by Kayla Smith
If you pass through Ford Music Hall or University Baptist Church at just the right time, you might hear voices singing, notes floating through the air and the precise articulation of Latin verses.
Those sounds are the result of dedicated student practice, expert direction and an artistic community whose members support one another.
Music has a rich history on Bison Hill. Oklahoma Baptist University has five choirs, each with its own character.
Three are larger groups, while two are smaller, more specialized ensembles.
The University Chorale is an auditioned choir made up of some of OBU’s finest singers.
Under the direction of Dr. Joshua Chism, associate professor of music, choral and vocal, its members perform advanced works.
The Bison Glee Club, often called Glee, is the university’s all-male choir.
Founded in 1938 by Warren M. Angell, the group is directed by Dr. Stephen Sims, associate professor of music.
Glee has performed at conferences and other events across the United States and abroad.
The Bisonette Glee Club, or the Bisonettes, is OBU’s all-female choir.
Angell founded the group in 1954. It has about 50 members, including music and non-music majors, and is also directed by Chism.
OBU’s smaller groups offer singers other ways to participate.
The Golden Bison Vocal Jazz Choir is an auditioned ensemble of eight to 12 singers who also belong to another choir.
Sine Nomine is a community choir that includes local residents, faculty, staff and students.
Each choir rehearses at a different time and location.
With participation growing and Raley Chapel under construction, Glee and the Bisonettes currently rehearse at University Baptist Church.
Their work this semester was featured during The Weekend.
The Musical Gala, held at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, featured all of OBU’s musical ensembles, including the Symphonic Winds and the University Ringers.
The choirs performed works by OBU alumni, including Nancy Hill Cobb and Sean Paul.
For the second year in a row, the gala closed with a combined choir performance that included alumni singers.
The gala brought together OBU’s musical past and present.
Chism, now in his third year at OBU, said he has watched the choirs grow.
“When I first came here, we did not have a jazz choir, and the community choir did exist here in Shawnee, but it wasn’t associated with the university,” Chism said.
“As I’m going into the third year, we have grown all of the choirs,” he said.
“We have started the Golden Bison Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and the university has partnered with that pre-existing Sine Nomine ensemble. So it’s been great.”
The choirs have also had opportunities to perform beyond campus, including at Carnegie Hall in May 2026.
Chism encouraged students who are hesitant to join to consider the community they could find in an ensemble.
“The time is now,” Chism said. “In our choirs, we do something that is unlike anything else on campus.”
“What we do contributes to healthy and vibrant human flourishing. Being part of an ensemble emphasizes ‘we’ and rejects the concept of ‘me.’”
The Musical Gala offered a first chance to hear what OBU’s ensembles had been preparing for a fall full of performances.
Photo credit: Courtesy Photo/The Bison Dr. Joshua Chism directs a Hanging of the Green performance.
