University of Wyoming will be hosting the Rocky Mountain Festival of Voices this year in the Performing Arts Concert Hall. This is a three-day event, which started yesterday and is ending tomorrow. This event is designed to bring high school students to the university for training and mentoring with university students that are in the Colligate Chorale. Nicole Lamartine, the director of choral activities, restructured the event in 2008 to make it more content-driven and meaningful for the high school students participating. There are 220 high school students registered for the festival from Wyoming, Colorado and Nebraska.
“Festival of Voices is always an exciting experience because I get to see some really exceptional high school students come and perform for us,” said Ariana Hahl ,one of the Choral Ambassadors and a junior majoring in vocal performance, “They have such a pure love for music that is always refreshing to see.” High school students are offered the opportunity to see what it is like as a music major or choir member at the University of Wyoming through their experiences at the festival with Choral Ambassadors.
Over the three days that the high school students will be on campus they will take part in different events and activities, which include, but aren’t limited to: interest sessions, concerts put on by university choirs and of course the performance by Basix Thursday night.
Basix is a male a cappella group from Denmark and were brought in as guests for the event as a part of the cultural programs concert series. The students attending the festival will be able to work with Basix in a workshop setting.
The festival is not only beneficial to the high school students attending; but it is also beneficial for the UW. “This event is incredibly beneficial to the University of Wyoming campus because it helps the high school students feel accepted and welcome,” said Krista Lawrence, Choral Ambassador and senior pursuing a bachelor’s in music as a Vocal Performance major. Hahl also believes that an event like the Festival of Voices is beneficial for the university, “The University gets some pretty phenomenal students to come down and be a part of our Cowboy family, great students equals a great university!”
Lamartine said that an event like this is great for recruitment and showcases that the University offers different ways to continue singing, “And they don’t have to be a music major to do it.”
The Rocky Mountain Festival of Voices will return for another successful year with high school students in 2015.
