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.
Each one of us is a model and/or a mentor for the musicians with whom we work. This session addresses the characteristics of leadership (history and theories) and presents a variety of leadership style models and their applications for choral conductors, citing research carried out with ensemble conductors. It focuses on teachable leadership elements with […]
Salt Lake City, UT.This clinic will be a lecture/demonstration of techniques that have been found to be effective, efficient, and productive for vocal jazz ensemble directors at all levels. The topics covered will include: introducing a new piece, using technology in your rehearsal, rhythm section involvement, standing orders and positions, developing vocal improvisation skills in rehearsal, and transitioning […]
Salt Lake City, UT.The African American gospel tradition has become a regular part of choral programs in school, church, community, and professional choruses across the world. As gospel-style selections become increasingly popular within the choral landscape, choral conductors with limited experience and training in this style are seeking technical tools that will allow their choruses to perform with […]
Salt Lake City, UT.Helmuth Rilling’s new book on Handel’s Messiah is aimed at conductors, singers, instrumentalists, and all those who know and love this masterwork. In this session, he will provide an overview of important issues related to performing Messiah from the perspective of a dialogue with the composer himself. Rilling will discuss specific areas that influence the […]
Salt lake City, UT.This choral reading/group participation session will address readiness, preparation, and presentation of choral repertoire for young choirs, along with continued development of singing, reading, writing, part-work, and aural skills in the choral setting. In this workshop, participants will explore Kodály-based strategies for analyzing and teaching choral music for beginning, intermediate, and advanced children’s choirs. A […]
Salt Lake City, UT.Directing volunteer choirs necessitates building choral sound, solving vocal problems, enhancing musicality, and motivating singers. But how should we get started? This session will introduce Michael Kemp’s new book, Innovative Warm-Ups for Volunteer Choirs, which provides a stimulating approach to building choral skills with volunteers, with twenty-two innovative warm-ups,each with useful presentation ideas for directors. […]
Salt Lake City, UT.
