UND VIVO and Wind Ensemble perform at ND Music Educators Association Conference

The University of North Dakota VIVO Chamber Choir, under the direction of Melanie Popejoy, and the UND Wind Ensemble, conducted by James Popejoy, recently presented featured performances at the 2026 North Dakota Music Educators Association Conference.

The performances, held at the Bismarck Event Center on March 26, were presented for the hundreds of high school students selected for the North Dakota All-State music ensembles, as well as music educators from across the state and region.

Both VIVO and the Wind Ensemble were selected to perform at the conference through a juried audition process.

“We are so very proud of the students in both ensembles,” James Popejoy said. “It is such an incredible honor to be selected to perform at this prestigious event and we were especially excited to represent the University of North Dakota with performances worthy of these selections.”

VIVO’s program opened with “Shine,” arranged by a member of the chamber choir, Ella Henry. Other selections included “Tipitin” by Maria Grever; “O Magnum Mysterium” by Michelle Roeche; A.R. Rahman’s “Barso Re;” “Storm Comin” by Ruth Moody; “Unchain My Heart” by Bobby Sharp and Teddy Powell; and Charlie Chaplin’s classic “Smile.” They closed with “Kanaval” by Sydney Guillaume.

The theme for the Wind Ensemble’s program was “evocative: music that brings strong images, memories, or feelings to mind.” They opened with a contemporary work by James David, “Urban Light,” and Ron Nelson’s “Medieval Suite.” “Nobles of the Mystic Shrine” by the March King, John Philip Sousa, followed. The Wind Ensemble finished out their program with the classic band work “Incantation and Dance,” composed by John Barnes Chance in 1960, and John Mackey’s “Haunted Objects,” written in 2024.