Choral activities
Welcome to choral activitiesÌýat the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Colorado Boulder College of Music!
Our choral activities strive to examine and honor the legacy of pastÌýfaculty, while moving forward with evolving pedagogiesÌýand programs, and the music of underrepresented composers.
The CU Boulder choral activities area, founded in 1938 by Warner Imig, was the first formal area of study in the College of Music; in the 1960s, CU Boulder became one of the first universities in the nation to offer a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting.ÌýThe department continues to mentor great students from across the university, while preparing and performing everything from new works to jazz to traditional masterworks through regular collaborations with the CU Boulder Wind Symphony, the CU Symphony and the Boulder Philharmonic.
Upcoming choral events
Coreen Duffy
Coreen Duffy is associate professor of conducting and director of choral activities at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Colorado Boulder where she conducts the CU Boulder Chamber Singers and oversees the choral program. Her duties at the College of Music include leading the graduate program in choral conducting at both the master’s and doctoral levels. Duffy is also artistic director of the Seicento Baroque Ensemble, a Boulder-based semi-professional choral ensemble committed to working with period instruments and historically-informed performance practice.ÌýPrior to her appointment at CU Boulder, Duffy served on the faculties of the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Montana and the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Miami Frost School of Music. As director of choral activities at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Montana, Duffy conducted the Chamber Chorale and ³Ô¹ÏÍø Choir and served as Artistic Director of the Missoula Community Chorus.ÌýMORE
Elizabeth Swanson
Elizabeth Swanson is associate director of choral activities and associate professor of music at the ³Ô¹ÏÍø of Colorado Boulder where she conducts the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Choir and Treble Chorus. Under her direction, the ³Ô¹ÏÍø Choir was selected to perform at the 2025 National Collegiate Choral Organization National Conference at Cal State Fullerton and performed at the 2023 Colorado Music Educators Association Conference. A passionate educator, Swanson also teaches undergraduate conducting courses and serves on master's and doctoral committees. She oversaw the CU Boulder Choral Program as interim director for four semesters (2018-19; 2024), supervising all aspects of the program. In 2024, she received a university-wide Provost’s Faculty Achievement Award acknowledging her contributions to CU Boulder through scholarly and creative work, teaching, leadership and service.ÌýMORE
Contact
Coreen Duffy
Associate Professor of Conducting
Director, Choral Activities
coreen.duffy@colorado.edu
,Ìý³§217