Several area high school choirs will join together to perform in the 64th Annual Fall Choral Festival at the Crookston High School Auditorium on Monday, October 28th at 7:00 p.m. Choirs from Warren-Alvarado-Oslo, East Grand Forks, and Crookston High School will perform selections individually and participants from Ada-Borup-West, Bagley and Climax-Shelley and will join together as a festival choir to be conducted by guest conductor, UND Interim Director of Choral Activities @ UND.
Casey Behm currently serves as Interim Director of Choral Activities at the University of North Dakota and is a doctoral candidate in choral conducting at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. At UND, Behm teaches choral conducting and directs the Concert Choir, Enöxa – a mixed voice chamber ensemble, the Varsity Bards, and the Goliards—a tenor bass chamber ensemble. A native of Fingal, North Dakota, Behm taught public school music for nine years in North Dakota before beginning his graduate studies. He earned his M.M. in choral conducting from North Dakota State University and studied with Drs. Jo Ann Miller, Mike Weber, and Charlette Moe. At UNL, Behm studied with Drs. Peter Eklund, Rebecca Gruber, and Marques L. A. GarreP while also teaching beginning and advanced conducting classes observing music education students in practicum placements.
Behm has directed high school, church, and community choirs in North Dakota and Nebraska. As a collaborative pianist, he has accompanied church and community groups and enjoys playing in musical theater pit orchestras. A conductor, educator, and pianist, Behm most enjoys the collaboration processes that happen within music and the relationships formed.
The Fall Choral Festival began in 1959 as the project of three area choral directors: Garfield Reichert of Crookston, Don Danielson of East Grand Forks, and Bryant Ulseth of Thief River Falls. The festival aims to promote choral music, give students a chance to hear and perform with students from other choirs, and work with and learn from another teacher and director.
Admission to the concert will be $5 for adults and $2 for students, and it will be collected at the door. Doors will open at 6:30 p.m.
