American Festival Chorus

Founded in the summer of 2008 by Dr. Craig Jessop, the American Festival Chorus & Orchestra has become a leading artistic voice in Northern Utah and has sought to enrich the lives it touches through performance, education, and appreciation of choral art.

The auditioned Chorus brings together more than 175 singers from a 90-mile radius of Logan, Utah. Under Dr. Jessop’s direction and assisted by associate conductor Dr. Cory Evans, USU’s Director of Choral Activities, AFCO participants include community members, faculty and students from the Utah State University Department of Music, and local high school choral conductors. The Orchestra is a 65-member professional ensemble composed of faculty from USU’s music department, professional musicians from the region, and select USU students.

Director and Conductor Dr. Craig Jessop is Professor of Music in USU’s College of Arts & Sciences. Dr. Jessop was the founding Dean of the Caine College of the Arts from 2010-2019. These appointments follow Dr. Jessop’s distinguished tenure as music director of the world-famous Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square. Prior to this, Dr. Jessop’s long and storied career includes serving as director of the U.S. Air Force Singing Sergeants in Washington, D.C.; as conductor of the Band of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe; and as director of the Maryland Choral Society.

Since its founding, the American Festival Chorus & Orchestra has promoted a varied, rich, and vibrant musical repertoire, ranging from masterworks, opera, and pop, to gospel, Americana, and Christmas music. Milestones for AFCO include performances of the Britten War Requiem, Brahms German Requiem, Bach St. Matthew Passion, Haydn Creation, Verdi Requiem, Mahler Symphony 4, Mozart Requiem, Durufle Requiem, Rachmaninoff Vespers , performances of the music of Ralph Vaughan Williams and Gustav Holst, and performing with Andrea Bocelli.

Over its past seventeen seasons, AFCO has enjoyed a diverse roster of guest artists, including Kelly O’Hara, Paul Phoenix, Alyson Cambridge, Donny Osmond, Kurt Bestor, Maureen McGovern, Peter Cetera, Diamond Rio, Kansas, Jenny Oaks Baker, GENTRI, Lexi Walker, Nathan Pacheco, Dallyn Vail Bayles, VOCTAVE, Mat & Savanna Shaw, and Casey Elliott.

Although based in Logan, AFCO collaborates with the Utah Festival Opera and Musical Theatre and the Sun Valley Music Festival each summer in a large-scale masterwork production. They also provide educational outreach to the schools in the Cache Valley area with the Carnegie Hall Link Up program and the High School Choral Festival.