Choral Programs

The Green Lake Festival of Music offers two choral programs for adults which run concurrently. Singers can participate in either the Choral Institute Festival Chorus or the Composer Residency Chamber Choir or both! Please note that the 2026 Choral Institute will include works by past composers in residence but we will not have a separate Composer Residency Chamber Choir in 2026.

choral institute -Festival Chorus

July 29 - August 1, 2026

The Choral Institute is a beloved tradition at the Green Lake Festival of Music and welcomes anyone who loves to sing! Each season, this Festival Chorus rehearses and performs significant works from throughout the choral repertory. 

Cost of the Choral Institute – Festival Chorus is $200. Participants are responsible for meals, housing, transportation, and music purchase.

Choral Program Director JohnC. Hughes

John C. Hughes

Director of Choral Programs & Conductor

Composer Residency - Chamber Choir

No Dates for 2026

Chamber Choir participants work at a high artistic level, equivalent to that of a graduate-level or professional ensemble. Participants are expected to have advanced reading and vocal skills and to arrive at the first rehearsal with all the notes and rhythms completely learned.

Note: there is no separate Composer Residency – Chamber Choir in 2026. But our program  features music by composers who have previously headlined our Composer Residency: Shawn Kirchner (2019), Morten Lauridsen (2021), and Elaine Hagenberg (2022). 

Chorus Camp (June 29 – July 2, 2026) is four afternoons of free musical learning and fun for youth ages 10-15 at the Rodman Center for the Arts at Ripon College. The Green Lake Festival of Music presents this opportunity for youngsters to explore the joys of singing, dancing, and games from different cultures, guided by director Magdalena Delgado of Uniting Voices Chicago. Chorus Camp culminates in a free concert at Ripon College on Thursday, July 2. There is no charge to participate in this program. 

Sarah Wheeler

Collaborative Pianist

The Choral Conducting Apprentice Program selects one apprentice and is designed for career-track singers, choral conductors, composers, and music educators enrolled in undergraduate or master’s degree programs. Doctoral students or very recently graduates may also be considered. 

Click here for more information

**The Green Lake Festival of Music is committed to creating and maintaining a diverse and inclusive experience. Black, Latinx, Asian/Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and LGBTQ+ emerging professionals are strongly encouraged to apply.**

Magdalena Delgado
Children’s Chorus Director

Choral conductor, singer and music educator from the Dominican Republic, Magdalena Delgado currently serves as the conductor of the Hyde Park Neighborhood Choir as well as school programs at the Chicago Children’s Choir. 

Prior to her move to Chicago, Magdalena served as Artistic Director of the children and youth choir, Voces del Mar, based in Veracruz, Mexico, and was the Founder and Artistic Director of Audimus, a professional chamber ensemble based in Xalapa, Mexico. While in Mexico, she also worked as an adjunct faculty member on the choral and voice faculties of Instituto Superior de Música Esperanza Azteca and the Centro de Estudios de Jazz of the Universidad Veracruzana (JazzUV), where she taught voice and voice techniques classes, courses in choral literature and conducted the preparatory vocal jazz ensemble. 

In 2014, Magdalena earned her Master of Music in Choral Conducting, with distinction, from Westminster Choir College where she studied with Drs. Joe Miller, James Jordan and Amanda Quist. During her master’s studies, she served as Assistant Conductor of the Westminster Chapel Choir, was an integral member of the Westminster Symphonic Choir and served as a section leader for the world-renown Westminster Choir. While at Westminster, she performed on tours throughout the U.S., and alongside some of the greatest orchestras in the world under the direction of conductors of the highest stature. 

Prior to her master’s studies, Magdalena studied vocal performance at the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico and has served as a guest conductor for choirs of all ages throughout the United States, Mexico, Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Magdalena received her bachelor’s degree in music education from the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo where she graduated magna cum laude. 

As a native of Santo Domingo, Magdalena began her musical study at age five where she studied piano, recorder and most importantly was a member of the children’s choir at her area music school, which served as her initial inspiration for her career path.

Sarah Wheeler
Collaborative Pianist

Sarah E. Wheeler enjoys collaborating in musical theater, vocal, choral, and instrumental music. She currently serves as a staff pianist at the Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, accompanies area choirs and theater, and freelances in the Fox Valley. She is also a certified pharmacy technician. 

Sarah has held staff positions at Boston Ballet School, Interlochen Arts Camp, and College Light Opera Company. While based in New York City, she worked with New York Opera Exchange, Village Light Opera Group, Adelphi University music department, and several Manhattan voice studios. She has worked as a pianist with regional theaters including Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre and The Little Theatre On The Square. She has also performed in many student vocal and instrumental recitals at Lawrence and Boston Universities. 

Originally from Waterville, Maine, Sarah received her Master of Music in Collaborative Piano from Boston University in 2010. She received her Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance and Bachelor of Arts in Chemistry from Lawrence University in 2007. Sarah lives in Appleton with her husband, Aaron, and her dog, Lacey.