The Missouri State University Men’s Chorus was founded in 2014, which was and still is open to all men that wanted to sing difficult music in a variety of styles as well as genres. The festival is the brainchild of the men’s chorus that first started last year and holds men from grade levels five through twelve. This year Mrs. Audra Harmon, the Fair Grove choir director, is sending all 11 of the high school guys and 3 of the middle school out of our choir. Including Fair Grove’s 14 there will be around 700 men attending the festival this year. This festival’s main purpose is to help the young men that attend to get a chance to sing with a large group of men in the same age range and realize what they can do with their changing voices.

Mrs. Harmon believes that this festival is a great opportunity for the men in the choir to learn more about specific skills while also singing in a large group. Even though they are in a large group, the students work on memorization skills as well as singing louder with a better, more full sound. On top of that, it shows Mrs. Harmon a more accurate  representation of what the students can do when they are really pushed to the limits of their vocal range. Mrs. Harmon stated, “It is very rare to have enough men to make an all men’s choir, so this gives our guys a chance to sing with a group.” She continued, “Any time that our students are able to attend one of these festivals, be it the Men’s Choral Festival or The District Honor Choir, it changes the way they look at choir and the way they want our choir to function which only benefits the choir program.”