classes begin. Consistent with its mission to share our love of music with others and to uplift others through choral singing, Concert Choir is committed to engaging meaningfully in service to the community. In recent years, we have participated in the Out of the Darkness suicide awareness community walk, the Meetup Cleanup initiative for combating littering in Denton county, and sustaining the Butterfly Garden at UNT. Concert Choir combines annually with the A Cappella Choir and University Singers to form the UNT Grand Chorus, which performs extended works with orchestra. Recent performances include Verdi's Requiem, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and Brahms Requiem.
Directors
Jessica Nápoles, Conductor
Robby Napoli, Associate Conductor
Meeting Time
Monday-Thursday | 2:00-2:50 PM
The Conductors' Chorus is an auditioned laboratory ensemble that provides guided conducting opportunities for graduate choral conductors. As part of their studies, graduate choral conductors have a number of opportunities throughout each semester to conduct and rehearse the ensemble under the guidance of UNT Choral Studies faculty.
Meeting Time
Thursday | 3-3:50 PM
Grand Chorus is comprised of approximately 150 singers drawn from the A Cappella Choir, University Singers, Concert Choir, and other interested individuals. The Grand Chorus has a distinguished history of performing under the leadership of many of the world's most highly respected orchestral conductors. The late Georg Solti called the UNT Grand Chorus one of America's best choirs. The Grand Chorus sings annually with the UNT Symphony Orchestra, UNT Chamber Orchestra, UNT Wind Symphony and/or regional symphonies. Recent repertoire includes Verdi's Requiem, Menselssohn's Elijah, Puccini's Turandot, Rachmaninoff's All Night Vigil, Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 and Mass in C Major, Mahler's Symphony No. 2, Stravinsky's Symphony of Psalms, Mozart's Coronation Mass and Requiem, Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem, Britten's War Requiem, Howells' The Hymn of Jesus, and Bernstein's Chichester Psalms. In the spring of 2013, the Grand Chorus, Symphony Orchestra and tenor Richard Croft, gave the premier of Jake Heggie's Ahab Symphony, which is avaiable on Spotify, Apple Music, and all major streaming platforms. In April 2003, the Grand Chorus premiered and made a commercial recording of Orff's Carmina Burana in a new complete edition for wind symphony, choir, and soloists. The compact disc is available from Klavier Records.
Director
Allen Hightower, Conductor
While comprised primarily of musicians from the College of Music, the University Singers welcomes artists of every academic discipline with a love and capacity for choral singing. The ensemble explores a variety of repertoire to push the boundaries of what a choral ensemble can do. Recent performances have included Shaw’s To the Hands, a concert production of Puccini's Tosca, a collaboration with the UNT Jazz Singers, Bach motets, and premieres of works by student composers. In addition to a robust performance schedule throughout the year, the University Singers become part of the UNT Grand Chorus to present extended works with orchestra every spring. Auditions are held during the week prior to the first week of classes in August.
Directors
Marques L. A. Garrett, Conductor
Kathryn Davidson, Associate Conductor
Meeting Time
Monday-Thursday | 1:00-1:50 PM
The UpFront Choir is comprised of all choral music education majors in the UNT program. It is a peer-led ensemble that offers junior and senior choral music education students the opportunity to conduct a collegiate choir and gain experience teaching choral music before their student teaching semester. This ensemble, unique to UNT and a national model, is student led, and supervised by Jessica Nápoles and Jamey Kelley. UpFront regularly performs in service to the Denton community. Committed to service in the College of Music and the profession, members of UpFront engage in freshman mentoring initiatives, collaborations with local public schools offering voice lessons to students, professional development trips to TMEA, and tutoring sessions in music theory and aural skills to music majors. Our aim is to be sure that all choral music education majors have a support system in each other and with the faculty, seeking consistently to uphold high standards for teaching and building community.
Director
Meeting Time
Monday, Wednesday | 3-3:50 PM
Vox Aquilae is a chamber choir dedicated to period performance, usually in collaboration with UNT's Baroque Orchestra or other musicians from UNT's extensive early music program. The choir, formerly known as the Collegium Singers, consists of members of the other student choirs, and graduate students in voice or early music. Vox Aquilae has regularly performed the Boston Early Music Festival, the premiere early music festival in the world. In June 2012, fourteen members of Vox Aquilae were invited to perform the Victoria Requiem at the Berkeley Early Music Festival—you can view that live performance here. The choir also performed at the National Collegiate Choral Organization convention in Portland, OR in November 2015.
Meeting Time
Monday, Wednesday, Friday | 2:00-2:50 PM
