Share Your Melody
Choral Ensembles
- Dakota Wesleyan Choir – As our largest choir, Dakota Wesleyan Choir is open to all who wish to raise their voice in masterworks from the Renaissance to the 21st century.
- The Highlanders – As a select auditioned ensemble, the Highlanders perform top quality vocal chamber music from Renaissance polyphony to vocal jazz. Audition in the fall and spring semesters, and be a member of Wesleyan Choir to be eligible.
- Singing Scotchmen and Dakota Dynamics – Our men’s and women’s a cappella groups on campus perform a wide range of music from classical to rock, pop, show tunes, gospel and spirituals.
Instrumental Ensembles
- Wesleyan Bells – As the only handbell choir in the state, Wesleyan Bells gives you the chance to be one part of a larger musical group made up of your friends and classmates.
- LyricWood String Orchestra – LyricWood is an intergenerational strings ensemble where you will get to meet and perform with community members, young and old.
- Dakota Wesleyan Band – All DWU students, of any major, are invited to join the Wesleyan Band. You will have the opportunity to study, rehearse and perform a diverse repertoire of challenging music.
- Tiger Pep Band – Our pep band brings energy and spirit to our highly attended local athletic events. Use your music to cheer on our athletes and get the Corn Crib Crazies rilled up!
- NEW! DWU’s newest instrumental programs are the Wesleyan Jazz Band and DWU Drumline. The Wesleyan Jazz Band is a formalized ensemble bringing the opportunity for interested students to study and perform jazz in front of audiences on familiar instruments like piano, bass, guitar, drum set, trumpet, trombone, and saxophone. Jazz is an art form native to the United States and is a vital part of a well-rounded music education. A knowledge of performance jazz is especially essential for music education students to help make them more well-rounded educators.
- NEW! The DWU Drumline will allow students to add further excitement to athletic events and will provide DWU musicians to participate in a marching activity. Like the Wesleyan Jazz Band, the DWU Drumline will aid music education students in their future careers, as many of them will be required to teach a marching ensemble at some point. Both Drumline and Jazz Band are open to any interested Dakota Wesleyan student.
Perform
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Locally – Each semester we have two major concerts; multiple ensembles perform in beautiful collages of music from many genres. Outside of these two concerts, we sprinkle in performances for events in the community, specialty concerts with our small ensembles, and service opportunities with local nursing homes.
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Regionally and Beyond – The Highlanders and Wesleyan Bells tour each spring, and are joined by the Dakota Wesleyan Choir and other ensembles every other year. On these tours, experience music on the road, performing in a variety of venues and meeting people from all walks of life.
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Musical Theatre – No matter your involvement at DWU, you are able to participate in musical theatre productions. Spread your wings on stage. Our students have been in productions like “Les Miserables,” “Xanadu,” “Godspell” and more.