American Choral Directors Association

The mission of ACDA is to inspire excellence and nurture lifelong involvement in choral music for everyone through education, performance, composition and advocacy.

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ACDA Leadership

American Choral Directors Association is governed by an Executive Committee (EC) made up of officers elected by national vote, as well as a National Board made up of EC officers, an elected chair (Choral Repertoire and Resources), an appointed representative (Industry Representative), and elected regional presidents. Its governing documents include Constitution and Bylaws, which can be modified by a vote of the members.

Executive Committee (2023-2025)

David Fryling, President
Edith Copley, Vice President
Pearl Shangkuan, President-elect
André Thomas, Past President
Tom Merrill, Treasurer/Secretary

Ex Officio: Robyn Hilger, Executive Director

National Board (2022-2023)

In addition to Executive Committee members:

Christopher Kiver, Eastern Region President
David Puderbaugh, Midwestern Region President
Steven Zielke, Northwestern Region President
Stanley Roberts, Southern Region President
Jeffrey Murdock, Southwestern Region, President
Michael Short, Western Region President
Gretchen Harrison, National R&R Chair
Oliver Scofield, Industry Representative

National Standing Committees (2021-22)

ACDA has seven national standing committees:

Advocacy and Collaboration
Emily Williams Burch, Chair
Members: Jeffrey Benson, Alex Gartner, Riikka Pietiläinen Caffrey, and Tim Westerhaus

The role of the ACDA Advocacy and Collaboration Committee includes:

  1. opportunities to internally and externally promote the choral art.
  2. situations to develop collaborations with other arts organizations as beneficial to the association, its goals, and choral art nationally.

The goals for the A & C Committee are:

  1. Advocate for the choral art
    1. Through partnerships with Chorus America, Opera America, NAfME, Americans for the Arts, and other arts organizations, identify and disseminate opportunities to assist with local, state, and national advocacy
  2. Advocate for youth and individual singers
    1. Support the work of partner committees within ACDA in areas that serve to advocate for singers and choral professionals
    2. Disseminate information and projects of ACDA to ACDA membership 
    3. Create action items that can be shared with the national choral community.
  3. Support and identify efforts to collaborate with arts organizations and ACDA members
    1. Collaborations may include advocacy work, artistic collaborations, and collaboration across the choral community

Choral Repertoire and Resources
Gretchen Harrison, Chair

Youth Choirs Coordinator:  Damion Womack

Collegiate Choirs Coordinator: Jenny Bent

  • 4-year College & University Choirs Co-Chair: Caron Daley
  • 2-year College Choirs Co-Chair: Brandon Elliott
  • Student Activities Co-Chair (Programming): Vacant
  • Student Activities Co-Chair (Chapter Development): Ryan Beeken

Lifelong Choirs Coordinator: Jack Cleghorn

Repertoire Specific Coordinator: Gretchen Harrison

Composition Initiatives
Dan Forrest, Chair
Members: Brandon Boyd, Robert Bode, Katie Houts, and Joni Jensen

Diversity Initiatives
Arreon Harley-Emerson, Chair
Members: Ahmed Anzaldúa, Noël Archambeault, André de Quadros, and Mari Esabel Valverde

Education and Communication
Jamila McWhirter, Chair
Members: Mark Lawley, John McDonald, Gene Peterson, and Robert Sinclair

International Activities
Joshua Habermann, Chair
Members: Nicolás Dosman, Jeremy Jones, Wendy Moy, and Giselle Wyers

Research and Publications
Jessica Napoles, Chair
Members: Elisa Dekaney, Patrick Freer, and Elizabeth Parker

Downloadable organization chart for ACDA national leadership.