Singers from Duke Chapel Receive National Recognition

Duke University Chapel’s Schola Cantorum has been invited to perform at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) on March 22, 2025, in Dallas, Texas. It is the first time a Duke choir has received the honor, which is the result of a national, competitive, peer-review process based on submissions of recordings from the last three years. 

“An invitation to perform at the ACDA national conference is one of the highest recognitions a choral program can receive,” said Dr. Zebulon M. Highben, the conductor of the Schola Cantorum, Chapel Choir, and director of Chapel Music at Duke Chapel. “This invitation represents the sustained excellence of Duke and Duke Chapel as a vibrant center of sacred music performance and education.”

Watch the Schola perform one of the pieces they submitted for the conference program, “On Wings of Song” by Gwyneth Walker:

Formed in 1995, the Chapel’s Schola Cantorum is a flexible chamber choir comprising students, staff singers, and volunteers auditioned from within the larger Chapel Choir. The Schola sings in worship services and concerts, performing repertoire appropriate for chamber ensembles. At the ACDA conference, the ensemble will perform in the “Music in Worship” event.

Founded in 1959, the ACDA promotes excellence and enjoyment in choral music through education, performance, composition, and advocacy. With tens of thousands of members in six regions, the group hosts national and regional conferences, provides online resources, publishes journals, and recognizes excellence in composition through awards and commissions.

The invitation to perform at the ACDA national conference is the latest marker in a rise in the national and international reputation of Duke Chapel’s music program. In May, the Duke Chapel Choir was named a finalist for the 2024 American Prize in Choral Performance (community division). Last December, the Chapel Choir’s performance of Handel’s Messiah garnered nearly 60,000 online views when it was available during the Christmas season. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, Chapel ensembles have also resumed international touring. 

Individual Chapel Music staff have also been recently recognized. Dr. Highben was selected as a finalist for the 2024 American Prize in Choral Composition (professional division, shorter choral works), and received an Honourable Mention in the Sir David Willcocks Carol Competition, sponsored by The Bach Choir (London, UK), for his Christmas carol “There is No Rose.” The Chapel’s conductor-in-residence, Dr. Philip Cave, released a highly lauded album with the professional choir he directs, Magnificat, featuring the music of Orlandus Lassus on the Linn Records label.
    
The Chapel’s contributions to sacred music extend beyond its choirs and staff. The Music from Duke Chapel series of choral music published by MorningStar Music has grown to twenty-seven compositions, with more than 43,000 copies sold to date. The pieces range from new editions of historic music such as “Puer natus in Bethlehem” by Samuel Scheidt, edited by Dr. Cave, to hymn-anthems like “Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” by Chapel Organist Chad Fothergill, to original works by contemporary composers such as “The Lamb” by Brandon Spencer and “Jubilate Deo” by Joanna Marsh.