GCSU Choral Ensembles

Our choral ensembles are open to students, faculty/staff, and community members. Whether you’ve sung in a choir before or are just discovering your voice, if you love to sing, we’d love to have you join us.

Who Can Participate?

Students (music majors/minors and non-majors alike)
GCSU faculty and staff
Community members

Course Details

Credit: 1 academic credit
Meeting Time: 2½ hours per week
No audition required for most ensembles

Experience Level

All skill levels welcome
No prior choral experience necessary
Just bring your love of singing

Registration & Auditions

Unauditioned Ensembles: Students may register directly through PAWS during the regular registration period.
Max Noah Singers (Auditions required): For audition dates, repertoire, and requirements, please see the Max Noah Singers audition sign-up here.

Faculty/Staff & Community Members: For enrollment procedures and fees, please visit this page.

Contact Information

If you have any questions, please email Dr. Jennifer Flory at jennifer.flory@gcsu.edu. We look forward to making music with you!

Max Noah Singers is our premier auditioned ensemble, dedicated to exploring a wide spectrum of choral literature—from Renaissance madrigals and motets to cutting-edge contemporary works. Membership is open by audition to all members of the university community.

Auditions & Rehearsals

Audition Dates: August 18 and August 20
Learn about and sign up for your audition slot here: MNS Audition Registration

Rehearsal Schedule & Location

Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays
1-1:50 p.m.
Choral Room, Music Rehearsal Hall

Repertoire & Mission

Emphasis on stylistic breadth: early music, Romantic motets, 20th- and 21st-century compositions
Blend of rigorous classical programming with themed popular-music presentations
Focus on vocal artistry, ensemble precision, and expressive storytelling

Concert Styles

Collaborative classical concerts with University Chorus and Women’s Ensemble
Themed evenings featuring popular solos and small ensembles (e.g., Valentine’s Day Rendezvous)
Dynamic stage design and seasonal programming

Annual December Tour

Max Noah Singers typically embarks on a combined performance, recruitment, and outreach tour each December.
2025 Tour Dates: Sunday, December 14 through Wednesday, December 17.

National and International Performances

Berlin & Prague, June 2025
Carnegie Hall, New York City, May 2018
Budapest & Vienna, May 2016

Contact

For more information, repertoire questions, or tour details, please contact Dr. Jennifer Flory at
jennifer.flory@gcsu.edu.

Sign up to audition for Max Noah Singers

University Chorus is a non-auditioned choral ensemble open to all members of the university community. Whether you’re a music major or new to reading music, if you enjoy singing, UC welcomes your voice.

Who Can Participate?

All students (regardless of major or music-reading experience)
GCSU faculty and staff
Community members

Rehearsal Schedule & Location

Mondays and Wednesdays
3:30–4:45 p.m.
Choral Room, Music Rehearsal Hall

Repertoire & Mission

Broad survey of choral literature across all periods and styles
Blend of traditional masterworks with accessible contemporary pieces
Featured masterworks:

Karl Orff's Carmina Burana
George Shearing's Songs and Sonnets
Ralph Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music

Emphasis on ensemble unity, vocal health, and expressive communication

Contact Information

For questions or more details, please reach out to Dr. Jennifer Flory at
jennifer.flory@gcsu.edu.

Women’s Ensemble is open to all treble-voiced members of the university community. This non-auditioned choir explores music of every period and style, focusing on repertoire written or arranged for high voices.

Who Can Participate?

Students with soprano or alto voices
GCSU faculty and staff with treble voices
Community singers in the treble range

Rehearsal Schedule & Location

Tuesdays and Thursdays

3:30–4:45 p.m.
Choral Room, Music Rehearsal Hall

Repertoire & Mission

Survey of choral literature for treble voices from Renaissance to modern
Featured works:

Kim André Arnesen’s “Love’s Onward Journey”
Excerpts from Amy Beach’s Three Flower Songs

Emphasis on vocal technique, blend, and expressive storytelling

Contact Information

For questions or more details, email Dr. Dana Gorzelany-Mostak at dana.gorzelany@gcsu.edu.

Dr. Jennifer Morgan Flory

Dr. Jennifer Flory has served as Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at GCSU since August 2005. She conducts both the University Chorus and the auditioned Max Noah Singers, and teaches courses in choral and vocal music education as well as conducting. Dr. Flory made her Carnegie Hall debut in 2018, presenting two world premieres. She has commissioned new choral works from composers such as Emma Lou Diemer, David Hamilton, and Carrie Magin, and premiered each piece with GCSU ensembles. As a guest conductor, she leads honor choirs and adjudicates for LGPE and Literary events. Since 2006, Flory has been Director of Music at First Presbyterian Church in Milledgeville and frequently appears as a mezzo-soprano soloist in the region. Her passion for community choral outreach enriches both campus and local audiences.

Honors & Awards

GCSU Craig M. Turner Excellence in University Service Award (2025)
GCSU Arts & Sciences Excellence in University Service Award (2025)
GCSU Bobcat Award for Service to Students (2024)
Society for American Music Hampsong Education Fellowship in American Song with Dana Gorzelany-Mostak (2023)
Higher Education Resource Services (HERS) Leadership Institute Institutional Representative (2023)
GCSU Women's Leadership Faculty Fellows Program (2022-2023)
GCSU Academic Affairs Small Grant (2022) with Dana Gorzelany-Mostak
Phi Kappa Phi (2022)
Noteworthy Performance Post-Tenure Review recognizing excellence in service, leadership, mentorship, and research (2021)
Governor’s Teaching Fellow (2014)
Omicron Delta Kappa (2014)
Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges’ Charles Dunn Award for exceptional mentorship (2018)
Honorary Life Member of Tri-M (2011)

Education

Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Music Education, Otterbein College (now University)

Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting, University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music

Dr. Dana Gorzelany-Mostak

Dana Gorzelany-Mostak is a Professor of Music at Georgia College & State University. She is a musicologist by profession and teaches various music history courses, including Music History I & II, American Music, Studies in World Music, and American Music and Politics, as well as conducts Women’s Ensemble and Music Theatre Scenes. She was awarded the 2024 College of Arts & Sciences and University Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Endeavors Awards and the Dean Thomas F. Armstrong Faculty Award.

Her research on popular music and electoral politics appears in Music & Politics, the Journal of the Society for American Music, the Journal of Popular Music Studies, and American Music. Gorzelany-Mostak is the founder of Trax on the Trail, a website and research project that tracks and catalogues the soundscapes of American presidential campaigns. She has provided her expert opinion for news outlets such as the BBC, Politico, The Washington Post, The Guardian, Variety, Pacific Standard, Inverse, and The Boston Herald. Her 2023 book, Tracks on the Trail: Popular Music, Race, and the US Presidency (University of Michigan Press), analyzes the official and unofficial musical activity surrounding 21st-century presidential campaigns and sheds light on how the racialization of sound intersects with other markers of difference, thus shaping the public discourse surrounding candidates, popular music, and the meanings attached to race in the 21st century.

Student Directors

Each choir at GCSU is led and taught by tenured, full-time faculty members. Supporting them are upper-class music majors—typically choral music precertification minors—who have completed or are enrolled in Introduction to Conducting and Advanced Choral Conducting. These student directors play an integral role in our ensembles, bridging classroom learning with real-world leadership.

Selection & Internship Program

Students submit an application and audition to become a Student Director intern.
Internships are part of GC Journeys’ transformative learning experiences and count as high-impact practices.
Faculty directors mentor and supervise each intern, integrating these roles directly with conducting and choral music education courses.

Mentorship & High-Impact Learning

Under faculty guidance, student directors develop essential skills through every stage of ensemble leadership:

Refining conducting gestures
Practicing teaching pedagogy
Enhancing communication skills
Deepening artistic expression via repertoire selection, rehearsal planning, concert performance, and reflective practice

Career Outcomes

Our Student Director alumni have embarked on diverse professional paths:

Choir directors and music educators in elementary, middle, and high schools
Church music directors and community ensemble leaders
Graduate study in choral conducting, music education, and vocal performance
Tenure-track positions in higher education—examples include Shelley Sanderson and Bradley Sowell, who earned doctorates and serve on college faculties

Program Legacy & Strategic Alignment

Now in its 21st year, the Student Director mentoring program embodies the “innovate” pillar of Imagine 2030. By offering hands-on leadership, pedagogical training, and reflective practice, it continues to shape tomorrow’s choral music educators.