The Chatham Choir serves as the Greek chorus to campus life: welcoming first years at Opening Convocation and serenading seniors at Closing Convocation. Filling Welker Room with bold jazz and thrilling musical theater numbers at Cabaret. Crooning carols over flickering flames at Candlelight. The choir is the soundtrack to four years on Woodland Road, and Professor Conner ensures that every member is heard. As the Director of Choral Activities, she coordinates everything from song choices to chapel decorations. And while her work deeply influences the soul of our campus, her coaching seizes the potential in each student.
Singing – onstage or in a practice room – is intimidating. Some Cougars enter undergrad with a repertoire of polished pieces. Others only shout songs in the shower. Professor Conner’s job is to help them hone the gifts they have, whether as part of an ensemble or in a private coaching session. She coaxes out confidence and teases out trust. For countless Chatham vocalists, she has a foundational influence on their music education. And for that, she has us singing her praises.
Find which graduate program Professor Conner chose, what she loves about performing professionally and why she believes every Chatham student has a place in the choir.
Her Campus Chatham: When did you know you wanted to pursue music professionally?
Professor Conner: In high school I was an active member of the choir, musical/theater, and broadcasting programs. I knew that I wanted to make these programs part of my career, so I chose to major in music education and vocal performance.
After studying Music Education and Vocal Performance in college, how did you choose a graduate program?
When it came to graduate programs, I was deciding between choral conducting and vocal performance. My love for music began with singing, and I realized that I wanted to take my singing to the next level. My college was not large – it had about 2,500 undergraduate students – and I knew that I didn’t want a program where I would “just be a number”, so I chose smaller graduate voice programs. I ended up at Duquesne University where I received a teaching assistantship for the music education program. I assisted in teaching the course “Voice for Music Educators” and taught group voice lessons on “How to sing and teach singing”.
It’s important in the performing arts that you leave graduate school with roles and experience for your resume, so choosing a smaller program provides you the opportunity to perform roles, solos and achieve resume builders.
What is the biggest difference between studying music as an undergraduate and as a graduate student?
As a graduate music student you are expected to be prepared, know your music, vocal part, and translations before each lesson. No one teaches the music to you, you have to come to lessons and coachings with your music learned. Vocal lessons and vocal coachings revolve around strengthening technique, and taking the musicality to the next level.
You work on 10-12 songs a semester, as well as concerts and opera performances; all of this music must be memorized, so your ability to learn, master, and memorize is very important.
What tips do you have for students who want to pursue vocal music professionally?
Grow a strong backbone. You will go to hundreds of auditions, receive critique and criticism left and right.
Build your resume, dress professionally, and love your art!
You have extensive experience as a professional singer. What do you love most about being onstage?
I love the moment when I’ve mastered the song or role, and can now share the story with the listener. There’s a magic in music; it sucks the listener in and makes them a part of the story.
Conner (right) in costume for Pittsburgh Opera’s 2015 production of Carmen.
How did you come to Chatham?
The first time I came to Chatham, I worked as the choral director and vocal teacher for Chatham’s Summer Music Arts Day Camp. I did this for two summers before I came upon the job posting for College Choral Director. As [is the case for] most musicians, I was performing and teaching adjunct at a few universities, and schools. I came upon the job posting in the [Pittsburgh] Post-Gazette and applied.
What is a typical day on campus like for you?
My day begins with applied voice lessons, office time, and ends with two hours of choir rehearsal.
You teach a number of private lessons each week. Why should students consider investing in one-on-one vocal coaching?
Voice lessons are great therapy. Whether you love to sing for fun, sing in a choir, or are studying voice; singing is your body’s natural form of exercise. I like to design my teaching style around technique, of course, but also with what makes the singer tick.
As the Director of Choral Activities, what advice do you have for students who plan to audition in the fall?
The choral program is changing along with the University, so I will not be holding an audition, but rather, a voice placement. At this voice placement, singers will be vocalizing (singing some warm-ups) and participating in some part-singing.
No preparation necessary, just show up and sing.
Chatham Choir will be a co-ed choir, open to undergraduate and graduate men and women.
The Chatham Choir performing at Candlelight 2014.
The Chatham Choir performs at campus events from Cabaret to Candlelight. How do you choose the songs each year?
I begin choosing the concert repertoire in June, after the year wraps up.
Choosing the repertoire depends upon the vocal ability and singing range of the choir, as well as genres of music. The Chatham Choir students assist in the choice of the Cabaret songs.
The Choir is preparing for their Spring Concert and goes on tour to Wexford and Latrobe. What can audience members expect?
The audience members can expect beautiful, inspirational music.
The choir sounds terrific, and the music selections take you on a poetic journey through nature and life. To name some examples, we perform a selection based on a poem by E.E. Cummings “as is the sea marvelous”, another poem reflecting the awesomeness of spring blooming, and a poem “Dirait-on” from the cycle Les chansons de le rose by Rainer Maria Rilke about the beauty of the rose.
The Chatham Choir will be performing a total of five concerts this spring tour season.
What is the biggest lesson you’ve learned from working with college vocalists?
Every college program is different, and every college vocalist is different. But we all come together for one reason: the love of music and expressing this love through song.
What do you love most about working at Chatham?
This is the completion of my 7th year at Chatham. Chatham is a wonderful place to work. The campus is beautiful, the students, faculty, and staff are friendly and supportive, and invested in this University.
The Chatham Choir performs their Spring Concert on Sunday, April 19 at 7 p.m. in the Campbell Memorial Chapel. The choir performs at Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Wexford on Sunday, April 26 at 1:30 p.m. before joining with the St. Vincent College Singers in a concert at the Robert S. Carey Student Center Performing Arts Center in Latrobe on Monday, April 27 at 7 p.m. All three shows are free and open to the public.
Conner conducting at Candlelight 2014.