The Hoosier Hills Choral Festival brings together youth singers from across Indiana for a free public concert Saturday at 3:30 p.m. at a Columbus church; freewill donations will be accepted. Hosted by the Columbus Indiana Children's Choir, the one-hour event includes CICC, the Evansville Children's Choir, the Indianapolis Children's Choir Lyric Choir and area school choirs.
A Decades-Old Tradition Returns
The concert is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. Saturday at The Ridge Church, 2800 Bonnell Road, in Columbus, according to The Republic. The outlet reported last year that the venue had changed to The Ridge Church because of scheduling conflicts.
The Republic reports that each choir will perform its own selections before the groups join for four shared pieces. Participating choirs are scheduled to meet at 9 a.m. to rehearse the combined numbers ahead of the afternoon concert.
CICC's Younger Director Leads Older Singers Into the Spotlight
CICC's older group, which has 12 members, will represent the choir at the festival. The organization serves students in grades three through eight, according to The Republic. The newspaper reported that Jillian Corman, who joined CICC in January 2026 as director of its top group, sees the festival as an opportunity for students to encounter music-making beyond their own choir.
CICC plans to sing John Rutter's “For the Beauty of the Earth.” In comments reported by The Republic, Corman said rehearsals have included discussion of the lyrics and text painting—the use of musical elements to reflect a song's words—with the aim of helping singers communicate the text to listeners.
Guest Conductor Helped Build the Festival From Scratch
Guest clinician and conductor Ruth Dwyer, director of education emerita of the Indianapolis Children's Choir, helped found CICC and launch the Hoosier Hills Choral Festival about 30 years ago, The Republic reported. One of this year's shared selections will be Dwyer's arrangement of “The Irish Rover.”
Earlier festivals and a wider choral network
The Columbus Indiana Children’s Choir’s 2024 festival listing independently documents an earlier Hoosier Hills Choral Festival, held Oct. 26 at First Christian Church in Columbus. That edition featured CICC, the Cincinnati Youth Chorus, the Evansville Children’s Choir and Greenwood Christian Academy School Choir, establishing a prior gathering but not a complete history of the festival. The Indianapolis Children’s Choir says it offers more than 30 choirs and programs across central Indiana, a broader slate of offerings separate from the Columbus festival.
Corman has described CICC as a place for students to connect beyond school and said the choir values the work music educators do in classrooms, according to The Republic. The festival brings the participating groups together in a shared performance.
More information about the Columbus Indiana Children's Choir is available at icchoir.org/cicc/, and Corman can be reached by email for those interested in joining the program.
