Oberlin Choristers Honor Choir
Each year nearly 200 singers in grades 4-6 are recommended by their teacher to participate in this extraordinary event. Singers from school districts around Northeast Ohio join together in a day of singing, fun, and inspiration.
What's it like?
Schedule of the Day - March 18, 2023
8:45 a.m. Teachers arrive at First Church, Oberlin
9:00 a.m. STUDENTS arrive at First Church & check-in with teacher
9:30 a.m. Morning rehearsal at First Church begins
10:30a.m. Snack (provided by Choristers)
12:15 p.m. LUNCH BREAK
1:15 p.m. Afternoon rehearsal
3:00 p.m. Performance at First Church, historic Meeting House
Information & Typical Timeline:
Students pay a $45 participation fee* at the time of registration.
Each singer will receive choral scores of each piece to be performed.
November 15 – Deadline to confirm your school’s participation. Teachers complete our Participation Form to register their school.
November 21 – Teachers receive the number of singers you are permitted to select as well as online registration information to share with those families.
Teachers select the students they feel would best represent the school.
December – Student scores and teacher guidelines from the conductor will be mailed to schools.
January 1 – Student registration deadline
January – March – Rehearsals with singers.
~Teachers of participating schools meet with singers an average of 45 minutes a week. Some schools break that up over several days (lunch/recess) and some meet before or after school.
~Teachers set a rehearsal schedule that works best for their singers.
~Online recordings will be available to share with singers to help with the rehearsal process.
March 18, 2023 - Oberlin Choristers Children’s Honor Choir Day
~Participating teachers must be present for the entire Honor Choir Day. Teachers greet their students and observe and assist the guest conductor as needed throughout the day.
~Singers should wear dark blue jeans or pants and closed toe shoes. They will change into their Honor Choir t-shirt when they arrive.
~Parents join us at First Church at 3:00pm for a free concert!
~PARENTS AND SINGERS please look for an invitation letter from your school music teacher.
*Financial Aid is available. Email Amanda at info@ochoristers.org for information.
Please contact the Choristers office with any questions. Email Amanda at info@ochoristers.org
2023 Honor Choir Guest Conductor
Dr. Jami Lercher
Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Baldwin Wallace State University
D.M.A., University of Miami - The Frost School of Music
M.A., University of Wales
B.M., Iowa State University
Dr. Jami Lercher brings fourteen years of public school teaching experience to her role. Having taught elementary, middle and high school vocal music, she is an advocate for music education for all.
As a Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar, Lercher completed her master’s degree in the United Kingdom. Her research explored teaching singing to the hearing impaired, cementing her belief that everyone is capable of creating and enjoying music.
Lercher’s doctoral research focused on the life and choral music of Morfydd Owen (1891-1918), a Welsh composer whose catalogue of works remains vastly unpublished and unperformed. She also champions music from marginalized voices, particularly women, and seeks to bring attention to suppressed works through performance and study. Her edition of Vittoria Aleotti’s “Surge Propera Amica Mea” is currently published through Walton Music.
An active performer, Lercher sang as a contracted singer with the Minnesota Chorale, where she also served as an assistant conductor. She served as the artistic director of the South Florida Jewish Chorale for two seasons and was the founding co-chair of the ACDA-Minnesota 9-10 Grade Treble Honor Choir.
Lercher is an active member of ACDA, NCCO, and NAfME. She has presented at state and national conferences on programming diverse music from underrepresented composers, using repertoire to inform warm-up techniques, and selecting appropriate solo repertoire for choral singers.
