OBU Announces Music Class Times, Audition Dates

Oklahoma Baptist University's Preparatory Department will offer a wide range of music activities this fall.

The department will host auditions for vocalists in grades four through 12 in two weeks. Auditions for the Shawnee Honor Choir, Concert Choir, and Chamber Ensemble are Aug. 19-23 from 3-5 p.m. in the university's Raley Chapel. For more information or to set up an alternate audition date, contact Conchita Hansford, director of OBU's Preparatory Department, at 405-878-2319 or 405-273-2273.

Four choirs are available for various age groups. Students will audition in order of arrival and do not need to prepare anything to sing. Tuition fee is $55 per semester or $110 for the year.

OBU Preparatory Department choirs and their meeting times and places are:

Shawnee Honor Choir: fourth- through sixth-graders, Tuesdays, 3:30-5 p.m., Raley Chapel.

Concert Choir: seventh- through ninth-graders, Mondays, 4:30-6:30 p.m., Raley Chapel.

High School Chamber Ensemble: 10th- through 12th graders, Mondays, 5-6 p.m., Raley Chapel.

Training Choir: (non-auditioned) second- through sixth-graders, Tuesdays, 5-6 p.m., Raley Chapel.

The Preparatory Department also offers music readiness classes, including piano and voice, and a variety of private lessons. The program draws children, students, and adults from central Oklahoma.

Classes and their meeting times and places include:

Kindermusik: newborns, toddlers, and 3 to 5-year-olds, Mondays, 10 a.m , Ford Music Hall.

Music Readiness: 2-year-olds, Mondays,11 a.m., Ford Music Hall; 3-year-olds, Wednesdays, 10 a.m. Ford Music Hall; and 4 and 5-year-olds, Thursdays, 11 a.m., Ford Music Hall.

Keyboard Readiness: 5 and 6-year-olds, Tuesdays, 5-5:50 p.m., Raley Chapel.

Keyboard Concepts: second and third-graders, Mondays, 3:15 to 4:15 p.m., Raley Chapel.

Keyboards and Computers, String Ensemble, Class Voice and Vocal Discovery classes also will be offered for a variety of ages this fall. In addition, traditional private lessons in piano, voice, organ, violin, cello, and guitar will be available.

In its 18th year, OBU's Preparatory Department, a program of the Warren M. Angell College of Fine Arts, is the largest department of its kind in the state, with more than 300 students presently enrolled in the program. It has served as a model for other universities in developing similar programs.

Nine of the teachers in the preparatory department program are full-time OBU faculty members. In addition to OBU faculty and adjunct faculty members, the department has six student teachers.

For additional information about classes or to set up alternate audition times, contact Hansford at 405-878-2319 or 405-273-2273.