Bisonette Glee Club

The Bisonette Glee Club is planning an exciting 2021-22 academic year. Plans are in the works for performances in the Shawnee area, the wider Oklahoma region, and spring outings to churches and schools in Oklahoma and surrounding states. The group will be singing at the annual Homecoming Musical Gala, the Fall Choral Concert, and the Hanging of the Green performance in early December. A May 3, 2022 concert on the OBU campus will round out the performances for the academic year.

Beginning her first year as the director of the Bisonette Glee Club is Professor Kelsey D’Emilio. D’Emilio is a graduate of Oberlin Conservatory, Westminister Choir College, and the University of Oklahoma.

The Bisonettes were founded in 1954 by Warren M. Angell, former dean of the College of Fine Arts. Membership in the group is by annual audition; this year’s membership includes students from Oklahoma, Texas, Arkansas, Missouri, Colorado, Vermont, and other states. While music majors comprise a large number of the singers, the group is represented by a wide group of non-music majors, including nursing, art, graphic design, biblical languages, psychology, biology, and English.

The group performs at a wide range of campus events and off-campus concerts, including an annual tour of churches and schools. The repertoire of the group represents a wide range of compositional styles in both sacred and secular musical formats as well as showcasing choral standards, traditional numbers and contemporary compositions.

Jack Pearson, former director, has written a book titled O Sing Unto The Lord: A History of the Bisonettes—the Other Glee Club detailing the history of women's glee clubs since 1919 with a year by year history of the Bisonettes since 1954.

Additional information about The Bisonettes, including audition information, concert bookings, and schedule, can be obtained by contacting the director by e-mail at kelsey.demilio@okbu.edu or by calling 405.585.4300.