Six San Joaquin Valley high school choirs earned an invitation to the Command Performance session of the 2012 Fresno-State Invitational Choral Festival following competition at this year’s festival, which concluded Friday, Oct. 21.

The invitees are

  • Porterville Madrigals — Aaron Snell, conductor
  • Clovis East Timberwolf Chorus — Dan Bishop, conductor
  • Clovis North Women’s Chorale — Heather Bishop, conductor
  • El Diamante (Visalia) Chamber Singers — John Sorber, conductor
  • Frontier High (Bakersfield) Chamber Singers — Forrest Madewell, conductor
  • Redwood High (Visalia) Chamber Singers — Mel Carrillo, conductor

Sponsored by the university’s Department of Music and Choir, the festival drew 70 Valley middle school, high school and community college choirs to campus Oct. 19-21.

During the first two days, students learned from the conductor, Rollo Dillworth, of Temple University.

Clinicians included Dr. Anna Hamre, director of Choral Activities at Fresno State; Dr. Tony Mowrer, Fresno State Choral music education specialist; Dave Hensley, choir director at Porterville College; and Jim Foxx, a retired Clovis Unified School District choral director.

The Command Performance portion of the annual festival, held the first night of the festival, spotlights the previous festival’s winning groups.

This year’s Command Performance concluded with a presentation of Vaughan Williams’ “Toward the Unknown Region” by the Fresno-State Concert Choir and Symphonic Orchestra.

Next year’s festival is scheduled Oct. 17-19. For more information, contact Hamre at 559.278.3056.