Welcome
Welcome to the online home of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, NCCO. Founded in 2006, NCCO is an independent professional organization that serves choral professionals in colleges and universities. NCCO's mission is realized by:
- hosting biennial conferences,
- publishing new research and scholarship,
- encouraging new works for collegiate choruses,
- mentoring student members, and
- advocating on behalf of our profession and members.
Explore this site to learn more about our history, leadership, conferences, publications, and membership.
New Journal Announcement:The Choral Scholar & American Choral Review
With our just-released Fall issue, the NCCO receives custodianship of two of the longest-running choral research publications in the United States: the American Choral Review, and Research Memorandum Series. You will see from our new masthead that The Choral Scholar and American Choral Review are merged into one publication. Acknowledging our indebtedness for nearly six decades of sterling choral scholarship, this first issue of The Choral Scholar & American Choral Review is published under the numbering system of that venerable antecedent publication: Volume 58, Number. 3. Our thanks to chief editor of publications, Mark Nabholz, for his work in realizing this new acquisition for the NCCO.
NCCO Webinars
Our webinars, begun as a response to the twin pandemics of COVID-19 and systemic racism, address how our discipline is adapting and evolving during the our national dialogue on these issues. Completed webinars can be viewed on our YouTube channel and, over time, in archival form here on our website.
Expanding Choral Pedagogy
NCCO Releases Task Force's Findings, August 2020
With the new academic year just around the corner, NCCO has released a major new body of research: the Report on Expanding Choral Pedagogy. The document serves choral pedagogues in colleges and universities who are busily designing new courses and methods in an environment of great upheaval where there's little individual experience, few 'best practices,' and a paucity of examples.
NCCO's Report on Expanding Choral Pedagogy gathers the latest research in the field and presents initial findings of an extensive survey that reached more than 500 professors and students around the country.
The Report was designed, researched, and written by NCCO's Task Force on Expanding Choral Pedagogy, Dr. Elise Hepworth, chair. Learn more about this amazing group of musician-scholars and the challenging work they accepted.
Virtual Choirs in Higher Education
NCCO Releases a Position Paper, June 2020
The National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) proudly shares their most recent position paper: Virtual Choirs in Higher Education. The document, along with a Summary for Administrators, was prepared by NCCO’s Task Force on Ensembles in the Collegiate Curriculum, Joey M. Martin, chair; Nicole Aldrich, principal author.
NCCO Partners on COVID-19 Study
A Coalition of Performing Arts Orgs Joins Together
The National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) is a proud partner in a coalition of performing arts organizations that have joined forces to commission a study on the effects of COVID-19 and our return to our rehearsal and performance spaces. Specifically, the study will examine aerosol rates produced by wind instrumentalists, vocalists, and actors, and determine how quickly those aerosol rates accumulate in a space, so that we can have more information when caring for the health and safety of our musicians. Learn more.
New Fund Announcement
The Marguerite L. Brooks Commissioning Fund for New Choral Music
The National Collegiate Choral Organization proudly announces the public phase of a fundraising campaign to support the Marguerite L. Brooks Commissioning Fund for New Choral Music. This fund will support the creation of new musical works, hereafter known as NCCO Marguerite L. Brooks Honorary Commissions, which shall also receive their world premiere performances at our biennial conferences. Learn more about the fund, about Professor Brooks, and please consider a gift today.