Illinois State University Civic Chorale

If you have any questions please email Prof. Koch: [email protected]. See you next week!

ISU Civic Chorale's first rehearsal of 2024 will be Monday January 22nd at 7PM in the ISU Center for Performing Arts Concert Hall. Free parking is available in the School St. garage located at the intersection of School St and Beaufort St on the SE corner of the ISU campus. Entrance to the concert hall is at the end of the cul-de-sac on the west side. Our spring concert is planned for Saturday April 20 at 7PM in the concert hall with our final rehearsal on Friday April 19th from 7-930PM. All rehearsals, unless otherwise arranged, will be in the concert hall. Weekly rehearsals are Monday nights at 7PM.

We will be performing British composer Jonathan Willcocks' MAGNIFICAT, an energetic and rhythmic work of about 30 minutes accompanied by the magnificent Dennis Gotkowski on the organ! The concert will also include 4 choral settings by a young and upcoming Canadian/American-born composer Nicholas Ryan Kelly. NO AUDITION NEEDED!

Contact: Prof. Koch: [email protected] for details.

Our amazing soloists!!

Another angle of this great choir and amazing soloists!

Dress Rehearsal for the Messiah is going beautiful! Don't miss this concert on Sunday November 12 @ 3:00pm

Watch the performance here on livestream:

CPA - Music, Illinois State University - YouTube This is the channel for the Center for the Performing Arts' Concert Hall, located at Illinois State University. It is the primary channel for streaming perfo...

Meet our bass soloist Patrick Scully!
Patrick Scully is a Chinese-American bass from New York, NY. Patrick receivedhis Bachelor of Music degree from the University of North Carolina School of theArts and his Master of Music degree from Northwestern University. His recentengagements have included roles with MIOpera (Sergeant of Police, The Piratesof Penzance), St. Petersburg Opera (Rocco cover/First Prisoner, Fidelio), LightOpera of New Jersey (Masetto, Don Giovanni), Teatro Grattacielo (Masetto, DonGiovanni; Sansone, Giulietta e Romeo) and Sarasota Opera (Caporal, La Fille duRegiment). Patrick currently lives in Chicago, IL.

Meet our tenor soloist Macauley Allen!
Tenor Macauley Allen made his MIOpera debut as Fenton in their 2016 production of Verdi’s Falstaff. As a MIOpera Resident Artist, Macauley has sung roles such as El Remendado in Bizet's Carmen, Count Almaviva in Rossini’s Il Barbiere di Siviglia, the Duke of Mantua in Verdi’s Rigoletto (online role study), King Kaspar in Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, and Rolf in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The Sound of Music, among many others. During MIOpera’s summer 2023 season, Macauley starred as Frederic in Gilbert & Sullivan’s The Pirates of Penzance. He can also be spotted in MIOpera’s motion picture version of Verdi’s La Traviata as Gastone. In addition to his MIOpera credits, Macauley performed several roles while earning his degrees at Illinois State University, including Ferrando in Mozart’s Cosi fan tutte and Rinuccio in Puccini’s Gianni Schicchi.

Macauley is a student of MIOpera’s General Director, Professor John Koch.

Meet our alto soloist Sidney Megeff!

Mezzo-soprano Sidney Megeff is a MIOpera Resident Artist. She performed the roles of Rosina (The Barber of Seville) and Flora (La Traviata: The Motion Picture) during MIOpera’s inaugural season as a professional company.

In 2022, Sidney appeared as Mercedes in MIOpera’s production of Carmen, for which she also covered the titular role. Last holiday season, Sidney was the alto soloist in Vivaldi’s Gloria with the Normal First United Methodist Church choir. In March 2023, she was featured in the Peoria Riverfront Recital and Dialogue Series, singing arias as part of the museum’s Art of Opera poster exhibit. Most recently, Sidney performed with MIOpera as "piratical maid-of-all-work” Ruth in The Pirates of Penzance.

Sidney holds a Bachelor of Music Education and master’s degrees in Voice Performance and Choral Conducting, all from Illinois State University. In addition, she holds a Master of Science in Management from the Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois.

Sidney currently works at Parkland College in Champaign, Illinois as an academic advisor.

Meet our soprano soloist Madison King!
Madison King received her Bachelor of Vocal Performance (2014) and Master of Vocal Performance (2016) from Pittsburg State University. Under the instruction of Mr. Patrick Howle, she performed Pamina in The Magic Flute, Josephine in HMS Pinafore, Serpina in La Serva Padrona, and Adina in The Elixir of Love. Madison was a member of the Tulsa Opera chorus (2015-18) under the leadership of Lyndon Meyer, and Tulsa Opera’s Filstrup Young Artist Outreach program (2018-2020). She performed with Landlocked Opera in Kansas City as Pamina in Die Zauberflöte and Hèro in Beatrice et Benedict in 2020. Mrs. King enjoyed participating in summer programs including Manhattan Summer Opera, Chicago Summer Opera, and Midwest Institute of Opera. During these programs, she had the opportunity to study and perform the roles of Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Susanna in Le nozze di figaro, First Knitter in A Game of Chance, and Edith in Pirates of Penzance. With MIOpera, Madison understudied the role of Antonia in Les contes d’Hoffmann (2018), and participated in their virtual role studies as Violetta in La Traviata (2020) and Gilda in Rigoletto (2021). She had the pleasure of starring as Violetta Valery in MIOpera’s first film production of La Traviata in 2021 and as Micaela in their 2022 production of Carmen. In 2022, Madison performed as the soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah with the Missouri Southern State Symphony Orchestra, scenes from Dvorak’s Rusalka in collaboration with Heartland Opera Theatre and Missouri Southern State University, and in Michael Ching’s Remove Shoes Before Entering. In 2023, Mrs. King performed with the Illinois Symphony Orchestra in their concert, Scintillating Shakespeare, as Juliette, Desdemona and Maria. She then made her company and role debut as Donna Anna in Ozarks Lyric Opera’s production of Don Giovanni; and with Lawrence Opera Theatre as Micaela in Carmen and Lola in Gallantry. Upcoming engagements include Soprano soloist in Handel’s Messiah (Nov. 2023), Juliette: Romeo et Juliette (2024), and Soprano soloist in Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass (2024)
When Madison is not performing, she collaborates with Heartland Opera Theatre in Joplin, Missouri as a music and stage director. She directed their 2022 production of Amahl and the Night Visitors and is currently directing their upcoming production of Humperdinck’s Hansel and Gretel. Madison has also directed several cabaret productions with Heartland Opera.
Madison resides in Carthage, Missouri with her husband, son and daughter. She teaches a private voice studio where several of her students perform regularly in school and local productions. Mrs. King is also an adjunct vocal instructor at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, Missouri where she teaches voice, vocal pedagogy, diction, and recently was the music director for the Fall production of Guys and Dolls.

Sunday November 12 @ 3pm
ISU Center for the Performing Arts Concert Hall

Get your ticket here! https://goredbirds.evenue.net/cgi-bin/ncommerce3/SEGetEventInfo?ticketCode=GS%3AISU%3AARTS24%3ASOM1112D%3A&linkID=illinoisst&shopperContext=&pc=&caller=&appCode=&groupCode=ARTSSOM&cgc=&dataAccId=798&locale=en_US&siteId=ev_illinoisst

The ISU Civic Chorale is looking for new members! Do you love singing in a group, meeting new people and learning new music? Then this is the group for you! No audition required! Civic Chorale meets every Monday night at 7:00pm to 9:00pm starting Monday January 23 until our concert on Friday April 14 @ 7:00pm, at the Center for the Performing Arts at Illinois State University!! Any questions please contact our director Prof. John Koch: [email protected]!

Prof. Koch's email is currently down if you need to reach him please do so by his office phone 309-438-2472! Have a great day!

Get your tickets: mioblono.booktix.com
Web site: miopera.net
MIOpera's stunning production of Bizet's Carmen opens this weekend (Saturday July 30 @ 7:00pm and Sunday July 31 @ 3:00pm) in Bloomington-Normal at the Heartland Community College Astroth Community Auditorium! Experience the drama, passion and music that makes Carmen one of the top operas of all time! Sung in French with English supertitles and accompanied by the MIOpera Festival Orchestra! Professional Opera Theatre is back in Central Illinois! Can't make it this weekend in Bloomington-Normal? See the same exceptional production in Peoria, Illinois at the gorgeous Scottish Rite Theatre on August 6 @ 7:00pm. Nominated as one of the Top 5 Live Theatre Venues in Central Illinois by the 2022 Pantagraph's Best of Reader's Choice Awards, MIOpera is emerging as one of the best regional venues for classical Musical Theater, Operetta and of course, Opera!

An amazing evening night!
Central Illinois' only arts organization performing professional opera!
Tickets: mioblono.booktix.com
The most popular opera of all time!
All are obsessed with Carmen, the captivating and sensual gypsy, except for repressed corporal Don José. He has received a letter from his mother via Micaëla, a woman from his hometown, urging that he return home and marry Micaëla. However, when Carmen is arrested for a street fight, José is ordered to guard Carmen. She gives him a private dance and he is captivated…
Carmen asks José to prove his love by running away with her – he refuses, but when jealousy over Carmen causes him to attack a senior officer, José is left with no choice but to desert his post.
The pair become involved in smuggling, but by now, Carmen has grown tired of his possessiveness and turned instead to the swaggering Escamillo. But can see into the future that José’s and her fates are sealed…..

Due to containing Covid-19 concerns, the ISU chorale has decided to postpone its Patty Foltz Tribute Concert until a later date.
Thank you!

Seeking chorus singers for MIOpera's December Production of Menotti's Amahl and the Night Visitors! Please email [email protected] if you are interested!! A small stipend will be paid to those who participate!

Our friends at MIOpera need your help!

MIOpera is seeking home stays for our fabulous artists July 25 through August 8. They will need a private bedroom and bathroom! Our artists are respectful, fun and very talented! Please let me know if you can open your home to these wonderful artists!! Housing our artists include free tickets to the shows! Contact me at [email protected] for details or text me at 309-838-9011! Many thanks for considering!!