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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 23 Headliners Headliners 2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference Bella Voce Bella Voce proudly enriches Chicago’s cultural tap- estry through intimate performances of vocal music. Since 1983 the ensemble has enchanted audiences with historically informed presentations of well-known, rare, and new vocal works. Bella Voce’s concerts are crafted with research and careful attention to performance prac- tices, and it partners with Chicago’s top period instru- ment ensembles to bring works for voice and orchestra to life. In 2004, Bella Voce received the prestigious Alice Parker ASCAP Chorus America Award for program- ming. The ensemble has recorded for various labels and has four self-produced CDs. Bella Voce is an ensemble- in-residence at University of Illinois at Chicago School of Theatre & Music. Andrew Lewis, artistic director of Bella Voce, is also music director of the El- gin Master Chorale, founder and artis- tic director of the professional chamber orchestra Janus Ensemble, choirmaster at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evan- ston, and a member of the conducting faculty at the Uni- versity of Illinois at Chicago. He is also artistic director emeritus of the Lutheran Choir of Chicago. Andrew Lewis and Bella Voce were selected in 2014 by the Chi- cago Tribune’s John von Rhein as the classical musicians everyone should have on their radar in their fall Arts Pre- view. Chicago a cappella Chicago a cappella is a creative enterprise devoted to advancing the art and appreciation of ensemble singing. Founded by Jonathan Miller in 1993, the ensemble com- prises some of the Chicago area’s most accomplished professional singers. Chicago a cappella has performed in thirteen American states and in Mexico. The ensemble is heard frequently on national and international radio broadcasts and has released nine acclaimed CDs. From its inception, Chicago a cappella has been a champion of living composers and commissioning new works. Its educational outreach programming includes an annual Youth Choral Festival, a high school internship program, and ¡Cantaré! Chicago, a partnership with VocalEssence in Minneapolis, MN, which places Mexican composers in residence at Chicago schools. John William Trotter, principal music di- rector of Chicago a cappella, has con- ducted professional orchestras and choirs in seven countries, and his work has been recognized internationally through priz- es, grants, and invitations. In 2012, Trot- ter joined the faculty of Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, where he now serves as associate professor, di- recting the select Wheaton College Concert Choir. Un- der his direction, the Concert Choir was a nalist for the American Prize.

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Page 1: HHeadlinerseadliners · 2019. 11. 8. · Youth Choral Festival, a high school internship program, and ¡Cantaré! Chicago, a partnership with VocalEssence in Minneapolis, MN, which

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 23

HeadlinersHeadliners

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

Bella Voce

Bella Voce proudly enriches Chicago’s cultural tap-estry through intimate performances of vocal music. Since 1983 the ensemble has enchanted audiences with historically informed presentations of well-known, rare, and new vocal works. Bella Voce’s concerts are crafted with research and careful attention to performance prac-tices, and it partners with Chicago’s top period instru-ment ensembles to bring works for voice and orchestra to life. In 2004, Bella Voce received the prestigious Alice Parker ASCAP Chorus America Award for program-ming. The ensemble has recorded for various labels and has four self-produced CDs. Bella Voce is an ensemble-in-residence at University of Illinois at Chicago School of Theatre & Music.

Andrew Lewis, artistic director of Bella Voce, is also music director of the El-gin Master Chorale, founder and artis-tic director of the professional chamber orchestra Janus Ensemble, choirmaster at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evan-

ston, and a member of the conducting faculty at the Uni-versity of Illinois at Chicago. He is also artistic director emeritus of the Lutheran Choir of Chicago. Andrew Lewis and Bella Voce were selected in 2014 by the Chi-cago Tribune’s John von Rhein as the classical musicians everyone should have on their radar in their fall Arts Pre-view.

Chicago a cappella

Chicago a cappella is a creative enterprise devoted to advancing the art and appreciation of ensemble singing. Founded by Jonathan Miller in 1993, the ensemble com-prises some of the Chicago area’s most accomplished professional singers. Chicago a cappella has performed in thirteen American states and in Mexico. The ensemble is heard frequently on national and international radio broadcasts and has released nine acclaimed CDs. From its inception, Chicago a cappella has been a champion of living composers and commissioning new works. Its educational outreach programming includes an annual Youth Choral Festival, a high school internship program, and ¡Cantaré! Chicago, a partnership with VocalEssence in Minneapolis, MN, which places Mexican composers in residence at Chicago schools.

John William Trotter, principal music di-rector of Chicago a cappella, has con-ducted professional orchestras and choirs in seven countries, and his work has been recognized internationally through priz-es, grants, and invitations. In 2012, Trot-

ter joined the faculty of Wheaton College Conservatory of Music, where he now serves as associate professor, di-recting the select Wheaton College Concert Choir. Un-der his direction, the Concert Choir was a fi nalist for the American Prize.

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24 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

HeadlinersHeadliners

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

Sante Fe Desert Chorale

The Santa Fe Desert Chorale is one of the longest continually performing professional music organiza-tions in New Mexico. This twenty-four-voice profes-sional chorale presents repertoire spanning seven centu-ries, from medieval polyphony to contemporary works. Throughout its history, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale has maintained a commitment to music from Hispanic and Native American communities, advancing contempo-rary composers, and commissioning works, three quar-ters of whom are by American composers. The Santa Fe Desert Chorale appeared at the 2015 ACDA National Conference in Salt Lake City, later broadcast by Min-nesota Public Radio.

Joshua Habermann is in his ninth season as music director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale. He has raised the ensemble’s artistic profi le and broadened its pro-gramming to include choral-orchestral masterworks and cutting-edge a cappella

programs. In 2011, Habermann was named director of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and from 1996 to 2008 he served as assistant conductor of the San Francisco Sym-phony Chorus and professor of music at San Francisco State University. Habermann is a graduate of George-town University and the University of Texas at Austin, where he completed doctoral studies.

Shenzhen Golden Bell

Youth Choir

Shenzhen Golden Bell Youth Choir (SZGBYC) was established in 1989 and is a “National Exemplary Choir of China” and “National Excellent Choir of China.” The choir strives for artistic excellence through the study of international leading-edge choral theories and the development of skills. The choir presents Chinese, for-eign, classical, modern, pop and other styles of music in colorful performances and frequently performs for city celebrations, public charity events, and foreign cul-tural exchanges. SZGBYC has presented concerts and workshops throughout Asia, Europe, the Americas, and Oceania. In 2015 they became the fi rst Chinese school choir to perform in the Isaac Stern Auditorium at Carn-egie Hall.

Liu Mei conducts the Shenzhen Golden Bell Youth Choir and teaches at Shen-zhen Middle School, China. Liu has been a vocal and choral teacher and conductor for nearly twenty years. She has adjudicated at international choir

competitions, is a council member of the China Choir Association, deputy director of the China Choir As-sociation Children’s Choral Committee, vice president of the Shenzhen Choral Association, executive director of the Guangdong Choral Association, director of the Guangdong Musician Association, and director of the Guangdong Province Vocal Art Research Association.

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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 25

Headliners Special EventsSpecial Events

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

Choral Evensong

Experience a historically informed choral evensong service in the beautiful and historic St. James Cathedral in downtown Chicago. Featured participants include Bella Voce, conducted by Andrew Lewis; Stephen Bu-zard, organist and choirmaster at St. James; and the Very Rev. Dominic Barrington, dean of St. James and offi ci-ant. Lewis, Buzard, and Barrington will lead an infor-mative conversation about the traditional elements of an evensong before the service begins.

Bella Voce

Bella Voce and their director Andrew Lewis will par-ticipate in this service. Their photos and bios are on page 23.

Stephen Buzard is director of music at St. James Cathedral in Chicago, where he provides music for services and directs the Cathedral Choir. He attended Yale Institute of Sacred Music, where he was organ scholar at Trinity on the Green,

New Haven, principal organist at Berkeley Divinity School, and organist at Marquand Chapel. He won the 2010 Arthur Poister Competition, the 2009 Joan Lippin-cott Competition for Excellence in Organ Performance, and in 2016 he was named one of the “top 20 organists under 30” by The Diapason magazine.

The Very Rev. Dominic Barrington was installed as Dean of St. James Cathedral in September 2015 after twenty years of ordained ministry in the Church of England. Barrington is well known in

England and the United States for his knowledge and experience of the Holy Land, where he has led over forty pilgrimages, structured to provide income and em-ployment for the indigenous Christian communities of Palestine and Israel.

Urban Initiative for

Chicago High School Vocal Music Teachers

On Friday, February 16, 2018, Chicago high school vocal music teachers may attend the conference at no cost. A panel discussion about the challenges of teach-ing in an urban setting will include conductors and high school administrators from Chicago.

Windy City High School Honors Chorus

The Windy City High School Honors Chorus is com-posed of Chicago high school students in grades 9-12 who have been nominated by their teachers. The stu-dents will rehearse with conductor Stacey Gibbs on Fri-day afternoon and will premiere a new commissioned piece written by Gibbs for this occasion prior to the Fri-day night headline concert. There is no cost for the stu-dents to participate in this honors chorus.

Stacey V. Gibbs is an internationally ac-claimed composer and arranger who is best known for his arrangements of spir-ituals. His setting of Way Over in Beulah Lan’ was performed at the 2013 inaugu-ral service for President Barack Obama.

More recently, two of his arrangements were debuted at the 2017 World Symposium on Choral Music in Barce-lona, Spain. Gibbs has served as a clinician nationally

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26 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

sung and recorded with Grammy-winning vocal ensem-bles around the world. Audivi performs several concerts each season in the Detroit and Ann Arbor metro areas. Highlights include the Detroit metro area premiere of Monteverdi’s 1610 Vespers, the fi rst Detroit-area histori-cal performance of Bach’s Mass in B minor with the Mich-igan Bach Collective, and the Friday Night Live series at the Detroit Institute of Arts. This year, Audivi released The Stolen Child, an album of choral works by Scott Per-kins.

Noah Horn is the artistic director of Audivi and directs the choral program at Wayne State University in Detroit, where he conducts two choirs, supervises the master’s program in choral conduct-

orchestras, choirs, and festivals across four continents. Noble was a charter member of ACDA.

Stace N. Stegman

Award Presentation

The Stace N. Stegman Award was established in 2003 by the Central Region of ACDA in memory of Stace N. Stegman (1946-2003), who gave tirelessly and selfl essly in the service of choral music. To the many conductors, teachers, and performers who knew him as a colleague and friend, Stegman will always stand for what is best in our profession. He demonstrated passion, knowledge, and integrity in his work. In this spirit, and in recogni-tion of signifi cant contributions to the choral art and to the Central Region of ACDA, the Stace N. Stegman Award is presented at each Central Region conference to a member who has demonstrated similar characteris-tics in service to the choral art.

and internationally for university, high school, profes-sional, and church choral organizations. The Stacey V. Gibbs Chorale made its debut in July 2016.

Weston H. Noble

Lifetime Achievement Award Presentation

In 1994 the North Central Region of ACDA estab-lished the Weston H. Noble Award for Lifetime Achieve-ment to recognize outstanding contributions to the cho-ral art. Weston Noble (1922-2016) was the fi rst recipient of this award that is presented biannually at North Central Region conferences. Noble was a beloved and honored music educator and conductor who received acclaim from across the country and the world as the conductor of the Luther College Nordic Choir (1948-2005), the Luther College Concert Band (1948-1973), and as guest director for more than 900 all-state bands,

Auditioned ChoirsAuditioned Choirs

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

Audivi

Audivi is a professional vocal ensemble based in De-troit, Michigan. Founded in 2013, its members have

Special EventsSpecial Events

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 27

He currently serves as secretary of Indiana ACDA and director of music at First Presbyterian Church in Mun-cie. He holds degrees in music education and conducting from Bowling Green State University, Kent State Uni-versity, and the University of North Texas.

Capital University

Chapel Choir

Since 1929 the Capital University Chapel Choir has upheld the rich Lutheran heritage of fi ne choral sing-ing and has received national and international acclaim as a premier collegiate choral ensemble. The choir’s longstanding touring tradition has sent them around the world, leveraging the transformative power of mu-sic through their thematic, narrative-style concerts and connecting people from diverse cultures. The Chapel Choir has performed for ACDA, NCCO, Ohio MEA, NAfME, Association of Lutheran Church Musicians, and for Interkultur at the World Choir Games, where they won gold medals in the Mixed Choir and Musica Sacra competitions.

Lynda R. Hasseler is director of choral ac-tivities, professor of music, and co-chair of the voice area in the Conservatory of Music at Capital University in Colum-bus, Ohio, where she directs the Chapel Choir, Choral Union, a vocal chamber

ensemble, and teaches conducting. She is co-editor of the Capital University Choral Series published by Beck-enhorst Press and is a member of the Music for All Na-tional Artistic Advisory Committee. As a singer, Hasseler performed, toured, and recorded with professional cho-ral ensembles including the Robert Shaw Festival Cho-rus and the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus.

Auditioned Choirs

ing, and teaches music theory. He also serves as artistic director of Oakland Choral Society, a community choir and orchestra devoted to performing classical master-works, and directs the music program at Grosse Pointe Woods Presbyterian Church. Horn holds a doctorate from Yale University and four additional degrees from Yale and Oberlin Conservatory. As a professional tenor, he has sung with several nationally recruited ensembles.

Ball State University Women’s Chorus

The Ball State University Women’s Chorus is one of six choral ensembles in the School of Music at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Composed of a broad mix of music majors and students from disciplines across campus, the choir performs several times each semester, including collaborations with other Ball State ensembles and the annual “Women of Song” concert for Women’s Week each March. Recent major-works projects include Orff ’s Carmina Burana, Rutter’s Gloria, and Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in D Minor. In 2018 the choir will host composer Abbie Betinis on campus in conjunction with the BSU Festival of New Music.

Kerry Glann serves as associate director of choral activities at Ball State Uni-versity, where he conducts the Concert Choir and Women’s Chorus and teaches conducting and choral literature. Choirs under his direction have performed at

state music education conferences in Indiana and Ohio.

Special Events

February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

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28 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

Columbus International Children’s Choir

The award-winning Columbus International Chil-dren’s Choir (CICC) off ers premier singing education and performance experience for children of Central Ohio. Formed in 1998 by artistic director Tatiana Kats, the choir is now composed of 220 singers ages four to nineteen. The choir performed at the Ohio MEA pro-fessional development conference in Cleveland (2017), St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican (2016), The White House for President Obama and the First Lady (2015), Carn-egie Hall (2015, 2006), and on the Great Wall of China (2011). CICC performs with Columbus Symphony, Op-era Columbus, BalletMet, and other professional musi-cal organizations in Central Ohio.

Tatiana Kats is the founder of Columbus Music and Art Competition, Columbus International Children’s Choir, and the Central Ohio Singing Competition. She is the artistic director of the choir and conducts Vocalise and Swallow choirs.

Kats earned two master’s degrees from the Ohio State University. Before coming to the United States, she re-ceived music education and worked as a director of a music school and conductor of youth and mixed choirs in Moscow, Russia. Kats received Columbus Sympho-ny’s Music Educator Award.

Eastern Michigan UniversityChoir

The Eastern Michigan University Choir is an audi-tioned mixed ensemble whose membership embodies EMU’s diversity, with all majors invited. Whether per-forming a Renaissance mass setting, a baroque motet, or an African American spiritual, the choir delights in well-crafted choral music. They provide concerts fi lled with a diverse repertoire and frequently perform major master-works. With a commitment to community engagement and performance beyond the boundaries of campus, the ensemble tours annually with performances across Eu-rope, Mexico, United Kingdom, and the United States.

Brandon Johnson is the director of choral activities at Eastern Michigan University and the artistic director and conductor of the Detroit Concert Choir. He has conducted professional musicians across the United States while maintaining his

extensive work with students of all ages. He has per-formed in venues across the country and will return to Carnegie Hall in March 2018 to lead a national honor choir with Manhattan Concert Productions. He was se-lected to conduct the Grammy-winning Oregon Bach Festival Chorus and Orchestra.

Auditioned ChoirsAuditioned Choirs

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 29

Iowa City West High School

Iowa City West Singers

Iowa City West Singers is an auditioned ensemble of eleventh- and twelfth-grade students. Emphasis is placed on correct singing technique, music literacy skills, and the study and performance of sacred and secular works from the Renaissance period through the present day. The choir performs at each choral music concert, ad-ditional invited choral performances, and on an annual tour. Many students within this ensemble participate in the full spectrum of vocal music off erings at West High, including show choir, solo/ensemble Festival, Iowa City West Chorale, gospel choir, all-state, and the annual mu-sical production.

David Haas is the director of choral ac-tivities at West High School in Iowa City, Iowa; director of music at St. Ste-phen’s Lutheran Church in Cedar Rap-ids, Iowa; and founder of Vocal Artists of Iowa, a semi-professional choir based

out of the Cedar Rapids/Iowa City area. At West High, Haas directs Bass Choir, Treble Choir, West Singers, The Goodtime Company Show Choir, and Iowa City West Chorale. Haas holds a bachelor’s in vocal performance from Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, and a master’s in choral conducting from the Florida State University.

Auditioned Choirs

February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

Iowa State University

Iowa State Singers

The Iowa State Singers is Iowa State University’s most select choral ensemble. Composed of freshmen through seniors, approximately one-half music ma-jors, the choir’s membership is drawn from a campus of approximately 37,000 students. The seventy-member group annually presents a fi ve-concert season, which in-cludes a full-scale Madrigal Dinner and choral-orches-tral masterwork. Concert tours have taken them around the world. The choir has been honored to perform at regional and national conferences of ACDA in 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, and 2015, and twice for NCCO. In 2013 the Singers were named the national winners of The American Prize, College/University Chorus Divi-sion.

James Rodde, the Louise Moen Profes-sor and Director of Choral Activities at Iowa State University, Ames, conducts the Iowa State Singers, the 150-voice Iowa Statesmen, teaches choral con-ducting and literature, and oversees a

program of roughly 400 undergraduate choristers. An active clinician, he has led numerous festival ensembles, including two regional ACDA honor choirs and several all-states. As a conducting mentor, one of his students won the 2005 ACDA undergraduate conducting com-petition. Beyond his university duties, Rodde is the artis-tic director of the Des Moines Choral Society. For more than a decade he served ACDA as the North Central R&R Chair for Men’s Choirs.

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30 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

Auditioned ChoirsAuditioned Choirs

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

Lawrence University

Cantala (Lawrence University Women’s Choir)

Cantala, Lawrence University Women’s Choir is a se-lect ensemble comprising women (mostly freshmen and sophomores) whose fi elds of study represent the broad diversity in a liberal arts education. Founded in the fall of 2000, the choir performs a wide range of literature that includes traditional women’s literature, world, folk, and contemporary works. They are proud to perform and record new compositions by established and emerg-ing composers from around the world. In addition to its own repertoire, Cantala annually joins forces with all LU choirs and orchestra in performances of choral-orches-tral masterworks.

Phillip A. Swan is co-director of cho-ral studies at Lawrence University and musical director for LU Musicals. Swan co-directs Cantala and Concert Choir, directs Hybrid Ensemble, and teaches courses in conducting and musical the-

ater. He is active in the Appleton community, serving as artistic director and conductor for newVoices, and is choir director at Appleton Alliance Church. Swan re-ceived degrees from Concordia College (Moorhead), UT El Paso, and the University of Miami (Florida). He participated in the 2014 China International Conduc-tor’s Exchange Program and currently serves as the Na-tional R&R Chair for Women’s Choir.

Madison Choral Project

The Madison Choral Project is a professional cham-ber choir in Madison, Wisconsin. Founded in 2013 by conductor Albert Pinsonneault, the ensemble has consis-tently received high praise for its musicianship and inno-vative programming. The “project” of MCP is to enrich lives in the community by giving voice to the great music of our diverse world; to express, to inspire, to heal; to garner joy in the experience of live music; and to edu-cate and strengthen the next generation of singers and listeners.

Albert Pinsonneault is founder and ar-tistic director of the Madison Choral Project. He is also associate director of choral organizations at Northwestern University’s Bienen School of Music, where he conducts the University Sing-

ers, co-conducts University Chorale, teaches the gradu-ate choral literature sequence, and mentors graduate students. Pinsonneault serves as artistic director of the Madison Chamber Choir, an advanced volunteer choir. He is a graduate of St. Olaf College, the University of Minnesota, and the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati. Pinsonneault’s published work, Choral Intonation Exercises, is available through Graphite Publishing.

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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 31

Auditioned Choirs

February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

Miami University

Men’s Glee Club

The Miami University Men’s Glee Club, founded in 1907, has maintained a tradition of musical excellence, brotherhood, and camaraderie throughout its storied his-tory. With a membership of approximately 100 students representing academic disciplines across the university, it is among the oldest and largest collegiate male glee clubs in the nation. As advocates for the creation and perfor-mance of new repertoire, the Glee Club established an annual commission series. Its fi rst commercial recording, Veiled Light, was released in 2016 with Albany Records.

Jeremy D. Jones, associate professor of music at Miami University and Naus Family Faculty Scholar, conducts the Men’s Glee Club, Collegiate Chorale, and teaches choral music education. Ap-pearances with the Glee Club include

the Central ACDA Region Conference (2014). Jones represented ACDA in the International Conductors Ex-change Program to China in 2014. He serves on ACDA’s Standing Committee for International Activities and is the Central Region Representative for ICEP. He holds degrees from Middle Tennessee State University, East Carolina University, and University of Cincinnati Col-lege-Conservatory of Music.

Millikin University Choir

The fl agship of the Millikin choral fl eet, the Univer-sity Choir has gained a reputation for its ongoing pursuit of stylistic variety and tonal diversity. Rather than iden-tifying with a particular choral sound, the choir strives to create a distinct sonority for each piece in its reper-toire. Its unique approach has been featured at multiple ACDA conferences and MEA conventions. The Mil-likin University Choir’s annual two-week tour across the United States is augmented by an extensive international résumé. The choir has produced eight CDs on Millikin’s First Step Records label.

Brad Holmes is serving his twenty-sev-enth year as director of choir programs at Millikin University in Decatur, IL. International guest-conducting invita-tions have taken him across Europe and the Far East. Domestically, his résumé

includes 250 guest-conducting engagements with all-state choirs, ACDA honor choirs, high school festivals, and church music clinics throughout the United States. Choirs under his direction have sung in every state but Alaska and in thirty-fi ve countries. Holmes’s composi-tions are published by Santa Barbara Music Press, First Step Publishing, and through Bradholmesmusic.com.

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32 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

Auditioned ChoirsAuditioned Choirs

2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

Port Washington High School

Limited Edition

Limited Edition is the Premier A Cappella Ensemble at Port Washington High School in Port Washington, Wisconsin. Now in their seventeenth year, the group has performed all over the United States at regional and na-tional events, festivals, and national competitions. Since 2010 the ensemble has advanced to the International High School A Cappella Championships fi ve times, win-ning in 2010 and three times placing in the top three. Limited Edition was selected to be part of four Best of High School A Cappella albums and was nominated in two categories for a Contemporary A Cappella Record-ing Artists award in 2016.

Dennis Gephart is in his eighteenth year as director of choral activities at Port Washington High School. Gephart has served on the Wisconsin Choral Direc-tors Association Board as the R&R Chair for both men’s music and contemporary

a cappella. In 2016 he chaired a committee in partner-ship with the Wisconsin State Music Association to de-velop the nation’s fi rst contemporary a cappella Solo and Ensemble event. That same year he co-founded “A Cap-pella University,” Wisconsin’s fi rst a cappella summer camp for both students and educators.

Providence Academy

Chamber Choir

Providence Academy’s Chamber Choir is the premier mixed ensemble consisting of freshmen through seniors. These advanced singers are selected by audition from Academy Chorale, the school’s largest curricular mixed ensemble. Providence’s Chamber Choir was selected to perform for the Minnesota MEA Midwinter Convention in 2016. They also sing for various community events and venues, including the Mall of America Holiday Mu-sic Extravaganza for nursing homes and local parishes.

Richard Carrillo is in his sixth year as the Middle School and Upper School Choir director at Providence Academy. Since his arrival, the choir program has grown exponentially, with a third of Provi-dence’s Upper School students in choir

and a number of students in one of two middle school ensembles. Prior to his time at Providence, Carrillo was the assistant choir director at Friendswood High School in Friendswood, TX, where his choirs received multiple UIL Sweepstakes Ratings. Carrillo graduated from the Moores School of Music at the University of Houston.

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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 33

Auditioned Choirs

February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

The St. John’s Boys’ Choir

Founded in 1981 by the monks of Saint John’s Ab-bey, The St. John’s Boys’ Choir continues the tradition of enabling boys to express themselves through music and provides an environment that nurtures and encour-ages creativity. Now in its thirty-seventh season, the or-ganization has grown to include four choral ensembles for boys ages 8-15 who represent home, public, and private schools in more than fi fteen communities across Central Minnesota. They have performed at state and region conferences of ACDA, twice appeared at the Or-egon Bach Festival, and have appeared on the nationally broadcast A Prairie Home Companion.

André Heywood has served as artistic director of The St. John’s Boys’ Choir since 2007, in addition to holding con-ducting positions at Saint John’s Uni-versity, Abbey, Preparatory School, and the National Catholic Youth Choir. Hey-

wood serves on the faculty of the VoiceCare Network, where he teaches adolescent voice pedagogy. He has twice been awarded by ACDA Minnesota—in 2011 with the VocalEssence Creative Programming Award and in 2013 as Outstanding Young Choral Director of the Year. He is currently a doctoral candidate at the University of Toronto.

 St. Michael-Albertville High School

Concert Choir

As a fl agship organization for the district, the St. Mi-chael-Albertville High School Music Program prides it-self on excellence and inclusion for the over 600 students that it serves. The St. Michael-Albertville High School Concert Choir is one of eighteen performing ensembles off ered at the high school level. The eighty-two-voiced auditioned ensemble is composed of students in grades 10-12 and rehearses daily for sixty-two minutes. Recent performance highlights include invitational performanc-es with American Public Media, ACDA, and Minnesota MEA.

Brandon Berger is one of two choir di-rectors at St. Michael-Albertville High School, where he has worked since the fall of 2015. He graduated from St. Olaf College in Northfi eld, Minnesota, with a bachelor’s in vocal music education. At

STMA, Berger directs four curricular ensembles, four co-curricular ensembles, and serves as the assistant di-rector of the annual high school musical. In addition to his role as a choir teacher at STMA, he also coaches track and fi eld.

Joseph Osowski is one of two choral di-rectors at St. Michael-Albertville High School. He holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education from North Dakota State University. At STMA, Os-owski directs four curricular ensembles,

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34 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

orative engagement and action and music’s ability to convey controver-sial and emotionally charged issues to a broad audience.

Elizabeth Fisher is an assistant profes-sor of choral music at the University of Minnesota Duluth, where she serves as

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four co-curricular ensembles, and serves as the vocal di-rector of the annual high school musical. Osowski also serves as a conductor for Minnesota Public Radio’s Bring the Sing, conducting community choral events fostering and celebrating singing throughout the state of Minne-sota. In 2017 he served as a conducting fellow in ACDA’s International Conductors Exchange Program.

University of Michigan

Men’s Glee Club

Founded in 1859, the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club is one of the oldest collegiate choruses in the

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2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

United States and the oldest continually run student or-ganization on the Michigan campus. The Glee Club was honored in 1959 to be the fi rst American male chorus to win fi rst place at the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales. The Glee Club has made appearanc-es at regional and national ACDA and IMC conferences, most recently at the 2015 National ACDA Conference in Salt Lake City. Their documentary fi lm, “Love, Life & Loss,” won seven Michigan Emmy Awards.

Eugene Rogers is a leading conductor, pedagogue, and lecturer. He has ap-peared throughout the United States and abroad and was recently awarded the Sphinx Medal of Excellence for his commitment to excellence and his pas-

sion for issues of social justice and music. Rogers is cur-rently an associate professor of conducting and the as-sociate director of choirs at the University of Michigan (Ann Arbor), where he will assume the position of di-rector of choirs in July 2018. He currently serves as the National Chair of ACDA’s Diversity Initiatives Standing Committee and on the boards of Chorus America and NCCO.

Beyond the Benefi t Concert:

Activism through

Community Collaboration

In recent years, choirs have begun prioritizing community collabora-tions around social justice issues. However, these partnerships typical-ly take the form of one-time benefi t concerts, lacking meaningful con-

nection between ensemble members and the community organization or social justice issue it may address. This session describes a collabora-tion between music and social work academics and a human traffi cking organization in the Midwest. Inter-disciplinary partnerships like this can strengthen community collabo-rations for social justice by harness-ing social work’s strengths of collab-

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Auditioned Choirs

February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

head of the Vocal Jazz Program, conducts the UMD Concert Cho-rale, and teaches choral music edu-cation, conducting, voice, and aural skills courses. In 2015 she was select-ed as a semifi nalist in ACDA’s Na-tional Graduate Conducting Com-petition. She holds degrees from Millikin University, Westminster Choir College, and Michigan State University.

Colleen Fisher is an associate professor of Social Work at the University of Min-nesota. Her current projects examine

structural interventions to address HIV/AIDS in Kenya, LGBTQ-supportive school climates, and re-search translation and dissemination for public audiences. She is currently evaluating a model of community-based participatory study abroad for social work education. Fisher teaches graduate and undergraduate cours-es, including Introduction to Social Justice, Social Work Research Meth-ods, Program Evaluation, and Social Work and Diff erence, Diversity & Privilege.

Composition in the Choral Music Classroom: Lessons from a

Composer-in-Residence Song-writing Workshop for Elementary

Choristers

For the past fi fteen years, choral composer Jim Papoulis has traveled biennially to the Chicagoland area to engage the North Shore Country

Day School Lower School Chorus in three-day songwriting workshops. Based on ethnographic research con-ducted during the 2017 Songwriting Workshop, this session will explore the process of collective songwrit-ing in the choral music classroom and examine the values and benefi ts of such a project from the perspec-tives of the choristers, their teachers, their parents, and the composer. The North Shore Country Day School Lower School Chorus, under the di-rection of Linda Kiracibasi, will be on site as a demonstration choir.

Sarah J. Bartolome, an assistant profes-sor of music educa-tion at Northwestern University, is a chil-dren’s music special-

ist with an interest in choral culture globally. Bartolome has conducted for such prestigious youth choirs as the Greater Boston Youth Chorus and the Seattle Girls’ Choir and was the founding director of the Loui-siana State University Girls’ Choir. She is a frequent clinician, present-ing workshops at local, regional, and national conferences. She presently serves as the associate director of the Evanston Children’s Choir.

Contemporary Folk Chinese

Choral Repertoire

A description for this session was not available at press time.

Liu Mei will be the clinician for this session, and the Shenzhen Golden

Bell Youth Choir will be the demon-stration choir. Their photos and bios are on page 24.

Discovering Talent:

Strategies to Recruit New Students

into the School Choral Program

As choral directors, we are always exploring ways to recruit singers and increase enrollment in our programs. At a time when students are inundat-ed with a variety of courses and ac-tivities, how can we encourage them to try singing in a choir? This session will focus on identifying and devel-oping recruitment eff orts that appeal to a broader school community at all musical levels. The clinician will also share strategies to engage beginning students in rehearsal so they feel comfortable to participate fully.

Jennifer Sengin is a doctoral student in choral conducting at Michigan State Uni-versity, where she directs the Women’s

Glee Club and assists in the choral methods course. Previously, Sengin served as the director of choirs at East Brunswick High School in NJ and on the faculty of the Ithaca Col-lege Summer Music Academy. She has contributed to articles in the Cho-ral Journal and Tempo Magazine and served as New Jersey ACDA’s R&R Chair of Ethnic and Multicultural Music. Sengin earned a master’s in choral conducting from Ithaca Col-lege.

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36 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

The Engaging Choral Classroom:

Capitalizing on

Adolescents’ Enthusiasm

in Middle School Ensembles

Choral teacher-conductors are for-tunate to teach one of the most en-gaging of academic disciplines. This session will capitalize on this strength of our art, exploring repertoire, re-hearsal techniques, and planning strategies for fostering engagement in middle school choral rehearsals. Attendees will participate in sample rehearsal experiences, each designed to highlight a specifi c type of en-gagement: intellectual, physical, so-cial, and aff ective. Repertoire upon which sample experiences will be based will be appropriate for adoles-cent singers’ vocal, developmental, and social-emotional needs.

Julia Shaw is assistant professor of music education at The Ohio State Univer-sity. Shaw has served as guest conductor

for numerous all-state, festival, and honor choirs. She has presented in-terest sessions and research at na-tional, regional, and state conferenc-es of NAfME, ACDA, and OAKE, and the International Research in Music Education Conference. Her research appears in the Journal of Research in Music Education, Choral Journal, Music Education Research, Arts Education Policy Review, and Music Ed-ucators Journal. She presently serves as teacher education consultant for the Chicago Children’s Choir.

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Enhancing the Choral Art

through Dalcroze Eurhythmics

The objective of this session is to introduce attendees to the Dalcroze approach and its application to the choral art by providing practical tools for enhancing rehearsals and performances. The goals of Dal-croze Eurhythmics are to develop and increase focus, rhythmic integ-rity, expression, musicianship skills, and social interaction. Implement-ing Dalcroze techniques in the cho-ral rehearsal connects singers to the music in a tactile, kinesthetic man-ner. In this session, participants will be actively engaged in a variety of movement exercises that have direct, practical application to the choral rehearsal.

Richard Schnipke serves as assistant professor of con-ducting at Bowling Green State Univer-sity, where he leads

the Collegiate Chorale and Men’s Chorus, and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses. Choirs un-der Schnipke’s direction have sung for conferences of Ohio MEA, Ohio ACDA, the American Musicological Society, and the association of Inter-collegiate Men’s Choruses. Schnipke also performs regularly as a profes-sional chorister and serves as presi-dent of Ohio ACDA.

Marla Butke, Ph.D., directs the Women’s Chorale at Otterbein Uni-versity, teaches Choral Methods at Capital University, and has taught at

Ashland University, Xavier University, and Ohio Wesleyan University. She holds degrees from Miami University, Wright

State University, and The Ohio State University. She is a Master Teaching Artist with the American Eurhythmics Society, serves as the vice president of the board of AES, and is the Ohio Chapter President. Her book, co-authored by David Frego, Meaningful Movement: A Music Teacher’s Guide to Dalcroze Eurhythmics, was just released.

Game of Tones:

Creative Ways to

Explore Choral Sound

The physical processes that pro-duce vocal tone are internal and largely invisible to singers. Choirs must use their imaginations to un-derstand and explore concepts like support, focus, space, weight, and color. This session presents cre-ative movements, images, activities, and vocal exercises appropriate for all ages and designed to promote healthy sound production and im-prove choral tone in a group rehears-al setting. Activities are grounded in an understanding of vocal anatomy and designed to engage students’ imaginations and bodies and to fos-ter a spirit of play in the choral class-room.

Zachary Durlam is director of cho-ral activities at UW Milwaukee. He

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February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

leads multiple choirs and teaches gradu-ate and undergradu-ate conducting. He previously taught at Fresno Pacifi c Uni-

versity, where he was awarded the 2013 Faculty Distinguished Service Award. Durlam holds degrees from Luther College, the University of Iowa, and Michigan State Univer-sity. He frequently works as a guest conductor and clinician and serves as editor of the WCDA state news-letter.

Good News from Haiti:

The Choral Music

of Emile Desamours

and Sydney Guillaume

One of the keys to survival in Haiti is developing the ability to as-similate all kinds of seemingly con-tradictory infl uences. Haitian music is a prime example of this assimila-tion, existing in a variety of modes and refl ecting a vast array of ances-tors but still possessing a distinctive character. The music of Emile Desa-mours and Sydney Guillaume uses the types of melodies and rhythms

found in Haitian ceremonial music, the sounds of indigenous instru-ments, and the vocal interjections of popular music to convey the creative spirit and the exuberance of their country. This session will examine several of their compositions, with special emphasis on teaching their challenging rhythms and vocal inter-jections and on engaging singers in their positive messages.

John Jost, director of choral activities at Bradley Univer-sity, has been teach-ing at Bradley since

NORTH CENTR AL COLLEGEC H O R A L M U S I C A T

To schedule an individual campus visit call 630-637-5800 or visit northcentralcollege.edu/visitnorthcentralcollege.edu l 30 N. Brainard Street l Naperville, IL l 630-637-5800

» Instrumental Ensembles: Concert Winds, Symphony Band, Chamber Players, Chamber String; Brass, Wind and Percussion

» Athletic Bands: Cardinal Marching Band, Basketball Pep Band

» Choral Ensembles: Chamber Singers, Concert Choir, Women’s Chorale, Cardinal Chorus, Opera Workshop, Naperville Chorus

» Jazz Ensembles: Big Band, Jazz Combos, Vocal Jazz

Ensembles at North Central College Majors available: » Music Education (Choral or

Instrumental) » Music Performance (Vocal, Piano,

Instrumental, String) » Music Composition » Jazz Studies

Audition Days:Monday, January 15Saturday, February 10Saturday, March 3

Freshman Visit Days:Monday, January 15Monday, February 19Friday, March 2Monday, April 2

Transfer Visit Days:Friday, December 1Saturday, January 6Friday, February 16Saturday, March 10Saturday, March 24Friday, April 6

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38 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

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2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

1989. He taught in Haiti for four years and served for forty years as director of a music camp for Hai-tian youth. He is artistic director of the Peoria Bach Festival, played principal viola with the Peoria Sym-phony Orchestra, and has served as president of Illinois ACDA. Jost re-ceived his bachelor’s, master’s, and doctorate degrees from Stanford University. He has received awards for service and teaching from Brad-ley, ACDA, the Haitian Ministry of Culture, and the Haitian Episcopal Church.

Gospel Music and the Concert

Stage: Understanding Style and

Stage Presence When Performing

Gospel Music

This session will delve into the practical approach of teaching and understanding Gospel Music and its unique styles and characteristics of diction/dialect, timbre, tempo, form, phrasing, instrumentation, and overall stage presence. This ses-sion is geared toward conductors and educators who seek to perform gos-pel music with authenticity. Attend-ees will be presented with a range of gospel choral compositions. Books and media resources surrounding topics of historical context, composi-tional procedures, and performance practice of gospel music will also be provided.

Jillian Harrison-Jones is a third-year doc-toral candidate in choral conducting at the University of Cincinnati, College-

Conservatory of Music (CCM), and the Richard Wesp Assistant Con-ductor of the Cincinnati Children’s Choir. Harrison-Jones has experi-ence with children’s, women’s, col-legiate, and community choirs and orchestras. Her research interest is in the performance practice and schol-arship of African American Spiritu-als and Gospel Music, and she de-votes her career to redeeming the forgotten and lesser-known choral works of African American compos-ers.

Intonation and Language Skills

in Chinese Choral Works

Featuring the Shenzhen Golden

Bell Youth Chorus

A description for this session was not available at press time.

Chen Guanghui is the vice president of the China Chorus As-sociation. Guanghui was a visiting inter-national conductor

in the 2014 International Choral Ex-change Program and was a presenter at ACDA’s 2016 Eastern Region and Western Region Conferences.

Knowing the Score:

Where Pedagogy Becomes

Classroom Management

Knowing the choral score cre-ates understanding of the needed vocal pedagogy, a student-focus on the music, and a teacher-focus on choral pedagogy instead of class-room management. An approach to score study, vocal and choral peda-gogy for adolescents, and how this focus can guide planning, teaching, and performance will be discussed in this session. Rehearsal strategies and music examples will be shared with participants working on a score study to assist in lesson design and student-centered classroom manage-ment.

Thomas Blue is the choral director at Rochester Adams High School and Van Hoosen Middle School in Roch-

ester Hills, MI. The school choirs consistently receive excellent and superior ratings at district and state choral festivals. Blue holds degrees from Roberts Wesleyan College and Michigan State University. He is an adjudicator/clinician for MSVMA and is on the board of ACDA MI as the MS/JH R&R Chair. He has conducted the Session III JH/MS SATB Choir/Chamber Choir at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp for the past ten summers.

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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 39

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February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

Making Musical

Theater Musical

There are many instances where the choral director also serves as the music director for musicals in their school of any size and grade level. A how-to for uniting styles, this ses-sion will discuss how to use classical vocal training as a basis for teaching healthy vocal techniques required for musical theater, Disney, and other pop idoms. There seem to be two major misconceptions in young singers’ heads: they either think they have to sound just like a certain art-ist and aren’t true to themselves, or

they just don’t know how to go far enough into a style. Examples and suggested solutions will be given.

Christopher Larson received his cho-ral conducting and collaborative piano master’s degrees

from the University of South Da-kota. He then moved across the hall-way to the Theatre Department at USD, where he is in his third year as the accompanist and music director. His work with the theater depart-ment has led to him working with several young actors who have gone on to get roles on Broadway and in

regional theatres in major cities. He is also the director of music and or-ganist at the Vermillion First United Methodist Church.

Phoning it In:

Using Technology for

Eff ective Assessment

In order to allow our choristers to progress musically, we need to have a clear understanding of what they know and what they can do. This session will off er practical, technol-ogy-based solutions for individual and group assessment of sight-sing-

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40 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

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2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

ing, repertoire, and music theory knowledge that can be used by any choir director during or following re-hearsal. As technology is continually evolving, this session will conclude with an open discussion of current uses of technology in the choral en-semble.

Adam White is a sec-ond-year PhD stu-dent in music educa-tion at Northwestern University. He holds a bachelor’s from

Kansas State University and a mas-ter’s from the University of Kan-sas. White taught choir in rural and suburban public schools for sixteen years. His choirs have performed at the Kansas MEA Conference and have regularly received top ratings at festivals.

Sing On, Chicago:

Panel Discussion with

Chicago Conductors and

High School Administrator on

Urban Choral Challenges

This session is an open panel dis-cussion relating to issues and chal-lenges that elementary, high school, and college-level directors face while teaching in urban settings. This session will include a short presen-tation from the “Join Voices, Chi-cago! 2016-2017” festival, which developed out of a similar panel discussion at the 2016 Central Re-gion Conference. Topics include ob-

stacles and challenges that directors face; gaining and keeping support from administrators, parents, and community; promoting singing in el-ementary, high school, and beyond; and the future of choral education in urban settings.

Grace Jeong received her bachelor’s from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her master’s from

VanderCook College of Music. This is Jeong’s fi fteenth year teaching at Chicago Public Schools. She cur-rently directs at Whitney M. Young Magnet High School. In 2016, Jeong helped organize the Urban Initia-tive Panel discussion at the Central ACDA Region Conference. From that discussion with Karyl Carlson came the idea of “Join Voices, Chi-cago,” where 700 Chicago students came together to celebrate choral music.

Uniting in Song

through the Lens of Inclusion

Do you fi nd yourself refl ecting on inclusion and diversity when select-ing repertoire for your choir? Do you ever wonder what questions other choral conductors ask themselves when programming concerts? This panel discussion off ers a safe con-versation about programming reper-toire through this lens. We will hear from a respected group of panelists about what diverse and inclusive

repertoire looks like to them, how they think about which communities are highlighted within a piece, which communities might inadvertently be left out of some programming, and how these questions can infl uence the repertoire selection process. We will reserve time for a Q&A.

Panelists: K atherine Chan, Jane Ramseyer Miller, Erik Peregrine, Eu-gene Rogers, and G. Phillip Shoultz, III

Catherine Dalton spe-cializes in vocal mu-sic inspired by classi-cal, jazz, folk, world music, and chant. Her music has been

performed by Vox Femina Los An-geles, VocalEssence Chorus, Min-nesota’s SATB All-State Choir, new music ensemble, Zeitgeist, and choirs across the United States and abroad. Her works are regularly selected for national and regional choral reading sessions, and she has received grants from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council and Meet the Composer.

Vocal Jazz Improvisation

for New Improvisers

Have you ever wished you could improvise or teach your singers to improvise? Does improvising in front of others or the thought of teaching singers to improvise scare you? This session includes a set of strategies and ideas that Sharri VanAlstine has learned, used, and developed in

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CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6 41

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February 14 - 17, 2018 Chicago, Illinois

teach vocal jazz improvisation. This session will feature ideas for how to build improvisation skills for begin-ning singers—from re-shaping a known tune, singing over a twelve-bar blues or other chord changes, to using online resources and apps.

Sharri VanAlstine joined the faculty at UW-Whitewater in 2011. She also directs the UW-W

Vocal Jazz Ensemble and the Vocal Jazz Turnaround, both auditioned groups that perform frequently in

the community and region. VanA-lstine has presented regionally, na-tionally, and internationally. She also has publications in a variety of jour-nals, including Music Educators Jour-nal, Journal of Education, and Training Studies, and a variety of conference proceedings.

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42 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2018 Volume 58 Number 6

Warming up Your Adolescent

Voices: A “How-To” Guide

In this “nuts-and-bolts” session, we will explore the issues and chal-lenges of the adolescent voice. We will discuss such topics as why we warm up, a basic warm-up outline, and some common mistakes we all make. We will examine and sing through exercises that address a vari-ety of vocal challenges. We will also explore which keys and ranges work best, or not at all, for your middle school choirs. You will leave with a clear plan for building your young voices in a healthy, effi cient way.

Dan Andersen is in his thirty-fi fth year of public school teach-ing. He has held numerous leader-ship positions at the

state and region levels. He is active as a clinician, festival conductor, and judge in Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, and Illinois. He has served as guest conductor for the Indiana All-State Vocal Jazz Choir, the Indiana All-State Middle School Honor Choir, and the Kentucky All-State Junior High Honor Choir. His book, Warm-Ups For Changing Voices, was recently released.

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2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

What is My Larynx Doing?

Developing Vocal Technique

Awareness in Young Boys

Through Carlos Vieira’s work at Minot State University, he has real-ized that young singers need a basic understanding of the function of their larynx to provide the founda-tion of a healthy vocal technique. This workshop will focus on intro-ducing the larynx to your singers with exercises to feel and map the larynx, explore its many movements and characteristics, and develop self-awareness and control. With the help of a choir, we will show how to build better and healthier choices for per-formance and vocal technique devel-opment. Additionally, a Powerpoint presentation will be shared with the audience to show the structure of the larynx, its physiology, and the main problems and issues related to its use.

Carlos Vieira is di-rector of choral ac-tivities and assistant professor of voice at Minot State Uni-versity. With experi-

ence in diff erent choral settings, he has developed a wide repertoire and many rehearsal techniques. His sing-ing activities have taken him to Eu-rope and the Americas. He earned his bachelor’s in voice at São Paulo State University and won awards in several voice competitions. Vieira completed his doctorate at the Uni-versity of Alabama in 2016.

When Your Choir is

too Tired to Phonate

and You Need to Rehearse....!

If your choir is “sung out,” either too exhausted or vocally impaired to sing well, this session will provide exercises and demonstrations that will release laryngeal tension, relax the vocal folds, improve breath fl ow, assist phonation, give singers a new way to experience resonance on their own—using inexpensive mate-rials—and help rebuild healthy vocal habits. Everything is geared to choirs of all levels, voicings, and repertoire choices and is based on current vocal pedagogy and voice rehabilitation techniques.

Judith Nicosia is as-sociate professor at Rutgers University, where she teaches voice, pedagogy, dic-tion, art song litera-

ture, and serves as head of the Voice Faculty. She has recently been select-ed to join the American Academy of Teachers of Singing, while fi nishing her term as president of the New York Singing Teachers Association and serving as secretary for Eastern ACDA. She has been an invited cli-nician at local, regional, and nation-al levels for NATS. Vocal workshops for ACDA and various state music education organizations have taken her to ten states.

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2018 ACDA Central/North Central Region Conference

Collegiate Repertoire

René Clausen, conductor of The Con-cordia Choir, is only the third conductor since the choir’s founding in 1920. In ad-dition to conducting, Clausen is known worldwide as a composer. He has written more than 120 commissioned works and

has conducted major choral-orchestral performances, choral festivals, and workshops in more than thirty-fi ve states. The Kansas City Chorale’s recording Life and Breath: Choral Works by René Clausen won two Grammy Awards in 2013. ACDA commissioned Clausen to com-pose the Raymond W. Brock Memorial Commission in 2003. His most recent composition, The Passion of Jesus Christ, is an extended work for chorus, orchestra, and so-loists.

Elementary

Francisco Núñez, a MacArthur “genius” fellow, is a composer, conductor, vision-ary, and leading fi gure in music educa-tion. He is artistic director/founder of the National Arts and Humanities award-winning Young People’s Chorus

of New York City, renowned worldwide for diversity and artistic excellence. A frequent keynote speaker on the role of music in achieving equality and diversity among children, Núñez has received an ASCAP award and the New York Choral Society’s Choral Excellence Award. His compositions are published by Boosey & Hawkes and Cambridge University Press.

Mid-Level Changed and Changing

Ryan Beeken proudly serves as director of choral studies at Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Choirs under his direction have performed at state, regional, and national conferences of ACDA. Beeken is regularly engaged as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator throughout the United States. Since 2013 his engagements include more

than thirty all-state and honor choirs in twelve states and presentations across the United States and in Ljubljana, Slovenia. Prior to his appointment at IUP, Beeken taught elementary, middle school, and high school vocal music for sixteen years.

Mid-Level Treble

Judith Herrington is the founder and ar-tistic director of the Tacoma Youth Cho-rus, a choral education program of seven select choirs, grades 1-12, serving 240 young people. Herrington brings thirty-fi ve years of teaching and conducting ex-

perience to her work at Charles Wright Academy in Ta-coma, Washington, where she received the Inspirational Faculty Award. She conducted the Junior High Honor Choir at the 2008 Western ACDA Region Conference. She has published compositions and arrangements and co-authored choral teaching texts through Colla Voce and Pavane Publishing.

High School

Jeff erson Johnson is director of choral activities at the University of Kentucky, where he conducts the University Cho-rale and Men’s Chorus; teaches ad-vanced courses; and directs the graduate program in choral music. Johnson has

conducted honor choruses and been a clinician in thirty-three states and ten countries. Choirs under his direc-tion have performed twice at Southern ACDA Region, two ACDA National conferences, and the 2013 NCCO Conference. In 2017, his graduate student Cameron Weatherford won fi rst place in ACDA’s National Con-ducting Competition. Johnson has an editorial series with Hinshaw Music and National Music Publishers.