2026 All-State Middle Level ChorusPAGE QUICK LINKS
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ALL-STATE MIDDLE LEVEL CHORUSWhat is the All-State Middle Level Chorus?
2026 ALL-STATE MIDDLE LEVEL CHORUS CONDUCTORDr. Derrick Fox is the Associate Dean of Graduate Studies He has conducted all state and honor choirs and has been in residence at universities across the United States and abroad. He also leads professional development and organizational change initiatives for music focused organizations throughout the United States. His professional educational workshops focus on assessment in the choral classroom, building classroom community and culture, rehearsal strategies, choral conducting techniques and shape note singing in the African American community. Dr. Fox conducted the 2019 National ACDA Middle School/Junior High Mixed Honor Choir and traveled to South Africa as a 2019 ACDA International Conductor Exchange Fellow where he led choral workshops and rehearsals in Johannesburg, Pretoria and Potchefstroom. As a baritone soloist, Dr. Fox has collaborated with various organizations; among them are the Arkansas Symphony, Lansing Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, Columbia Chorale, the University of Nebraska at Omaha, Omaha Symphonic Chorus, University of Missouri, Michigan State University, Webster University and the Espaço Cultural (Brasilia, Brazil). He can be heard singing selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess on the compact disc In This Hid Clearing, available on the Naxos Classical Music label. He most recently the baritone soloist in Vaughan Williams A Sea Symphony with the Michigan State University Symphonic Orchestra and Choral Union. https://www.drderrickfox.com/ 2026 ALL-STATE MIDDLE LEVEL CHORUS REPERTOIREThe 2026 All-State Middle Level Chorus repertoire will be released in Spring 2026. 2026 ALL-STATE MIDDLE LEVEL CHORUS AUDITION MATERIALSMEA will utilize the services of Festival Scores to collect student auditions. Auditions will include:
1. Scale Students will sing a scale a cappella in the key of their choosing on solfege or monosyllables. Teachers may give students their starting pitch. 2. Excerpt Students will sing "My Country Tis of Thee" or "We Shall Overcome" a cappella.* Teachers may give students their starting pitch in the same key as their scale. *If a student is unable to sing either of these songs due to personal reasons, please contact Stacy Bean at [email protected]. 3. Solo Excerpt The solo chosen by the student and/or director should reflect the voice part for which the student is auditioning and must be 40-60 seconds in length. This could consist of a solo the student has prepared or an excerpt from prepared choral literature. |
and Creative Endeavors and a Professor of Choral Conducting at Michigan State University. Prior to MSU, he was the Director of Choral Activities and Distinguished Professor of Music at the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Ithaca College. Dr. Fox has taught at the middle school, high school and collegiate levels. His conducting experiences have included singers from upper elementary choirs through collegiate and community choirs. He was awarded the 2021 Bryan R. Johnson Service Award by the Nebraska Music Educators Association and the 2022 University of Nebraska Omaha Award for Distinguished Research/Creative Activity.
