Temple University Choirs have enjoyed a rich tradition of excellence under the batons of some of Philadelphia's most prominent conductors. Between the 1940s and 1980s the combined choirs performed annually with The Philadelphia Orchestra, and since 2002 have collaborated annually with the Temple University Symphony Orchestra at the Kimmel Cultural Campus. All choirs are open to Temple students of all majors by audition. Singing Owls is open to members of the community, in addition to students.

Temple Choirs embrace both standard choral works and contemporary music from all around the world. In 1967, under the preparation of Robert Page and the baton of Eugene Ormandy, the choirs performed Carl Orff’s Catulli Carmina with The Philadelphia Orchestra, a performance that tied with Leonard Bernstein’s Mahler’s Symphony No. 8 for that year’s Grammy Award for Best Classical Choral Performance (Other Than Opera). In 2015, the Concert Choir and members of the University Singers joined The Philadelphia Orchestra and Westminster Symphonic Chorus for a four-performance run of Bernstein's MASS under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. More recent engagements include invited conference performances for the National Collegiate Choral Organization and American Choral Directors Association Eastern Division, as well as a performance of Bach motets with special guest conductor Helmuth Rilling.

Temple’s choirs have enjoyed leadership by some of the profession’s finest musicians, including Elaine Brown, founder of Singing City in Philadelphia; the late Robert Page; and Professor Emeritus Alan Harler, winner of Chorus America's Michael Korn Founders Award for Development of the Professional Choral Art. Dr. Paul Rardin, Elaine Brown Chair of Choral Music, currently oversees Temple Choirs.

Watch the 2016 performance of Orff's Carmina Burana at the Kimmel Cultural Campus.

Dr. Paul Rardin, conductor
Members selected by audition

Praised for "professional musicianship" and "rich, free sound" (Boston Music Intelligencer), the Temple University Concert Choir (TUCC) has enjoyed a regional and national reputation for excellence and versatility. The choir is comprised of undergraduate and graduate students and performs some of the great masterworks of the choral and choral/orchestral canon in addition to new American choral music. The TUCC has presented many first Philadelphia performances, including Robert Moran's Hagoromo, Alfred Schnittke's Requiem, Arvo Pärt's Passio Nostri Jesu Christi Secundum Joannem, Eriks Ešenvalds's Three Teasdale Poems and Donald McCullough's Song of the Shulamite.

The Concert Choir has also been Temple's choral ambassador in the United States and abroad. Under the direction of Alan Harler the ensemble earned invitations to perform at the National and Eastern Division conferences of the American Choral Directors Association in 1995, 2000, 2004, and 2008, at the inaugural conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in 2006, and at Alice Tully Hall with Manhattan Concert Productions in 2013. It has performed across the United States as well as China, Hong Kong, Venezuela, and Puerto Rico, and has sung for some of the world's great conductors, including Eugene Ormandy, Riccardo Muti, Leopold Stokowski, Klaus Tennstedt, Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Krzysztof Penderecki, Hellmuth Rilling and Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

The Concert Choir and members of the University Singers joined The Philadelphia Orchestra and Westminster Symphonic Choir for a four-performance run of Bernstein's MASS in April 2015 under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin. Engagements for 2015-2016 included invited conference performances for the National Collegiate Choral Organization and American Choral Directors Association Eastern Division, as well as a performance of Bach motets with special guest conductor Helmuth Rilling.

Since 2013, the Concert Choir has produced three recordings on the BCM&D label: Northern Lights (2015), featuring the music of Latvian composer Eriks Ešenvalds; That Music Always Round Me (2014), featuring original jazz compositions by Garry Dial and Dick Oatts; and Waken the Dawn (2013), featuring words and music by African-American composers and poets. The ensemble's recording of William Averitt's Afro-American Fragments, the featured composition of Waken the Dawn, was praised by the composer as "absolutely superb from start to finish."

The choir has performed under the distinctive leadership of Elaine Brown, Robert Page, and Alan Harler, and since 2011 has been conducted by Paul Rardin.

Members selected by audition

The Graduate Conductors Chorus is an ensemble of 24 members selected from the Concert Choir by competitive audition. The choir is conducted by MM Choral Conducting students and presents a recital every six weeks under the direction of a different conductor. Members receive tuition assistance each semester and are held to a high standard of sight-reading and musical preparation. The ensemble focuses on concerted and a cappella choral literature from the Renaissance to present day.

Recital Chorus is a volunteer ensemble of 20-40 members recruited by MM Choral Conducting students. The ensemble presents a recital every six weeks under the direction of a different conductor and is noted for spirited performances of works from the classical, folk and world traditions.

Dr. Rollo Dilworth, conductor

The Singing Owls joined the roster of Temple choirs for the first time in Fall 2014. Singing Owls is a mixed choir comprised of Temple University students, faculty, staff and alumni, as well as members of the greater Philadelphia community. The ensemble's primary goal is to create a dynamic and inclusive singing community through the appreciation and performance of music from diverse places, cultures, styles and time periods. The ensemble performs twice each semester and is open to all without audition. Complimentary musicianship and voice classes are available 30 minutes prior to each rehearsal.

In April 2015, Singing Owls welcomed noted singer, composer and song-leader Dr. Ysaye Barnwell to campus for a residency. Barnwell coached the ensemble on several of her compositions, after whose performance she led an enthralled audience in a community sing. In April 2016, Singing Owls joined the other Temple choirs and the Temple University Symphony Orchestra to perform Carl Orff's Carmina Burana at the Kimmel Cultural Campus. Later that same month, the choir welcomed the Sister Cities Girlchoir, under the direction of Kendra Balmer, as special guests for their spring concert.

Dr. Dustin Cates, conductor

Members must take a placement audition at the beginning of the semester. 

The University Chorale is a choir of tenor-bass voices representing a wide range of majors within the Boyer College and across the University. The Chorale, originally titled Music Education Chorus, formed as a result of the merger of the Men's Glee Club and Women's Glee Club in the 1960s. The ensemble was conducted for many years by Temple Professor Emerita Janet Yamron until her retirement in 2009, and took part in the 1967 Grammy-winning performance of Carl Orff's Catulli Carmina with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

The Chorale performs repertoire from diverse styles, time periods, cultures and perspectives. In recent years special emphasis on contemporary American music, including works by Eugene Rogers, Eric William Barnum, Craig Hella Johnson, Jeffery Ames, Andrea Ramsey and Jacob Narverud.

Dr. Mitos Andaya Hart, conductor
Members must take a placement audition at the beginning of the semester

University Singers is a mixed choir of students representing a wide range of majors within the Boyer College and across the University. The choir performs frequently on and off campus, and participates in the annual combined-choir and orchestra concerts at the Kimmel Cultural Campus. The University Singers took part in the 1967 Grammy-winning performance of Carl Orff's Catulli Carmina with The Philadelphia Orchestra.

The University Singers have served regularly as musical ambassadors to the greater Philadelphia community, performing in recent years at the Historic St. George's Church, Rutgers University-Camden, and other venues. The Singers perform a diverse sampling of repertoire from many different times and traditions. Founded in the 1960s and enjoying decades worth of loyal alumni, the ensemble has sung under the expert musical leadership of Gail Poch, Tram Sparks, and Jeffrey Cornelius.

Guest composer/performers in recent years have included Ola Gjeilo and Darius Brubeck, and the ensemble has been joined in rehearsal and performance by the ensembles Amarcord and Magnificat. Members of the University Singers joined the Concert Choir, The Philadelphia Orchestra, and Westminster Symphonic Choir for a four-performance run of Bernstein's MASS in April 2015 under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

Dr. Kathleen Shannon, conductor
Members must take a placement audition at the beginning of the semester

University Voices is a mixed choir of treble-voice singers representing a wide range of majors within the Boyer College and across the University. Formed in 2000 (originally as the Women's Chorus) with the intent of expanding Temple Choirs' repertoire, the ensemble performs four times per year on campus as well as with the combined choirs and orchestra for the annual Kimmel Cultural Campus concerts.

University Voices embraces a wide variety of choral music genres and has earned praise for their engaging, emotionally connective, and stylistically informed performances. The ensemble has regularly championed new music, including works by Boyer faculty and students. The choir has also earned acclaim for its regular "flash-mob" performances across campus.