About the choirs

Bexley High School Vocal Ensemble

Vocal Ensemble, the advanced choir at Bexley High School, is one of five choirs in the Choral Department. The 40 members are chosen through a competitive audition in spring of the previous year.  Vocal Ensemble performs a wide variety of music at various performances around the city. They participate in the Ohio Music Educators Association District and State Large Group Contest, consistently receiving Superior ratings. Since 2005, they have received straight Superior ratings in Class AA.

All members of Vocal Ensemble are busy with other activities in addition to choir, including sports, clubs and community groups.  Many members study private voice and are active in other musical groups both in school and the community.  Since 2004, members have consistently excelled academically, with 90% having a 3.0 GPA or higher.  In the 2006-2007 school year, 90% of members had a 3.5 GPA or higher, and four members were National Merit Semi-Finalists.

Vocal Ensemble has shared performances with ensembles from The Ohio State University, Capital University, Ohio University and Baldwin Wallace College.  They also performed with the Galron Choir from Israel in 2004.  Vocal Ensemble members have worked with many conductors including Eric W. Barnum, David Childs, Christopher Cock, Rollo Dilworth, John Goldsmith, Robert Harris, Ronald Jenkins, James Mulholland, Clayton Parr, Raymond Wise, Jeffrey Redding, Robert Ward and Hilary Apfelstadt.  

Since 2003, Vocal Ensemble has toured throughout the United States and Canada including major cities such as New York, Toronto, Chicago, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.  Vocal Ensemble was invited to perform at the OCDA Summer Conference in 2007, 2009 and 2011 as well as the OMEA Professional Conference in 2009, 2011 and 2013. They performed for the ACDA Central Division Conference held in Fort Wayne, IN in March 2012.  Summer of 2006 took them to Venice, Salzburg, Vienna and Prague to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Mozart’s birth. They performed for audiences in San Marco’s Basilica in Venice, St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna and St. Nicholas Church in Prague, as well as many additional impromptu performances.  In June 2009, Vocal Ensemble returned to Europe, performing in Haydn Hall in Vienna, St. Stephen’s Basilica in Budapest and Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Krakow.  April 2010 took them to New York City as they were