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.
How do you teach improvisation in a group setting? Through the use of circle songs, rhythm games, and improvisation exercises, attendees will learn how easy it is to incorporate improvisation into a choral rehearsal without fear. Special attention will be drawn towards contemporary unaccompanied practices and vocal jazz.
Dallas, TXThis session introduces teachers to various performance techniques associated with teaching, conducting, and performing gospel music with practical applications to various teaching settings. During the session participants will learn portions of gospel songs and be given opportunities to conduct using the appropriate conducting cues.
Dallas, TXIn terms of rehearsal disciplines, Robert Shaw believed that attempting to teach “everything at once” led to a confused and imprecise artistic product. In Shaw’s rehearsals, skills were layered one element at a time—as each new element was added, the previously taught elements were further reinforced. Using examples from the standard choral repertory, this session […]
Dallas, TXThis session proposes to offer some creative rehearsal strategies based upon the concept that composers often leave “musical clues” in their scores for us to discover and help bring the music to life. These clues—found in text-settings, melodic shapes, harmonies, rhythms, and even the printed expressive markings (dynamics, articulations etc.)—can be the sources that inform […]
Dallas, TXThis panel session will explore many aspects of the art of female leadership of an all-male ensemble. Noted and established choral professionals will share experiences and ideas from the female perspective about rehearsal technique, the male psyche, successful repertoire, concert programming, uniforms, recruiting, retention, vocal technique, professionalism, auditions, and student leadership duties and structures. The […]
Dallas, TXThis session will explore methods for incorporating critical thinking skills into the choral rehearsal. Many choral directors feel intense performance pressures and assessing students in a meaningful way is not often a priority. Often, choral directors simply do not have sufficient strategies for how to make critical thinking a seamless integration into their instruction. In […]
Dallas, TX
