Amy Poppinga

“SDSU has a magnificent music program, and it needs to be recognized,” said Professor Laura Diddle-Hildebrant.

The University Women’s Ensemble has received that recognition, as they were chosen to perform during the North Central American Choral Directors Association Convention in Fargo, ND, on March 7.

This is the first time that the University Women’s Ensemble has been invited to perform at a conference.

The choir will perform during the Spiritual Traditions concert, which also features the Concordia Choir and the Choral Arts Ensemble from Rochester, Minn. The concert will use Native American, Jewish and Christian themes to represent the ideas of creation, life and the afterlife, according to the North Central Divison’s Web site.

The University Women’s Ensemble will sing “Let All the World in Every Corner Sing,” “Miserere mei Deus,” “Sing Me to Heaven” and “Watane,” an Iroquois lullaby that features such sound effects as birds, rustling leaves and rain.

Being chosen to perform at the convention is like playing in the Sweet Sixteen and puts the ensemble on par with other schools known for their music programs like St. Olaf College and Luther College, said Diddle-Hildebrant.

She believes the SDSU choir was picked due to the variety of repertoire on the application CD and the ensemble’s unique and strong big festival choir sound. She said the choir’s sound is nicely rounded by the powerful second alto section, making the sound not tinny or piercing, which is a common problem for women’s choirs.

“I think they were very excited to see an ensemble from South Dakota that is of such high quality,” she said.

Since the University Women’s Ensemble is performing at this year’s convention, they will not be eligible to audition for the next North Central convention. Still, Diddle-Hildebrant said, “You can bet we’ll try out for 2012 in Wisconsin!”