Choral Program, Tulane University

Tulane University provides fulfilling and educational choral experiences.  At present, there are two performing Ensembles.  The Tulane-Newcomb Choir is 50-60 strong, and performs choral music of the highest quality.  A great deal of emphasis is placed on sightsinging, as each piece is approached with the solfege system, familiarizing students with the hierarchy of pitches in tonal music.  While reading music is not necessarily a prerequisite for membership in the Tulane-Newcomb Choir, students are expected to exert much effort in either learning to sightsing, or perfecting their sightsinging skills if they are already a music reader.  Other emphases in the Tulane-Newcomb Choir are beauty of tone, appropriate breath support, and good diction.  The Tulane-Newcomb Choir often performs major works with orchestra.

The other performing ensemble is the Chamber Choir, containing twenty to thirty singers.  These singers represent the best readers and singers in the choral program, and are taken from the larger ensemble.  Most of the music performed by the Chamber Choir is a cappella.

Each ensemble performs quality choral music from the sixteenth-century to the present, in languages such as Latin, Italian, French, Spanish, and English.

A list of the major works performed by the Tulane-Newcomb Choir since the Fall of 2001

Other music includes newer octavos, musical theatre choruses, and some vocal jazz.

Future plans for the choral program

There is a great deal of interest in the choral department, which seems to demand other performing ensembles.  Dr. Raybon is considering a women’s chorus and men’s chorus.

Audition process

Dr. Raybon prefers to do auditions by appointment.  The singer may email him at lraybon@tulane.edu, and he will contact him or her personally about a time that is mutually convenient.  The prospective choir member may bring a selection to sing, or may simply vocalize with Dr. Raybon.

Thank you for your interest in the Tulane Choral Program.

Dr. C. Leonard Raybon

The Tulane choral program is directed by C. Leonard Raybon, a native of the Mississippi Gulf Coast.  After earning a bachelor’s degree from William Carey College in music education, he won a Rotary Ambassadorial Fellowship to study in York, England, where he earned his master’s.  His doctorate, from Louisiana State University, is in choral conducting with a minor in vocal performance.  As a choral conductor, Raybon taught at the Louise S. McGehee School, and is also currently the music director at Lakeview Presbyterian Church.  In addition to his duties at Tulane University, Raybon is a choral clinician and adjudicator.

As a vocalist, Raybon has been in recital with Mona Bond and Gerald Stroup, and has performed two concerts for author, Anne Rice.  He is a frequent guest soloist for the Musica Sacra Choral Society in Mobile, AL, and has been guest soloist with the Baton Rouge Symphony and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra.

Raybon is also the musical director and conductor for Tulane Summer Lyric Theatre.  In addition to musical directing at Tulane and other theatres such as True Brew and Rivertown Repertory, he has also performed several roles at Tulane, including Tommy Albright in Brigadoon, and young Joe Hardy in Damn Yankees.

Facilities

Tulane University boasts a beautiful choral rehearsal room with vaulted ceilings, parquet flooring, and fine acoustics.