The choral program at Kennesaw State University offers a range of exciting opportunities
for students. From the prestigious Chamber Singers, who have performed acclaimed works
at state and national conferences, to the vibrant Gospel Choir, which celebrates the
rich tradition of gospel music, there's something for every passionate singer. The
Treble (Women's) Choir, Men's Ensemble, and Chorale provide collaborative and high-level
musical experiences, with chances to perform in diverse settings and engage with new
compositions. Additionally, the Opera Theater program offers vocal training and performance
opportunities through opera productions and gala concerts, enriching the musical experience
at KSU. If you're looking to explore and excel in the world of choral music, the Bailey
School of Music is the place to be!
The Kennesaw State University Chamber Singers is the premier auditioned choral ensemble
at KSU. Ranging from freshmen to seniors, the choir is open to all students including
both music majors and non-majors from across campus, and represents a variety of musical
backgrounds and academic disciplines.
The KSU Chamber Singers have performed masterworks of Bach, Haydn, Duruflé, Mozart, Britten, and Brahms. In the spring of 2012, the KSU Chamber Singers, KSU Chorale, and KSU Symphony Orchestra performed Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony broadcast on Atlanta 90.1 WABE.
The KSU Chamber Singers performed at the 2002, 2006, 2008, 2011, and 2018, Georgia Music Educators Association State Conferences. In 2010, the choir was invited to sing at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Conference in Memphis, Tennessee, presenting music of South America. In 2013, the KSU Chamber Singers were selected to perform at the National Collegiate Choral Organization 5th National Conference performing David Maslanka’s masterwork A Litany for Courage and the Seasons. The KSU Chamber Singers were honored to represent Kennesaw State University at their performance for the American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Conference in March 2020. The KSU Chamber Singers has achieved prominence on the state, regional, and national stages.
Chamber Singers is an audition-only, mixed-voice SATB ensemble open to any Kennesaw
State University student. Interested students should register for MUSI1146 or MUSI3346.
Gospel Choir
The Kennesaw State University Gospel Choir is both a class and a registered student
organization (RSO) on campus. Gospel music is a time-honored tradition and open to
all students campus-wide. No audition is required to participate in this ensemble.
The Gospel Choir performs twice each semester. The KSU Gospel Choir and Club endeavors
to fulfill the desire to explore, experience, and provide an outlet to share the cultural
experience with the community. Non-music majors are highly encouraged to enroll in
this ensemble.
Treble (Women's) Choir
The Kennesaw State University Treble (Women’s) Choir returned to campus in 2008 and has found musical success on the stages of the Bailey School of Music as well as in the community. The Treble Choir features music majors and non-majors and represents singers from all colleges across the university.
The choir was invited to sing for “Christmas with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra” for the 2021 season.
The choir participates in 6-7 concerts per year and often collaborates with the choirs
and instrumental ensembles in the Bailey School of Music. The Treble Choir participates
regularly in the ACDA New Works Commissioning Project featuring new music from female
composers.
If you seek to create music at a high level in a collaborative and enjoyable environment,
you have found a home in the KSU Treble Choir.
Men's Ensemble
The Kennesaw State University Men’s Ensemble is a non-auditioned choir open to all students from across the campus. The KSU Men’s Ensemble is comprised largely of non-music majors ranging from freshmen to seniors representing a variety of musical backgrounds and academic disciplines.
The KSU Men’s Ensemble has achieved prestigious accomplishments on a State, Regional, and National stage. In 2007, the KSU Men’s Ensemble was featured at the Georgia Music Educators Association Conference presentation “Men…Can’t Live with Them, Can’t Sing without Them!” The KSU Men’s Ensemble performed at the 2012 Georgia Music Educators Association Conference in Savannah, Georgia, and in the summer of 2013, the KSU Men’s Ensemble was featured at the American Choral Directors Association State Conference with Dr. Jerry Blackstone at Spivey Hall.
Most notably the Kennesaw State University Men’s Ensemble was the only collegiate Men’s Choir selected to perform at the 2013 American Choral Directors National Conference in Dallas, Texas. The KSU Men’s Ensemble was honored to perform at both of the 2014 and 2016 American Choral Directors Southern Division Conferences.
Opera Theater
The Opera Theater program at Kennesaw State University is an integral part of the vocal training for voice students in the School of Music. Offered as a class each semester, Opera Theater is open to any KSU student, by audition, who is interested in opera performance. Each semester KSU Opera Theater presents either a production of a full-length opera or an end-of-the-semester opera gala concert featuring performances of scenes selected from various works. The class prepares students to perform repertoire in a wide variety of styles with additional focus on stage movement, acting, and interacting. Recent productions include Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel, Nicolai’s The Merry Wives of Windsor, Donizetti’s The Elixir of Love, Pasatieri’s comic opera The Hotel Casablanca, Puccini's Suor Angelica, Paulus' The Three Hermits, and others.
University Chorale
The Kennesaw State University Chorale is a choral ensemble open to music majors and
non-majors.
Chorale performs diverse, eclectic, and challenging repertoire to develop the total
musician. The ensemble performs in collaboration with the choral department and other
ensembles across the Bailey School of Music, often performing major choral works which
culminate in 4-5 performances per year.
If you are looking for a great way to stay involved in music and meet singers from
across the university, University Chorale is for you.
Faculty
Name
Position
Leslie BlackwellInterim Senior Associate Dean in the Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts, Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music & Music Education
Interim Senior Associate Dean in the Robert S. Geer Family College of the Arts, Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music & Music Education
Leslie J. Blackwell is the Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music and Music Education at Kennesaw State University where she has directed choral activities since 1998. Dr. Blackwell’s duties include conducting the KSU Men’s Ensemble, KSU Chorale, and KSU Chamber Singers as well as teaching advanced choral conducting and literature. A native of Georgia, Blackwell received the Associate of Arts degree from Gordon Junior College (1982), the Bachelor of Music in Music Education from West Georgia College (1984), the Master of Music from Georgia State University (1991), and the Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Kentucky (2002).
Choirs under Dr. Blackwell’s direction have performed at National, Regional, and State conferences of the American Choral Directors Association as well as numerous Georgia Music Educators Association State Conventions. In 2010 Dr. Blackwell presented Songs of South America for the American Choral Directors Association with the KSU Chamber Singers, featuring music of South America based upon her choral research and work in Argentina. In October 2013 the KSU Chamber Singers were selected to perform at the National Collegiate Choral Organization 5th National Conference. Most recently, the KSU Chamber Singers performed at the 2018 Georgia Music Educators Association State Convention and have been selected to sing at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Conference in March 2020.
Recognized for her work with men’s voices, Dr. Blackwell is sought after as a guest conductor for All-State Men's Choirs. Conducting engagements include the 2013 Georgia All State Men’s Chorus, 2016 Alabama All State Men’s Chorus, 2017 Tennessee All State Chorus, and in 2018 both the Kentucky and South Carolina Men’s All State Choirs. Dr. Blackwell served six seasons as the Artistic Director of the Atlanta Gay Men’s Chorus, and at KSU established the annual KSU Male Chorus Day, bringing upwards of 200 high school male students to campus. Under Dr. Blackwell’s direction the KSU Men’s Ensemble, a non-auditioned ensemble, has achieved prestigious accomplishments on a State, Regional, and National stage appearing at the American Choral Directors Association Southern Division Conference in 2014, 2016, and at the National Conference American Choral Directors Association in Dallas, Texas, 2013.
Influential musicians with whom Dr. Blackwell has worked are Robert Shaw, Ann Howard-Jones, Yoel Levi, Norma Raybon, John Haberlen, David Maslanka, Ola Gjeilo, Ethan Sperry, Brian Schmidt, and Jefferson Johnson. In addition to her commitments at Kennesaw State University, Dr. Blackwell is active as a clinician and adjudicator and holds memberships in MENC, GMEA, and ACDA. She has served as the Repertoire and Standards Chair for Men’s Choirs, Georgia ACDA. Currently, Dr. Blackwell is the Artistic Director and Founding Director of the Kennesaw State University Community & Alumni Choir.
Dominique Petite is the Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches courses in music education and choral pedagogy, conducts the Treble Choir, and supervises student teachers. Prior to her appointment at KSU, she was an Assistant Professor of Instruction in Choral Music Education at Ohio University, where she conducted choirs, supervised student teachers, and taught courses in music education, conducting, and pedagogy. While at OU, her treble choir, Bella Voce, was invited to perform at the Ohio Choral Directors Association conference.
Petite has a DMA in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University. She earned
a BME and MME in Choral Music Education from Florida State University. Her research
interests include rehearsal pedagogy, fostering musicianship in ensemble settings,
mentorship across the teaching continuum, and utilizing energetics in choral rehearsals.
Dr. Petite has presented her research at state and regional ACDA and NAfME conferences
and has publications in ChorTeach and The Choral Scholar & American Choral Review.
Before beginning her doctoral work, Petite taught middle and high school music for
fourteen years, specializing in Treble Choir and AP Music Theory. Her ensembles consistently
received superior ratings for performance and sight-singing at district choral adjudications,
and her students had high participation in Southern Division and National ACDA Honor
Choirs, GMEA Sight-Reading Choir, and Georgia All-State Chorus.
Dr. Petite has maintained an active performance schedule, including singing in the
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra Chorus and ASO Chamber Chorus and solo work as a blues
and acoustic rock artist in the Atlanta area. She currently performs with Coro Vocati
(Atlanta) and Red Shift (Baton Rouge). Dr. Petite is a member of ACDA, NCCO, NAfME,
and CMS.
Oral Moses has been on the Kennesaw State University voice faculty since 1984 as professor of voice and music literature. Dr. Moses also performs regularly throughout the United States and Europe singing concert works, oratorio, recitals and a wide variety of art song repertoire with special emphasis on vocal works of African-American composers. Dr. Moses has had numerous successes with American opera companies performing major roles in The Marriage of Figaro, Regina, La Boheme, Albert Herring, Tremonisha, Rigoletto, and The Magic Flute. Symphonic engagements include work with the Nashville, Jackson, Detroit, Lansing, Tacoma, and Atlanta symphony orchestras. In 1983, he toured Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, and Austria and ended in Berlin singing the role of Porgy in Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Dr. Moses received his undergraduate degree from Fisk University. He also attended the University of Michigan where he earned his Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in vocal performance and opera.
Dr. Joshua Zink is Assistant Professor of Voice and Opera at the Dr. Bobbie Bailey School of Music at Kennesaw State University.
He previously served as Associate Professor of Voice at Carson-Newman University where
he maintained a vocal studio. He created and directed the Opera Theatre Program at
C-N. For this effort he was awarded the Faculty Creativity Award in 2018. Additionally,
he was music director and conductor for the Musical Theatre program. During his tenure
he also taught Vocal Pedagogy, Diction, Class Voice, and directed the Women Singers
for four years. He managed the Vocal Arts Laboratory which included Voce Vista Video
Pro. He previously was on faculty at Middle Tennessee State University and Doane University.
Dr. Zink earned a D.M.A. from University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a M.M. from The University
of Illinois, and a B.M. from Bowling Green State University.
Dr. Zink, a baritone, is an experienced performer on stage, in concert, and in recitals. Recently he performed with Knoxville Opera in Mefistofele and sang the role of “Gideon March” in Mark Adamo’s Little Women at Harrower Summer Opera while co-directing the Young Artist Program opera scenes. Other performance history includes operatic roles with Opera New Jersey, Dayton Opera, Nashville Opera, Opera Omaha, Pine Mountain Music Festival, and Opera America’s Series in New York City “Exploring American Voices,” where he was showcased in Michael Ching’s new American a-capella opera A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He has appeared as a guest artist at various institutions in the U.S.A. and enjoyed performances of major oratorios as a soloist.
Particularly fond of song recital he has performed Schubert's Winterreise six times. Three of these performances were with the "Dean of American accompanists" John Wustman who was a major mentor at The University of Illinois.
As an advocate for new works, his published scholarly activity investigates and advances new music in America with composer Tom Cipullo’s America 1968. Recently, Dr. Zink arranged a two-day residency in which Cipullo visited his campus, worked with students and faculty, and attended a performance of his music. In that performance, Dr. Zink performed a newer Cipullo song cycle: An Earth to Walk Upon.
Dr. Zink served as President of Tennessee NATS and his students successfully participated in several auditions, events, and conferences. Some of his former students have gone on to pursue graduate study, are successful music educators, and performers. In 2022 he was a winner of the NATS Emerging Leader Award and recognized at the National Conference in Chicago, IL.
Dr. Ryan R. Fellman is an emerging leader in the field of conducting, holding a recent graduate degree from Michigan State University. Under the mentorship of Drs. David Rayl, Sandra Snow, Jonathan Reed, and Derrick Fox, he served as assistant conductor for several prominent university ensembles including the University Chorale, Choral Union, Singing Spartans, and the Opera Theatre program. His instructional roles included teaching class voice and choral conducting courses to undergraduate music education students. Prior to his tenure at Michigan State, Fellman earned a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from Ithaca College, studying under Dr. Janet Galván. During this time, he co-conducted the IC Campus Chorus and assisted with other distinguished ensembles such as the Treble Chorale, IC Chorus, Madrigal Singers, and Ithaca College Choir.
From 2013 to 2019, he served as the Director of Choirs at Oñate High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico, significantly expanding the program's enrollment and fostering collaborations with notable choral artists and composers. In demand as both a conductor and clinician, Fellman has conducted choirs across Michigan, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Texas, and Wisconsin. He was selected as a conducting fellow for the Chorus America Choral-Orchestral Conducting Academy and has guest conducted Sinfonietta Memphis in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, he was chosen for the inaugural cohort of the Choral Executive Leadership Academy by Chorus America. Fellman's professional engagements also include roles as music director for musical theater productions, community choruses, and church choirs. He holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota, where he sang in The Concordia Choir under the direction of Dr. René Clausen.
Fellman's scholarly pursuits center on his passion for Latin American choral music,
exploring its presentation, performance, and preservation. His research on Mexican
choral music was highlighted as a featured interest session at the 2023 National ACDA
conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. He is scheduled to present "Adding Strings-Subtracting
Stress" at the upcoming ACDA-MI Fall Conference. Outside of his career, Fellman enjoys
traveling and spending time with his beautiful Heeler-Lab companion, Shadow.
