Conference Schedule
Sunday, July 31, 2022
11:30AM |
"Choir for All" Honor Choir Registration |
12:30PM |
Honor Choir seating in rehearsal space |
12:45PM |
"Choir for All" Honor Choir Welcome Liz Colpo, ACDA-PA President Kyle Zeuch & Jeff Gemmell, Honor Choir Co-Chairs |
1:00-5:30PM |
Honor Choir rehearses with Marques Garrett (breaks at director discretion) |
4:30-6:30PM |
Conference Registration |
5:00-6:30PM |
BBQ Dinner by the Yellow Breeches Creek |
7:30PM |
Concert: The Susquehanna Chorale & CHANTICLEER Featuring the premiere of the 2020 Composition Competition winner |
9:00PM |
CHANTICLEER Talk-Back (Programming/Q&A-related) |
9:30PM |
Dessert Reception |
Monday, August 1
7:00-8:00AM |
Registration (Breakfast available in Dining Hall for those staying on campus) |
8:00-9:00AM |
Interest Session 1 Baker Purdon: Walking Through the Valley: The Music of Burleigh & Bonds Robert Ross: A New Approach to Musical Vocabulary Acquisition for Singers and Choirs |
9:00-9:15AM |
Break |
9:15-10:00AM |
Plenary Session/Keynote: Elaine Hagenberg |
10:00-10:15AM |
Break |
10:15-11:15AM |
CHANTICLEER Interest Session |
11:30AM-12:30PM |
Lunch |
12:45-1:45PM |
Interest Session 2 Walt Blocker: Journey through African American Music in Worship Larrimore et al.: Inclusivity in the Barbershop Style |
1:45-2:00PM |
Break |
2:00-3:45PM |
Collegiate Conducting Clinic Clinicians: Marques Garrett and Elaine Hagenberg |
3:45-4:00PM |
Break |
4:00-5:00PM |
Interest Session 3 Tony Leach: Choral Commissions Premiered by Essence of Joy, Penn State Dustin Cates: Chasing the Dream: Living Our Best (Choir Director) Life! |
5:00-5:30PM |
Break |
5:30PM |
“Choir for All” Honor Choir Concert Including the World Premieres of the 2022 ACDA-PA Composition Competition winners |
6:15PM |
Gala Dinner Buffet & Awards Ceremony |
7:15PM |
Conference “Sing” Conducted by 2021 Elaine Brown Award winner O. David Deitz |
8:00PM |
ACDA After Hours at T.J. Rockwell's |
Tuesday, August 2
7:00-8:00AM |
Registration (Breakfast available in Dining Hall for those staying on campus) |
8:00-9:15AM |
Plenary/Keynote 1: Marques Garrett Engaging Singers in Rehearsals |
9:15-9:30AM |
Break |
9:30-10:45AM |
Reading Session 1 Youth Choral Music Children’s & Community Youth Choirs – Shawn Funk Junior High / Middle School Choirs – Stephanie Magaro Senior High Choirs – Matthew Klenk Life-Long Choral Music Community Choirs – Kyle Zeuch Music in Worship – Waltier Blocker |
11:00AM-12:15PM |
Elaine Hagenberg: “My Story in Song” and Q & A with Elaine Hagenberg |
12:30-1:30PM |
Lunch |
1:30-2:45PM |
Plenary/Keynote 2: Marques Garrett Beyond “Elijah Rock”: Non-Idiomatic Choral Music of Black Composers |
2:45-3:00PM |
Break |
3:00-4:15PM |
Reading Session 2 Repertoire-Specific/Encompassing Genres Upper Voice Choirs – Kathryn Hylton Lower Voice Choirs – Jeffrey Gemmell Vocal Jazz, Contemporary & Commercial Music – Samantha Roberts Self-Published Composers – Peter DeMets College and University Choirs – Christopher Jackson |
4:15PM |
Conference Concludes Drawing for complimentary Summer 2023 Conference Registration (Must be present to win!) |
4:30PM |
ACDA-PA Board Meeting |
Session Descriptions & Presenter Biographies
Headliner Keynote/Plenary Sessions
HEADLINER/KEYNOTE SESSIONS BY ELAINE HAGENBERG
Discovering Your Creative Voice
For Elaine Hagenberg, music started as a small voice, a creative outlet which over time transformed into something bigger. She will share the story of her journey to full-time composing, what she is learning from its peaks and valleys. Perhaps you will find that you, too, are being nudged to explore your passions more deeply.
My Story in Song: A Reading Session with Elaine Hagenberg
Join Elaine Hagenberg for a sampling of music that “soars with eloquence and ingenuity” (ACDA Choral Journal). Discover the next gem for your singers in a variety of voicings and instrumentations. Elaine’s music will highlight the musicality and expressivity of your ensemble, while offering rich and renewing messages. Complimentary music packets will be provided to each individual in attendance.
Beyond the Score: Resources to assist your rehearsals
With limited time, choral directors often wonder how they can go beyond the notes on the page to enhance the musical experience for their ensembles. Performing music by living composers offers a wealth of opportunities for you and your singers to connect more deeply with the music, and this session will look at a variety of resources (many of them free) to try in upcoming rehearsals.
Behind the Scores: Demystifying the Compositional Process
Do you enjoy composing? Or are you curious about how to explain the process to your singers? In this session, we’ll take an in-depth look at Elaine Hagenberg’s compositional methods and the moments that sparked some of her favorite pieces. No doubt conductors and singers alike will leave the session illuminated and inspired for their next musical endeavor.
For Elaine Hagenberg, music started as a small voice, a creative outlet which over time transformed into something bigger. She will share the story of her journey to full-time composing, what she is learning from its peaks and valleys. Perhaps you will find that you, too, are being nudged to explore your passions more deeply.
My Story in Song: A Reading Session with Elaine Hagenberg
Join Elaine Hagenberg for a sampling of music that “soars with eloquence and ingenuity” (ACDA Choral Journal). Discover the next gem for your singers in a variety of voicings and instrumentations. Elaine’s music will highlight the musicality and expressivity of your ensemble, while offering rich and renewing messages. Complimentary music packets will be provided to each individual in attendance.
Beyond the Score: Resources to assist your rehearsals
With limited time, choral directors often wonder how they can go beyond the notes on the page to enhance the musical experience for their ensembles. Performing music by living composers offers a wealth of opportunities for you and your singers to connect more deeply with the music, and this session will look at a variety of resources (many of them free) to try in upcoming rehearsals.
Behind the Scores: Demystifying the Compositional Process
Do you enjoy composing? Or are you curious about how to explain the process to your singers? In this session, we’ll take an in-depth look at Elaine Hagenberg’s compositional methods and the moments that sparked some of her favorite pieces. No doubt conductors and singers alike will leave the session illuminated and inspired for their next musical endeavor.
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Elaine Hagenberg’s music “soars with eloquence and ingenuity” (ACDA Choral Journal). Her award-winning compositions are performed worldwide and frequently featured at American Choral Directors Association conferences, All-State festivals, Carnegie Hall, and other distinguished international concert halls from Australia to South America and throughout Europe.
In addition to composing full-time, Elaine actively engages in bringing her music to life as the guest artist and featured clinician for professional conferences and festivals both in the U.S. and abroad as a composer, conductor, and accompanist of her work. With over fifty commissioned works, she has composed new music for the American Choral Directors Association, professional choirs, colleges and universities, community choirs, high schools, and churches. “I Am the Wind” was named the winner of the 2020 ACDA Brock Competition for Professional Composers. Elaine has music in print with various publishers including Oxford University Press, G. Schirmer, Hinshaw Music, and Beckenhorst Press. Currently, she publishes her concert music independently through Elaine Hagenberg Music which is distributed through GIA. |
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HEADLINER/KEYNOTE SESSIONS BY MARQUES L.A. GARRETT
Beyond Elijah Rock: The Non-Idiomatic Choral Music of Black Composers Session
The spirituals and Gospel music of Black composers are quite familiar to most choral conductors, as evidenced by concert programs across the country. However, non-idiomatic choral music is lacking in the repertoire of many choirs. This session will include the music of familiar and less-known Black composers. Major contributions include anthems, motets, part songs, cantatas, oratorios, and other major and minor choral-orchestral works. There will be a variety of music appropriate for high school, college/university, community, professional, and church choirs with a focus on accessible music. Scores will be provided.
The spirituals and Gospel music of Black composers are quite familiar to most choral conductors, as evidenced by concert programs across the country. However, non-idiomatic choral music is lacking in the repertoire of many choirs. This session will include the music of familiar and less-known Black composers. Major contributions include anthems, motets, part songs, cantatas, oratorios, and other major and minor choral-orchestral works. There will be a variety of music appropriate for high school, college/university, community, professional, and church choirs with a focus on accessible music. Scores will be provided.
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A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett (he/him/his) is an Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Glenn Korff School of Music. He earned his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University.
An active conductor, Dr. Garrett has served as a guest conductor or clinician with several school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNL, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences. A versatile voice that performs both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as both a chorister and soloist. He was the countertenor soloist in the European premiere of Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo in Limerick, Ireland. Currently, he sings with First-Plymouth Congregational Church, Festival Singers of Florida, and the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers. Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. GIA Publications, Walton Music, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and others have published several of his compositions. |
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Interest Sessions
Baker Purdon
Walking Through the Valley: The Music of Burleigh & Bonds
Walking Through the Valley: The Music of Burleigh & Bonds
This session will explore three choral works by Black composers: Harry T. Burleigh’s “Southern Lullaby” and Margaret Bonds’s “Credo.” These pieces are featured on a new album of choral works by Black Composers being recorded this summer titled “Walking Through the Valley: Choral Music from Black Composers, 1920-2022.” We will explore the compositional styles of each composer, and discuss the complicated and rich texts by Langston Hughes and W.E.B DuBois. The session will also include open discussions of performance practice and resources for recording and performing these works.
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Baker Purdon is a Ph.D. Student and University Fellow at Temple University where he studies music education and choral conducting. He previously served as Assistant Director of Choirs at Liberty HS in Liberty, MO where the LHS Chamber Choir were named Finalists for the American Prize in 2018. He also served as Director of Choirs at Olathe East, where the OE Madrigals received praise from composer Libby Larsen on their performance of her Clair de Lune in Blue. Baker’s research interests include the imposter phenomenon in music education and DEIAB efforts in post-secondary choral music. More information is available at www.bakerpurdon.com.
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Robert Ross:
A New Approach to Musical Vocabulary Acquisition for Singers and Choirs
A New Approach to Musical Vocabulary Acquisition for Singers and Choirs
Robert A.M. Ross presents a new system for singers and choral singers to acquire the necessary musical vocabulary (both rhythmic and intervallic) to become more proficient sight readers through structured warm-up exercises based on essential musical vocabulary.
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Robert A.M. Ross is an Assistant Professor of Music at Community College of Philadelphia where he teaches music theory (including Aural Theory), music history, and choir. He is also a conductor and a published composer, with original works, arrangements, and editions of historical music numbering over 300. His work has been published by Theodore Presser, Coronet, Oxford University Press, Bärenreiter-Verlag, and MusicSpoke.
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Walt Blocker
Journey through African American Music in Worship
Journey through African American Music in Worship
The history and journey of music in the African American Church. From Anthems and Spirituals to various styles of Gospel Music today.
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Walt Blocker brings many years and experiences of Music in Worship. Walt attended both the Westminster Choir College of Princeton, NJ and the University of the Arts of Philadelphia, PA. Walt is a classically trained singer that brings his flare and experience of church music to the Episcopal Church. Walt is responsible for starting one of the very first Gospel Choirs in the Episcopal Church. He currently serves at the Historic African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas, Philadelphia, PA. He is the Choirmaster and Director of the award winning, St Thomas Gospel Choir. The St Thomas Gospel Choir currently consists of 50 singers and full band accompaniment. The music ensemble consists of variations of up to 4 keyboard players, 3 percussionist, lead guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer instrumentalist, trumpet, tenor, alto and soprano saxophone and trombone . He has held this position for 31 years.
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Madeleine Larrimore, Melody Hine, Katie MacDonald, Pearl Steinel
Inclusivity in the Barbershop Style
Inclusivity in the Barbershop Style
Traditionally choral and barbershop choruses have been categorized based on the gender makeup of the group. As one of the first SSAA choruses in the Barbershop Harmony Society, Parkside Melody strives to foster an open and inclusive environment where our identity is instead based on vocal skills, fellowship and positive impact on audiences and community members. Presenters will first describe a brief history of the barbershop style and the defining characteristics of the genre, as well as discuss the Everyone In Harmony Initiative. We will then demonstrate how we incorporate inclusive ideals into rehearsals, repertoire, and performances. Lastly, we will invite participants to learn barbershop tags, and leave them with a list of inclusive repertoire ideas for SSAA barbershop ensembles.
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Parkside Melody is an SSAA barbershop chorus based in Hershey, PA. In 2017, The Barbershop Harmony Society announced the Everyone In Harmony initiative, which opened up membership to singers of all gender identities. As close friends of Parkside Harmony (a TTBB chorus based in Hershey, PA), we could not wait for the opportunity to start an SSAA chorus as part of the Parkside Chapter. In 2019, we were one of the first choruses to charter as an SSAA ensemble within the BHS. Since then, we have grown to 28 singers, performed on two chapter shows alongside Parkside Harmony, and released two virtual performance projects. Most recently, we placed First at the Mid-Atlantic Central Division Contest and earned a qualifying score to compete at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s first gender-inclusive international contest this summer.
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Tony Leach
Choral Commissions Premiered by Essence of Joy, Penn State
Choral Commissions Premiered by Essence of Joy, Penn State
Essence of Joy is Music 93 in the Penn State School of Music. The choir performs sacred and secular music from the African and African American choral idioms. Since 2003 the choir has commissioned many African American composers/arrangers to complete works that have been premiered at the annual African American Music Festival at Penn State. This session will include works by the following: Keith Hampton, Moses Hogan, Donte Ford, Stan Spottswood, M. Roger Holland, II and Anthony Leach. This session will involve singing and listening to archival performances.
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Anthony Leach, professor emeritus at Penn State is music director for Essence of Joy, Essence 2, Ltd. and the Essence of Joy Alumni Singers. Prior to retirement from Penn State in 2018, Leach taught undergraduate and graduate courses in choral music education, conducting and choral literature. He has conducted choral festivals in Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, Virginia, Florida, Iowa, Nebraska and West Virginia. Additionally Leach has served in various leadership appointments with PA-ACDA, Eastern Division ACDA and the National Board of ACDA. He maintains membership in Chorus America, ACDA NAfME and the Gospel Music Workshop of America, Inc. where he serves as coordinator of the Thurston G. Frazier Memorial Chorale.
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Dustin Cates
Chasing the Dream: Living Our Best (Choir Director) Life!
Chasing the Dream: Living Our Best (Choir Director) Life!
“Choral Director” isn’t just a job title. The work we do each day contributes to our identity and can serve as a source of meaning and joy. However, even if we have our dream job, it can still be easy to forget the reasons we chose this rewarding profession. Part choir-director-pep-rally, part TedTalk, this session aims to leave each of us with a renewed sense of purpose and passion. We will explore why each of us chose to teach choir, the attributes of transformational choral directors, the importance of caring for ourselves and our people, and how all of this can help us live our best (choir director) lives!
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Dr. Dustin S. Cates is a teacher, conductor, singer and researcher. He is passionate about building meaningful relationships with people through music and is in demand as a conductor, clinician and presenter throughout the United States. Dr. Cates is assistant professor of choral music education at Temple University where he conducts the University Chorale, supervises graduate students, and teaches courses in music education, choral/vocal pedagogy and choral methods. His research focuses on issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in choral music. Dr. Cates is an active member of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He serves as National ACDA Repertoire and Resources Chair for Tenor/Bass choral ensembles and is Past President of the Kansas Choral Directors Association. Dr. Cates considers his most important roles to be husband to Dr. Raymond Cattaneo, and father to their son Emmaus.
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