Music

Spring Oratorio

Flentrop Organ

Aeolian Organ

Spring Oratorio

Flentrop Organ Pipes

Messiah Sing-Along

Concert Audience

View of concert from the triforia

Flentrop Organ Pipes

Spring Oratorio

Aeolian Organ Pipes

Organ Keys

Flentrop Organ

Aeolian

Sacred music is as much a part of Duke Chapel as stained glass and Gothic arches. Choral voices, organ pipes, and carillon bells join in harmony to express the glory of God and the Chapel’s unique Christian community. Meticulously planned musical selections mirror, amplify, and comment on the themes explored in each service’s liturgy. Favorite hymns and anthems of the Christian church are paired with beautiful new compositions.

At the Chapel, music can be experienced on many levels: in person at a worship service or concert, as a choir member, or online through live and archived events.

Performances

In addition to regular inclusion in worship services, music is featured at Duke Chapel in a variety of special concerts and recitals.

The Chapel Choir presents two major works with choir and orchestra each academic year. For over 70 years, Handel’s Messiah has been Duke’s unofficial beginning to the holiday season. In the spring, the choir presents monuments of church music by Brahms, Verdi, Rachmaninoff, Britten, and others.

The Duke Vespers Ensemble also presents free concerts of sacred early music on a regular basis.

The Organ Recital Series presents free programs by world-renowned organists on each of the Chapel’s magnificent organs.

Off-campus groups, including the Choral Society of Durham and Women’s Voices Chorus often present concerts in the Chapel’s reverberant space. For more information on these events, please see the Chapel Events Calendar.

Auditions

All interested students, faculty, staff, and other members of the Duke and Triangle communities are welcome to audition for the Chapel Choir. Auditions are normally scheduled during the first week of classes each semester. To arrange an audition, please call (919) 684-3898 or email the Staff Assistant to Chapel Music.

You should bring to your audition something that you know well, such as a solo song, choral part, hymn, or folksong. Director of Chapel Music Rodney Wynkoop will first warm you up and check your range and general voice quality. Then you can sing up to three minutes of the piece you have brought. (An accompanist will be provided if you need one.) Finally, you will be asked to sight-read some music. You can have up to four attempts at the sight-reading, with coaching and help from the Director of Chapel Music.

The Chapel Choir seeks singers who can read music and learn it quickly, who sing in tune, and who have voices that will blend with others. Every effort is made to accept most students and a small number of non-students from among those who audition each year. Audition results are posted at noon on the second Monday of classes at the audition site and at 02 Biddle Music Building.

Organ Recital Series

During the academic year, the Organ Recital Series presents free concerts by internationally acclaimed organists, including Univeristy Organist Robert Parkins and Chapel Organist David Arcus. All three organs are also featured throughout the year at daily organ demonstrations, Monday-Friday at 12:30 p.m.

The Organ Recital Series at Duke University is sponsored by Duke Chapel. All recitals are on Sundays at 5:00 p.m., unless otherwise indicated, and are free and open to the public. The series is made possible through the generous support of the Marvin B. and Elvira Lowe Smith Memorial Fund, established by their daughter, Alyse Smith Cooper. View the updated schedule for more details.

Organ Recital Series Archive:

2011-12 | 2010-11 | 2009-10 | 2008-09 | 2007-08 | 2006-07 | 2005-06 | 2004-05 | 2003-04 | 2002-03 | 1997-2002

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