 Congratulations to the following students selected to participate in the conducting masterclass:
ACDA-PA is pleased to announce this summer's choral conducting masterclass for college and university students. The masterclass will be held as part of ACDA-PA's summer conference on August 3-5 at West Chester University. Student conductors will spend Sunday afternoon receiving a preliminary coaching session from an ACDA-PA mentor. On Monday, each conductor will receive coaching from our headliners, Anton Armstrong and Pearl Shangkuan. Each collegiate conductor may nominate up to two students for the masterclass. Please confirm that your students are available to attend the conference prior to submitting their names for consideration. All nominations must be submitted to [email protected] by May 31, 2025. Nominations should include a current email and cell phone number. Contact Nate Zullinger at the same email address with any questions.
GENERAL INFORMATION
Check out some pics from our ACDA-PA members and honor choir participants from the National Conference in Dallas!  ACDA-PA invites proposals for interest sessions to be presented at the 2025 conference. Sessions will be 50-60 minutes in length and should fall under the following topics:
The deadline for interest session applications is 11:59pm EST, May 15, 2025. Successful applicants will be notified of acceptance by May 31, 2025.  Congratulations to Payton Goodyear, Isaac Darga, Lincoln Shanks and Landon Shanks for earning the inaugural ACDA-PA $300 National Honor Choir Scholarships. We are grateful to support these deserving PA students in their national honor choir participation in Dallas. Make sure you look for them at the conference and follow their honor choir journey on our social media!
 ACDA-PA is pleased to award eight, $300 scholarships to Pennsylvania students participating in the National ACDA Honor Choirs in Dallas, TX. Applications are due by January 15, 2025. For the committee to consider your application, please ensure your director/reference submits an endorsement email to Joy Meade [email protected] by January 15th. A committee of ACDA-PA board members will evaluate these applications equitably and respond by February 1st to all applicants with the results.
 On Monday afternoon, August 5, 2024, ACDA-PA past president Liz Colpo presented the annual awards before our Choir for All summer honor choir concert at West Chester University.
This year’s ACDA-PA Outstanding Young Conductor Award is presented to CONNER NEWKAM-ULRICH. Conner is the Music Director at Christ Church (United Church of Christ) in Elizabethtown (and previously, Wolf's Covenant Church in York) Nominators wrote that Conner selects diverse repertoire, and has improved the soundof his lifelong choral singers each year. Conner has exhibited dedication both to learning and to service: attending ACDA conferences, serving as an intern for “The Crossing” in Philadelphia, singing with the Susquehanna Chorale, and organizing the Mansfield University Concert Choir Alumni Affinity Group. With his ensembles, he has also helped to raise money for various charitable causes. Congratulations, Conner! This year’s ACDA-PA Eileen Hower Memorial Award is presented to AMANDA WILSON. Amanda teaches choir & general music at Central Dauphin EAST Middle School. Nominators wrote that Amanda has spearheaded the development of the middle school choral curriculum in her School District. She is devoted to her students, always choosing high-quality literature that challenges them appropriately. Additionally, in 2006, Amanda formed the “Sweet Soundsations” Choral event, as a way to meet the needs of treble singers in South-Central PA. (As a special note: Amanda’s colleagues noted that years ago she shared with them the research of Eileen Hower -- for whom this award is named -- specifically in regard to using S.S.A. repertoire in the middle school mixed choir setting. So her colleagues found it especially fitting to recognize Amanda with this award. Congratulations, Amanda! This year’s ACDA-PA Elaine Brown Award for Choral Excellence is presented to…THOMAS LLOYD. Nominators wrote that, For nearly thirty years, Thomas Lloyd has contributed mightily to the cultural life of the greater Philadelphia region. Through his work at Haverford & Bryn Mawr Colleges, the Bucks County Choral Society, and Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral, Tom Lloyd has inspired and educated countless singers. Tom is known not just for his work as a choral conductor, but also for his compositions -- particularly his 70-minute work on Dietrich Bonhoeffer, which was recorded by The Crossing. Above all, Tom is known as a convener; he has worked tirelessly to bring together people of all faiths, races, and backgrounds. Singers often remark on the life-changing experiences they have had in Tom’s ensembles (exploring music from the corners of the earth, and meeting singers with whom they otherwise might never have connected) Tom is a loyal colleague and friend, a gifted musician, and a dedicated humanitarian. Congratulations, Thomas! Congratulations to all 3 of our 2024 ACDA-PA Award recipients!  Registration Closes July 1 for the ACDA-PA Summer Honor Choir!Update - Choir For All Repertoire Announced! Hymn to the Eternal Flame - Stephen Paulus Pete Pete - Rosephanye Powell Look at the World - John Rutter Hope for Resolution - Paul Caldwell and Sean Ivory Opportunity! The ACDA-PA Choir For All will be a one-day honor choir festival for singers ages 8-98, at West Chester University on August 5, 2024, led by guest conductors Daniel Bara and Deanna Joseph. The goal of this choir is to foster intergenerational and intercultural dialogue through choral music. The day will be divided into age-appropriate rehearsal segments, but combine to make the "Choir For All" in the final concert:
Young Singers: ages 8-10 Middle Singers: ages 11-14 Festival Singers: ages 15-98 Repertoire is forthcoming and will be the same for all ages. The music has been thoughtfully selected to share wisdom between generations and between cultures, and to have relevant vocal and musical elements for this wide variety of age groups and skill levels. The cost for the day is $50 per singer and includes lunch, t-shirt, snack and music. Directors can register their students as a group, or parents may register their students individually. Singers 18 and older may register themselves. Directors and parents are responsible for chaperoning their own students and helping prepare the music in advance of the festival day. Directors do not need to be members of ACDA to bring students to this event.  Thank you to all who submitted interest session proposals. The following interest sessions will be shared at the summer conference. For more details about each session and the presenters, click here.
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