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76th J. Elwood Roberts
Mars Hill University Choral Festival
February 8, 2025
Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh has been Director of Choral Activities at Aurora University since 2010 where she conducts choirs and teaches conducting and related courses. She is the founding director of the Fox Valley Orchestra Chorus and the Fox Chamber Singers and continues that work gratefully. Her experience also includes opera chorus preparation and opera conducting, previously serving as chorus master for North Carolina Opera and Capitol Opera Raleigh. Prior to Aurora University, she served on the faculties of University of Central Missouri and Meredith College. She holds a D.M.A. and two M.M. degrees from the University of Arizona where she studied under Maurice Skones, Thomas Hilbish, Jerry McCoy and Kenneth Jennings. Her B.A. in music education was earned at Luther College, under Weston Noble.
Fredenburgh has served as guest conductor and clinician regionally, nationally, and abroad. She has conducted and taught masterclasses in the Dominican Republic and in Bolivia through the United States Information Service and conducted All-State Choirs in New York, North Carolina, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Georgia. She is an active scholar and presenter in choral techniques and literature, including music of a wide variety of cultures across the globe. She has served as member and officer in music professional organizations.
History of the festival
J. Elwood Roberts – Mars Hill University
CHORAL FESTIVAL
The J. Elwood Roberts – Mars Hill University Choral Festival was established in 1949 by the late J. Elwood Roberts as an effort to improve choral music in the high schools of western North Carolina. While in the beginning the “clinic” was comprised of about fifteen schools in the closely-surrounding area, this annual event has grown into one of the premiere choral festivals in North Carolina and, prior to COVID, was the longest, continuously-running festival of its type in the southeast. Each year over 800 students from approximately 100 high schools audition for the Festival Choir.
In the early years students were selected by their directors to sing in the choral clinic. Quite often, a double quartet from each high school would participate. As the event continued to grow, reaching a size of 400 non-auditioned singers, it was decided that a better format would be to reduce the size to approximately 325 voices and have the singers audition at selected high school sites. This practice was put into effect for the clinic of 1970. After selection, the singers prepare the music and attend one of seven zone rehearsals held in January. With the help of high school zone coordinators this practice has proven very effective.
Guest conductors have included some of the most prominent choral musicians in the United States.
J. Elwood Roberts came to Mars Hill College in 1944. He served the music department in several capacities, most notably as an instructor in music theory. He also directed the choir at Mars Hill Baptist Church. Mr. Roberts died in 1966 at the age of 52.
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Click Here for :
Account of Choral Festival History by Jim Williams