SHELBY — The Ashland University Choir, under the direction of Dr. Rowland Blackley, will perform at Shelby’s First Lutheran Church, 33 Broadway St., on May 12 at 7 p.m.
This event is free and open to the public. The Ashland University Choir is composed of singers representing many academic majors across campus. Each year the members are selected by private audition and rehearse three days a week. The ensemble performs programs of unaccompanied literature of all eras, as well as major works with orchestra.
This year’s touring group is singing at high schools and churches in Ohio, culminating with a visit to Louisville.
The 2026 Tour program includes selections from throughout the choir’s 2025-2026 concert season. Pieces by Palestrina, Britten and Handel are featured, along with those of Effinger, Whitacre, Hogan and Gibbs. The Ashland University Chamber Singers will contribute madrigals, part-songs and more popular charts from the 20th and 21st centuries.
Its choral-orchestral repertoire has included these larger works: the “Vivaldi Gloria and Rutter Requiem,” Bach’s “Christ lag,” “Carmina Burana,” “Messiah” and Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. The choir has performed regularly with the Ashland Symphony Orchestra as, well as the Ashland Chamber Orchestra.
In addition to the university choir, Ashland University offers Chamber Singers and Ashland Area Chorus. Most years there are a couple of student-run groups that focus on more popular musical styles.
Choral music has enjoyed a tradition of excellence and plays a significant role in the cultural life of Ashland University. Blackley is only the fifth choral conductor in the past 90 years at AU. The Department of Music offers programs leading to the Bachelor of Music degree in music education (with an Ohio teaching license) and performance and a Bachelor of Arts degree with several degree options.
Faculty members are all experts in their field and many are actively performing artist-teachers. A wide range of vocal and instrumental ensembles offers both music majors and non-music majors opportunities to participate and grow as young musicians. Significant scholarship money is available to students majoring in music and participation grants are offered to qualified singers and instrumentalists in other majors to encourage ensemble participation.
Blackley is professor of music, chair of the department and director of choral activities at Ashland University, where he conducts the University Choir, Chamber Singers, and Ashland Area Chorus. He supervises all aspects of the choral program and teaches in the areas of conducting and music education.
While he deals primarily with choral groups now, Blackley has conducted orchestras, bands and musical theatre productions throughout his career. Before coming to Ashland, he taught and conducted at the Oberlin College Conservatory of Music, Kent State University, Lindsey Wilson College and high schools in Ohio and Colorado.
A graduate of Concordia College (NY), Blackley received his master’s degree from Kent State and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Colorado. He is an associate of the American Guild of Organists and currently serves Peace Lutheran Church, Ashland. He is a member of the Dalcroze Society and NAfME and a life member of ACDA.
He is a seasoned clinician (vocal and church music), adjudicator (vocal, choral, piano), guest conductor (choral and orchestral) and composer, with over 35 choral compositions published.
Founded in 1878 by the Brethren Church, Ashland University is a mid-size, private university conveniently located halfway between Cleveland and Columbus.
Offering undergraduate, graduate and professional programs, AU puts the “accent on the individual” by combining strong applied academic programs with a distinguished faculty and staff who build nurturing relationships with their students.