From swing choir to a madrigal group, there’s a place in the vocal music department of Southeast for everyone. LSE is home to ten unique choirs, eight that are officially part of the vocal music department and two of which are student-led. Riley Herringer, the head vocal music director at LSE, encourages anyone interested in singing to join the vocal music department.

“The cool thing about how our program is set up is that there is an opportunity to experience a large number of different types of music. Being a part of [a] choir here gives you an opportunity to express yourself through music, be a part of a positive, uplifting community, and build confidence,” Herringer said.

COURT CHOIR

Court Choir is a choir for upperclassmen that is directed by Herringer. This is the biggest select choir at Southeast. Court Choir performs at three main concerts in the fall, winter and spring. Court Choir also has special performing opportunities, for example, near the end of February Court Choir will join other high school choirs in Lincoln to perform at the Lied Center.

KNIGHT SOUNDS

Knight Sounds is a select swing choir prep choir for sophomores at LSE. This choir is directed by assistant choir director at LSE, Robert Huebner. Students in this choir occasionally have choreography with their music. Knight Sounds performs in the fall, winter and spring concerts.

SINGING KNIGHTS

Singing Knights is the freshmen choir at LSE and is directed by Herringer. This is one of the few choirs students can join without auditioning. This choir class helps prepare students to audition for other choirs after their freshman year.

DOREMIGOS

The DoReMigos is a select group choir for baritone and bass voices. They sing barbershop group music, which is a cappella with close harmonies. This student-run choir is sponsored by Huebner. DoReMigos pick their own music, run their own rehearsals, and choose their performances. For instance, this year on Valentine’s Day, the group could be seen delivering singing valentines during lunch.

ROYAL COURT CHOIR

Royal Court Choir is a treble, or higher singing voice, choir for sophomores, juniors and seniors. This choir is also directed by Herringer. They sing a variety of music and focus on performance technique. Royal Court Choir occasionally includes choreography in their performances.

ARS NOVA

Directed by Herringer, Ars Nova is a jazz choir for juniors and seniors. They sing a variety of jazz songs, including a few a capella selections. This choir is one of the groups that sing birthday songs to students on the student’s birthday. Ars Nova does not do any choreography and is the only choir at Southeast that performs with individual microphones. This is a small group choir, with only 11 to 12 students in it every year. 

BEL CANTO

Bel Canto is a madrigal group for upperclassmen, directed by Huebner. This choir mostly sings songs from the 16th to 17th century a cappella but they occasionally sing classical or pop songs. The renaissance costumes that this group wears when they perform as well as the madrigal music they sing makes Bel Canto a very unique choir. Bel Canto also delivers birthday songs to students on their birthday.

BLACK AND GOLD

Black and Gold is one of the two choirs at LSE that students can join without auditioning. It is a choir for sophomores, juniors and seniors and is directed by Huebner. This choir is for students that want to focus more on learning than performing and want a less competitive choir.

COUNTESSES AND NOBLEMEN

Countess and Noblemen, which is better known as C&N, is Southeast’s swing choir. This choir is for juniors and seniors who like a bit more dancing and choreography. C&N is directed by Herringer. This is one of the few choirs at LSE who go to classrooms to sing to students on the student’s birthday.

MUSES

Muses is a student-run, select group choir for treble voices. This small a capella group is completely student-run but Herringer sponsors the choir. In order to join this choir, you must be in at least one other choir at LSE and be able to attend the rehearsals Tuesdays during PLC and Sundays. Muses sing mostly contemporary pieces. Senior at LSE and the current president of Muses, Olivia Jones, typically chooses the music for the group, but the entire group is involved in the process of deciding which pieces they would like to sing.