We are committed to continued support and enhancement sacred music for the community and those who serve as sacred musicians, music educators, performers and composers.

2024 Season Dates

 

Sunday, June 9 @ 7pm

Headliner Baritone, Tyler Morse, accompanied by pianist, Carl Angelo supported by Nathan Snyder, clarinetist, accompanied by pianist, Gabrielle Cook-McIlvenna

 

Sunday, July 14 @ 7pm

Oakland University Chorale, under the direction of Dr. Michael Mitchell

 

Sunday, August 11 @ 7pm

Organist, Ethan Neal

 

Meet the Musicians:

Tyler Morse, baritone, is the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at First United Methodist Church, Midland. Currently, he is obtaining his M.M. Music, Choral Conducting from Oakland University, where he serves as Graduate Assistant to Dr. Mike Mitchell, which includes duties as assistant conductor for Oakland Chorale and University Chorus, as well as Symphony Chorus. Additionally, he is a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate Choral Conducting courses. Prior to beginning his degree at Oakland, Tyler taught for four years in K-12 public education. He holds a degree in Music Education from Saginaw Valley State University. Tyler lives in Saginaw with his wife, Heather, and their beloved pets, Hank and Judson.

 

The Oakland University Chorale is the elite touring choral ensemble in the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, USA. The University has over 20,000 students, and the School of Music, Theatre, and Dance has over 300 major students.  Membership in the Chorale is open to all university students via competitive audition each fall. The Chorale maintains a busy concert schedule including annual appearances with the Oakland Symphony Orchestra at historic Orchestra Hall in Detroit.

The Chorale undertakes a full concert tour of Europe every three years, and has toured domestically to New York, Texas, and throughout Michigan and the Midwest. The choir has performed full concerts and masses at Basilica San Marco in Venice, Peterskirche in Vienna, the Real Circulo de la Amistad in Cordoba, Iglesia San Martin in Segovia, the Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb, the Riverside Church in New York, and as a headliner at the Bled Summer Festival in Slovenia.

The Chorale has appeared at the Palace at Auburn Hills with Sarah Brightman, and in 2015, appeared with the Rolling Stones as part of their Zip Code Tour at Comerica Park in Detroit.

The Chorale has been honored to rehearse and perform with many distinguished musicians, including Morten Lauridsen, Simon Carrington, Eph Ehly, and Stacey Gibbs.  Lauridsen praised the choir for giving “one of the finest performances of my music I have ever heard,” and Gibbs composed his Live a-Humble as a gift to the Chorale. Oakland Chorale alumni have pursued graduate study in music at the leading conservatories in North America, and include multiple finalists and several regional winners of the Metropolitan Opera auditions, a finalist in the Placido Domingo Competition, multiple participants in the ACDA national master class, and two winners of the National Student Auditions at the NATS National Conference. Chorale alumni are also pursuing professional musical careers as singers, conductors, and composers in the US and Europe, and teaching music in schools throughout the US.

Dr. Michael A. Mitchell has been conductor of the Oakland Chorale since 1997.

 

Multi-faceted musician, Ethan Neal has been lauded for his “attentive artistry and unique ability to connect with the deepest parts of the soul”. Ethan is an enthusiastic leader passionate about cultivating creative, meaningful music to inspire joy and love in the hearts of the people he serves. Ethan is based in
Cincinnati and actively performs and teaches as a baritone, organist, and choral conductor throughout the country. As an award-winning opera singer, conductor, composer, pianist, and organist, Ethan has performed for audiences throughout the country including performing for former presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush and international royalty. His recent engagements include work with the Lexington Philharmonic, the Kentucky Symphony Orchestra, the Kentucky Bach Choir, the National Chorale in New York City, the Santa Fe Opera, the Cincinnati Opera, and the England-based professional choral ensemble, Gallicantus. Ethan is a graduate of the University of Kentucky holding degrees in Organ and Choral Music Education and is now pursuing two Master’s degrees at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music under the tutelage of Drs. Joe Miller and Gwendolyn Coleman.