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.
Some conductors consider the performance of music in translation a form of blasphemy; others approach such performance with modest consent or out of sheer resignation. This session will demonstrate that the performance of choral music in translation need not be merely satisfactory; it should and can be satisfying. Several different English versions of Bach’s St. […]
Des Moines IAPublished and public domain choral editions often give little or no information about the music other than cursory notes and limited editorial markings. Many conductors are often left to teach the music with little information to properly teach historical performance practices, languages, and make necessary editorial changes to the score. The purpose of this session […]
Des Moines IA.Ten years after his 1908 graduation from Oberlin, Robert Nathaniel Dett (1882–1943) wrote for an article that was authored by May Stanley titled, “R.N. Dett of Hampton Institute” for the July 1918 edition of Musical America . . . “We have this wonderful store of folk music—the melodies of an enslaved people, who poured out […]
Des Moines IA.The 2014 North Central ACDA Division Conference focus is “Celebrate Choral Diversity.” When thinking about the diversity that our region of Iowa adds to the diversity of choral music in the North Central division, one must celebrate the rich choral heritage of the Czech Republic, Bohemia, and the Slavic States. European immigrants populated a large […]
Des Moines IA.There is much conversation about period performance practice these days. What is correct? What isn’t? What is too much? Is there really a need for this discussion?The answer to the last question is are sounding, “Yes!” Through the mastery of a few fundamental performance concepts, we can reinvigorate period music in a manner that keeps […]
Seattle WA.A voice instructor and conductor-keyboardist present a collaborative performance of J.S. Bach’s cantata Christ lag in Todesbanden. With students from two universities, they explore an alternative model of performing Bach’s cantatas with soloists inspired by musicologists such as Joshua Rifkin and Andrew Parrott. Christ lag in Todesbanden is an exemplary cantata for exploring alternative possibilities […]
Seattle WA.
