Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU) is set to host the 2024 Ohio Music Education Association (OMEA) District 10 Honors Choir Festival on Saturday, November 2. Participants in the festival must be nominated by their respective music directors.
According to an MVNU news release, talented young vocalists from Ashland, Coshocton, Delaware, Holmes, Knox, Licking, Morrow, and Richland Counties will come together representing 32 schools. The event will feature both high school and middle school honor choirs.
The festival will commence with a morning of intensive instruction and culminate in a final concert at 3:30 p.m. in the R.R. Hodges Chapel Auditorium on the MVNU campus. This concert is free and open to the public as a showcase of the young musicians' talents.
Lisa Wong, the Olive Williams Kettering Professor of Music at The College of Wooster, will direct the high school honors choir. Wong has led the award-winning Wooster chorus on domestic tours and performances at state and regional conferences, premiering 15 new works. She holds degrees from West Chester University and Indiana University Jacobs School of Music and has a 32-year career nurturing musicians. Additionally, she serves as director of Choruses for The Cleveland Orchestra.
Kent W. Vandock will lead the middle school honors choir. Vandock is a teacher on special assignment in the Teaching and Learning Department of Perrysburg Schools with an extensive background in choral direction and vocal music education across various schools. He earned his bachelor's degree in music education from Bowling Green University and a master's degree in music education from the University of Michigan. He also holds an education doctorate in Educational Administration and Leadership from Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Vandock serves as part-time faculty at Northwest State Community College and as an adjunct instructor at BGSU's Masters of Teaching Artistry Program.
Further information about the OMEA Honors Choir Festival can be found online at www.omea-ohio.org/district_10.php. For more details about MVNU, visit mvnu.edu.
