Dragon Scales Vocal Jazz is the creation of 2 first-year college students--Sylvia B. and John Lahlum--at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) in Moorhead, MN who had heard many peers discussing the need for a vocal jazz group on campus. In fact, there used to be an ensemble back in the 1980s called Snowfire (not to be confused with the current Solfire A Cappella that performs mainly contemporary and pop music) that served this exact purpose, but had since been retired.

Because of these factors and with the support of the current director of choral activities at MSUM, Dr. Michael Johnson, Dragon Scales Vocal Jazz was officially registered as a student organization in the spring of 2023 and later fully implemented in the fall.

Being a brand new ensemble on the campus has allowed the group to be creative, experimental, and adaptable. Typically a 16ish-person ensemble, the group performs vocal jazz styles both on and off campus either completely a cappella (meaning no accompaniment) or with instrumental accompaniment.

We thank everyone for their support and collaboration.