Conductor, Joel Duarte

Bio: Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy (GPFAA) Tenor/Bass Singers consists of advanced 9th-12th grade vocalists. In the ninth year of existence, the energy, talent, and dedication of the students have exploded. This ensemble has continued to receive accolades and overwhelming positive feedback from adjudicators. Their hearts and passion are even more amazing than their voices. The program has been recognized as back-to-back 2019 and 2020 Mark of Excellence National Winners, 2020-2021 2nd Place American Choral Prize Winners, and 2021 GRAMMY Museum Signature School Award Recipient.

Ensemble Statement: Grand Prairie Fine Arts Academy (GPFAA), a Blue-Ribbon 6th through 12th-grade public school, is in Grand Prairie, TX, in the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex. It was established in 2013 to meet the needs of students that wish to study fine arts. According to US News and World Report Best School Rankings, GPFAA is #5 in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex, #13 in Texas, and #101 Nationally. GPFAA is a Capturing Kids Hearts Institution. This means we purposely provide opportunities for all students to celebrate their unique contributions and backgrounds while enhancing their growth physically, mentally, and emotionally. The Vocal Music strand’s mission is to specifically empower young student musicians as artists and appreciators of creativity, leadership, and culture. The choir is highly diverse ethnically (Caucasian - 8, Latino - 7, African American - 9, and Asian - 2), socioeconomically, and in gender identity. Our team of teachers unites in the vision of planning unique curricular and co-curricular opportunities to allow students to grow and purposefully explore outside the walls of tradition so that their scope of life and music become more encompassing. As young vocal musicians, we challenge the students to learn and implement good vocal techniques. Mr. Duarte selects literature that allows them to grow both culturally and vocally. He even encourages the students in the creative process by having them suggest different pieces to be programmed staged. We challenge them to use all their gifts, musical and non-musical, to contribute to our program. We have blossoming composers, incredible poet-scriptwriters, dancer-choreographers, educators, and more. It is the culmination of all these that make our program a special place to belong and has resulted in our continued success. They are a team of talented, driven, and exceedingly kind students who are passionate about music and can’t wait for others to experience their passion.