Have you ever programmed a spiritual or gospel piece but were at a loss as to how to give it life beyond the printed page? African American spirituals are well known to have risen out of the hard labor context of American slavery. How did the rhythm of work songs influence the singing of these […]
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All Roads Lead to Repertoire: Creating a Successful Program through Appropriate Literature
The responsibilities of choral directors in the classroom are numerous and can often seem overwhelming. The focus of this session will be how the selection of literature is the crux of the choral program and the basis for all other decisions that are made throughout the academic year. ACDA’s National Chair for Repertoire and Resources […]
Working with 7th-Grade Boys— A Hands-On Session
Participants will learn about six common problems that occur when teaching a middle-level boy to match pitch. Volunteers will come to the front to try out various techniques. In Part I, participants will learn about six common problems that occur when teaching a middle-level boy to match pitch. In Part II, participants will learn how […]
Win-Win-Win
Who wins when we look outside the choral community for composers, collaborators, and audiences? We all do! Join us for an immersive experience as several experimental musicians, an arts education non-profit, and a choir director discuss a unique collaborative project model. Since 2015, the Camas High School Choir has been collaborating with indie rockers and […]
Teaching with Respect: Inclusive Pedagogy for Choral Directors
This session prompts us to ask deeper questions about the language we use, about systems of power, and about our heritage and inheritance. When we examine our teaching, we may find that while we do not intentionally act with bigotry, we may be complicit in adopting systems and language that marginalize and discriminate. In this […]
“Sing Me a Sorrow… Sing Me a Spiritual”
Violence and systemic racism led to the Black Lives Matter movement as a response to issues of racial profiling and inequality in the United States. How can we as choral artists respond to these issues? This session invites conductors to respond by sharing the rich heritage of African American spirituals. Moving beyond the rousing concert […]
