A study of the continuum of choral singing from secondary choral programs to selected higher education choral programs in Indiana

The purpose of this study was to examine the continuum of choral singing from secondary choral organizations to choral organizations at selected higher education institutions in Indiana. Examined were two large state institutions and two private, liberal arts colleges. Two groups of college students who had high school choral experience were surveyed: 1. non-participants, and 2. participants. Participants in choral ensembles made up 1.33% of the total enrollments of the institutions studied. Thirty four percent of the selected students had high school choral experience. Choral ensemble participants' responses to a questionnaire were compared with non-participants' responses. The state institutions' student responses were compared to the liberal arts institutions' student responses.There do not appear to be universal reasons for students to continue or not continue singing in choral ensembles. The reasons appear to vary with the individual student and institution. However, there were trends observed. Students perceived themselves as being well enough prepared to participate in higher education choral ensembles. There is a discrepancy between the expectations of the college conductors and the students' evaluation of their preparedness. Literature appears to be a highly significant factor in the interest of all respondents. Students preferred to sing all types of music. Neither participants nor non-participants reported that classical literature was the focus of their high school choral programs. Participants perceive that the university is interested in them, while non-participants reported negative responses. Private respondents felt that the university was interested in their participation in choral ensembles more than public respondents. Many students decide before arriving on the higher education campus whether or not they will participate in college choral ensembles. The amount of credit given for singing in ensembles or academic loads seem to be a minor factor. It appears that parents do influence choral participation.Private institutions have a larger percentage of their populations participating in choral ensembles than do public institutions. The higher involvement of liberal arts college students in choral ensembles may be explained by the department's need for adequate manpower and the personalized recruiting policies. The personality of the conductor was important to the students surveyed.School of MusicThesis (D.A.