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.
Since their discovery, mirror neurons have been linked to everything from contagious yawning to emotional empathy. More recently, their role in conducting and the choral rehearsal has been featured as a part of various conferences and publications. This session will address current research in the areas of mirroring and empathy while attempting to clarify the […]
Seattle WA.Circle singing, a form of vocal improvisation devised by Bobby McFerrin, has the potential to transform choral music education and school choral performances. Living somewhere between notated choral music and purely improvised sounds, this process can lead students toward improvisation using elements of a more “traditional” choral experience. Circle singing presents a new possibility for […]
Chicago IL.Mollie Stone and Patty Cuyler will teach participants a selection of polyphonic choral repertoire from South Africa, Bulgaria, and the Republic of Georgia using their Raising the Bar book/teaching DVD series while demonstrating techniques and keys for successful rehearsal and performance practice. They will provide guidance in teaching proper vocal tone, style, rhythm, movements, pronunciation, […]
Mollie Stone, Patty CuylerSince communication and expression of the text is at the heart of choral music making, beautiful and clear diction is essential. In addition, singing a choral composition in its original language is both faithful to the composer’s vision and educational for our students. So don’t let the challenge of teaching foreign-language diction get in our […]
Chicago IL.The Choral Public Domain Library represents a wealth of free music: the site currently hosts free scores of over 17,000 choral and vocal works by over 2,000 composers, and its stores continue to grow daily. As schools of all levels battle reduced budgets, a free resource such as CPDL represents a treasure trove of easily […]
Chicago IL.The number of college students who will soon be new conductors as well as conductors with less than five years experience is on the rise. The first few years in any position can be simply overwhelming, and one can often feel unprepared. Even with strong undergraduate programs preparing students through ensemble and studio work as […]
Chicago IL.
