Welcome!
As part of the University of Arizona School of Music, the choral area carries on a 74-year tradition of joyful excellence in performance, education and scholarship.
Seven choral ensembles provide enriching and gratifying musical experiences for students, faculty, staff and community members of all ability and experience levels. Graduates of our programs enjoy rewarding careers in positions throughout the globe – in higher education, with professional and community choirs, at religious institutions and in K-12 programs.
Both undergraduate and graduate students are afforded a variety of leadership and professional opportunities as part of their studies and in the greater Tucson community, including with university and community ensembles, and also through financially supported participation in international master classes, professional organizations, conferences, research projects and workshops.
University of Arizona choral ensembles have achieved distinction through invitations to perform at Carnegie Hall, with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and other regional musical organizations, and for professional conferences of American Choral Directors Association, College Music Society, and Arizona Music Educators Association.
Come join us and make the University of Arizona your musical home – we have a place for you!
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Choral Area Fund
Gifts to this fund support the broad work of the University of Arizona Choirs. Gifts support scholarships, music purchase, recordings, instrumentalists, etc., Gifts are unrestricted and are spent directly.
Bruce Chamberlain Choral Endowment
Proceeds from this endowment support scholarships for graduate students in University of Arizona’s renowned choral conducting program. The fund is named for Dr. Bruce Chamberlain, Director of Choral Activities from 2000-2018.
Dr. Chamberlain was a tireless advocate for his conducting students and they carry on his legacy today, working as professors and conductors throughout the world. Gifts to this fund remain in perpetuity and only interest is spent.
University Community Chorus Endowment
Proceeds from this endowment support scholarships for music education students with a choral emphasis. This endowment was begun with funds donated by members of University Community Chorus in 2017. Gifts to this fund remain in perpetuity and only interest is spent.
Faculty
Elizabeth Schauer
Professor
Elizabeth Schauer (she/hers) serves as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Arizona, where she is recognized for her innovative curricular approach. An award-winning educator, Dr. Schauer conducts Symphonic Choir and teaches graduate courses in conducting, literature and methods with a student-centered focus to an international population of learners. She is in demand as an adjudicator, clinician, presenter and conductor throughout the United States, including for performances at Carnegie Hall and with all-state and honor choirs.
Choirs under her direction have been selected by audition and invited to perform on local, state and regional conferences of American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), College Music Society (CMS) and American Guild of Organists. In addition, her choirs have been featured on the ACDA National YouTube Channel and the Community Concerts Series of KUAT-FM Classical Radio, and are regularly invited to collaborate, notably with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Arizona Symphony Orchestra and other regional ensembles. Repertoire embraces choral and choral-orchestral works from the Middle Ages through the present, up to and including new works dedicated to and commissioned for her ensembles, as well as the music of our time and from a variety of populations and cultures.
She has presented sessions at the national conferences of ACDA, Presbyterian Association of Musicians and CMS; regional conferences of ACDA, and state conferences of ACDA and NAfME. Former students are active as music educators at public and private schools, churches, colleges and universities throughout the world, and have been accepted into respected graduate schools and programs for continued study. Dr. Schauer holds degrees from University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Westminster Choir College and University of Michigan.
M. Nicole Davis is Assistant Professor of Music, Choral Conducting, and Choral Music Education at the University of Arizona and the conductor of University Singers and University Community Chorus. Prior to her appointment at the University of Arizona, Davis completed a Ph.D. in Music Education - Choral Conducting at Florida State University.
During her doctoral studies, she served as assistant conductor for University Singers, Choral Union, the Tallahassee Community Chorus, and the Festival Singers of Florida. Additionally, Davis was the Artistic Director of the Thomasville Singers, a community choir in Thomasville, GA, for seven years.
As an active researcher, Davis is a sought-after guest lecturer and panelist. Last year, she presented at numerous state, regional, and national conferences, including the National Association of Negro Musicians, Inc. (NANM) and the National Association for Music Education (NAfME). Also, Davis is active in multiple service roles for her profession. She serves as the National Scholarship Chair for NANM, a leadership team member for Women in Choral Higher Ed (WiCHEd), and a Voices for Social Justice board member. Her scholarly interests examine the intersectionality of social, racial, and economic factors with music education and performance.
M. Nicole Davis
Assistant Professor
Jeff Vanderlee
Assistant Professor of Practice
Dr. Jeff Vanderlee (he/his) recently joined the choral faculty at the Fred Fox School of Music in the fall of 2021. He holds a bachelor’s degree in music education from the University of Texas at Austin, a master’s degree in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in conducting from the University of Arizona. He is the conductor of Collegium Musicum, a choral ensemble dedicated to the performance of music pre-1750, and his research is centered on 17th-century Thuringian motets, especially those of Johann Christoph Bach (1642-1703). He also teaches private graduate conducting lessons.
Jeff is also an active conductor, clinician, and accompanist who represents the University of Arizona in the greater Tucson community and further, in such recent projects as conducting the pit ensemble for a showing of Buster Keaton’s 1924 silent film Sherlock Jr., as part of the 2021 Loft Cinema Film Festival. Additionally in the same semester, he co-led a repertoire session at the American Choral Conductors Association Convention in Long Beach, CA, that centered around little-performed German Baroque motets. He also regularly accompanies and conducts choral clinics with high school choirs in the Tucson area.
Jeff also serves as the Director of Music at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church, where he conducts the Adult Parish Choir in weekly mass, as well as larger concert events at Christmas and Holy Week. He is also active as an accompanist for private voice students as well as middle and high school choirs throughout the Tucson metro area.