“My job is to make people love choral music as much as I do, and that’s a lot. I really love choral music. My job is to say ‘you should care about this.’ You might care about it because it’s ravishingly beautiful or because it has a story to tell you. Even if you’re not a person who relates to choral music, you can relate to stories. We’re going to weave some sort of through-line through this program that tells you something about life that we hope resonates with you whether you’re a musician or not.”

Joshua Habermann is in his seventeenth season as Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, one of the nation’s premiere professional chamber choirs. Since joining the ensemble, he has broadened its repertoire to include choral-orchestral masterworks and unique concert experiences ranging from early music to new commissions. Under his leadership, the Desert Chorale has been featured at regional and national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, and its summer and winter festivals are among America’s largest choral events.

Habermann’s experience with symphonic choruses spans over three decades, encompassing the full range of the choral-orchestral repertoire. From 2011 to 2022 he was director of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, where highlights included Bach’s St. Matthew Passion, the Requiem Masses of Mozart, Brahms, and Verdi, Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius, Bernstein’s Kaddish Symphony, Rachmaninov’s The Bells, and Vaughan-Williams’ Sea Symphony. He is a frequent guest conductor, and in 2022-2023 prepared Handel’s Messiah, Ravel’s Daphnis and Chloe, and Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem for the San Francisco Symphony.

A passionate advocate for music education, Joshua Habermann is a regular clinician for state and national events and has led honor choirs and choral festivals in North America, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. In 2024, he conducted Cantatas 72, 73 and 92 for Bach Santiago (Chile), a concert series dedicated to the first full cycle of Bach Cantatas in South America. He currently teaches choral literature at the University of North Texas.

As a singer (tenor), Habermann has performed with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus under Helmuth Rilling and Conspirare under Craig Hella Johnson. Recording credits include Requiem and Threshold of Night, both GRAMMY® nominees for best choral recording. Recordings as a conductor include The Road Home and Rachmaninov’s All Night Vigil with the Desert Chorale.

To get in touch with Joshua, you can find him on Facebook (@joshua.habermann) or visit the Santa Fe Desert Chorale website, desertchorale.org.

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“You’re not going to ask a bunch of choir directors to donate to your organization — you’re going to have to go find other people who probably don’t have the type of experience with choir that choral leaders do. It’s about trying to translate not just your own personal love of choir but the reason that your choir exists, what it does for its community and its participants, the impact that your choir has on various spheres of influences. How do you translate your value to intersect with what they value so that they can look at you and say ‘you’re a cause that I want to support’?”

Alex Gartner is an educator, conductor, and composer based in Pensacola, Florida. He serves as the Artistic & Executive Director of the Pensacola Children's Chorus, where he oversees 9 resident choirs and 5 regional choirs comprised of nearly 300 singers. Combined, these programs reach an audience of 25,000 individuals, including 5,000 youth, throughout Northwest Florida.

Gartner is an active clinician, workshop presenter, and guest conductor. He has served in leadership positions with the American Choral Directors Association and Americans for the Arts, and his choirs are active throughout Northwest Florida, the United States, and the world. An accomplished composer, his arrangements are available through Santa Barbara Music Publishing, the Lorenz Corporation, Choristers Guild, Alfred Music Publishing, and MusicSpoke.

To get in touch with Alex, you can visit his website, alexgartner.com, or the Pensacola Children's Chorus website, pensacolasings.org. You can also email him at agartner@acda.org.

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“Start with the way that you structure your rehearsal, your classroom, your feedback. In terms of feedback, we talk about not giving people more than three pieces of information to work on. Working memory is affected by ADHD in particular. ‘Here's what you're doing well, here's what you can improve on, here's how you can improve it.’ That structure helps with their ability to anticipate what you're going to say and quickly implement that into their own music making.”

Dr. Peter Haley serves as Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Ohio University, where he conducts the Ohio University Singers and Singing Men of Ohio and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, choral literature, and music education. He previously spent seven years as a high school choir director in North Carolina where his students were consistently chosen for honor choirs on the local, state, and regional level, while being immersed in a program that stressed collaborative music-making and artistic excellence.

Dr. Haley’s research interests include pedagogy for neurodivergent learners in the choral rehearsal, and Arvo Pärt’s sacred choral music. He has been invited to present at state and regional ACDA and MEA conferences and served as a clinician or adjudicator in Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina. He has served as a pastoral musician for Baptist, Presbyterian, Reformed Jewish, and United Methodist congregations and held leadership roles on the Executive Board of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and the Southern Region Conference of the American Choral Directors Association.

Dr. Haley holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of South Carolina, as well as a B.A. in Music from Wingate University and an M.M. in Church Music from Samford University. He has the honor of being the second-best teacher in his house, behind his wife, Ashley, and is a proud parent to Patrick and Libby Kay.

To get in touch with Peter, you can e-mail him at pahaley@ohio.edu or find him on Instagram: (@peterallenhaley).

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"That was the beginning of me working with a homeless women's choir. As someone who grew up doing music my whole life, it was just part of my DNA. This broke open everything I had ever thought or experienced about music, and it gave me some really new opportunities and new ways to look at the power and purpose of singing. For the people I was working with, it was part of what would get them through a day or week, and that was really powerful." 

Amanda Weber currently serves as Director of Worship and the Arts at Westminster Presbyterian Church in downtown Minneapolis, where she oversees a wealth of arts programming. Her work explores the intersections of art, spirituality, and justice and their impact on community.

With a deep love for teaching, Weber has served as adjunct professor for Concordia University St. Paul and the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She co-facilitated a Social Justice and Music January-term course at St. Olaf College and was a Vocal Instructor for theology students at Yale Divinity School. Weber also taught high school at the Greater Hartford Academy of the Arts in Hartford, CT.

Weber is the Founder and Artistic Director of Voices of Hope, an organization that builds choral singing communities in correctional facilities in the state of Minnesota. Weber’s doctoral dissertation, which focused on this work, was awarded the Julius Herford Dissertation Prize in 2018. She has presented on the topic of incarceration and choral singing at numerous conferences and was also invited to speak for a TEDx Minneapolis Salon in 2016.

Weber’s interest in using music as a tool for social justice grew through her work at Luther Place Memorial Church in Washington, DC, where she founded Bethany’s Women of Praise, a choir for homeless women. 

Weber received a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Minnesota in 2018, a Master of Music Degree in Choral Conducting at the Yale School of Music and Institute of Sacred Music in 2013, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music and Art at Luther College in 2008. 

You can find out more about Amanda by visiting amandakateweber.com and learn more about Voices of Hope at www.wearevoicesofhope.org. You can also find Amanda on Facebook (@amanda.weber.731) or Instagram (@we6er).

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"If people are taking pictures with their phones and having them in their hands all the time, why are we not leveraging these to talk about choral music? I am so tired of us being afraid of what people are going to say. Share what you're doing! Look at what your athletic programs are doing. Sports teams are sharing their losses. It's choir: 95% of the time, we don't lose. You can't lose!"

Beth Philemon is a choir teacher, business owner, product manager, dog-owner, gluten-free-pizza-obsessed traveler and lover of all things beautiful and ugly. A national board certified teacher, she has a bachelor’s degree in music education from Trevecca University, a master’s degree in choral conducting from Northern Arizona University, and a master’s of business administration from North Carolina State University. She is the founder of Choir Baton, a collaborative Instagram space, podcast, newsletter, and online membership featuring courses on teaching musicianship and ensemble skills. She resides in Raleigh, North Carolina.

You can find Beth on Instagram and TikTok: @bethphilemon and @choirbaton. You can also visit the Choir Baton website: https://www.choirbaton.com/

Check out the brand-new Choir Baton course: How to Teach Choir for Life-Long Musicianship - An On-Demand Course for Teachers with step-by-step instruction on how to address individual skills, use collaborative frameworks, accelerate student growth, and empower lifelong musicianship to keep #MorePeopleSinging.  Choir Fam listeners get 25% off with this link: https://www.choirbaton.com/offers/oZCe2W53?coupon_code=CHOIRFAM25 or go to ChoirBaton.com and use the code CHOIRFAM25 at checkout. 

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"It gave me some amazing opportunities, just that one phone call, that one chance. For my grad students, that's one of the things that I really try to model and mentor and teach them: you can be a fantastic musician, but if you aren't one that seizes the moment or takes the initiative, it makes a difference."

John Dickson is Professor Emeritus and former Director of Choral Studies at Louisiana State University’s School of Music.  Holding the School of Music’s first Chair as the Edward G. and Catherine M. Galante Chair for Choral Music Education, he conducted the A Cappella Choir and supervised the masters and doctoral programs in choral conducting.  Recently retired after forty-four years of collegiate teaching, he continues his conducting through workshops and festivals, and as the founding artistic director and conductor of Coro Vocati, one of Atlanta’s most accomplished professional chamber choirs.  He also serves as one of the principal guest artists for KI Concerts.

As a conducting pedagogue, he has presented masterclasses before the Association of British Choral Directors, the American Choral Directors Association, the Royal Northern Music Conservatory (Mancester), and the Russian State Music Conservatories of St. Petersburg and Moscow.  He has conducted festivals and workshops in England, Wales, Scotland, Finland, France, Italy, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Canada, and throughout the U. S.  For three decades his choirs have been featured at conventions of the ACDA, ABCD, Texas Music Educators Association, and the National Collegiate Choral Organization.

Appointed as a Visiting Fellow of Wolfson College, Cambridge University in 1992, Dr. Dickson sang with Sir David Willcocks and The Bach Choir; a second post-doctoral fellowship in 1998 allowed him to serve as principal rehearsal conductor under musical director David Hill.  For his summer conducting institutes Dr. Dickson has co-directed with British friends and colleagues Stephen Cleobury, David Hill and Bob Chilcott.  He is the Founding Director of the C. S. Lewis Choral Institute, featuring a professional chorus for its triennial symposium in Oxford and Cambridge.  He holds the D.M.A. degree in choral conducting from The University of Texas, at Austin, the M.M. degree in musicology from Baylor University, and has done post-doctoral study at Cambridge University, Cambridge.

You can email John at jdickson@lsu.edu.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"I call it 'choral confession.' They come up to you and tell you their history with choir: 'I don't read sheet music.' 'I'm not a soloist.' These are wonderful capable singers, musically creative individuals that love what they do and contribute so much. My hope is that a book like this can give them the confidence to look at themselves and say 'I'm not just the blending voice that maybe my seventh grade choir teacher told me I am. I'm a contributor."

Matthew Bumbach is a sought-after conductor, composer, adjudicator, and clinician who has worked throughout North America, Europe, and Africa. He is the Director of Music Ministries at Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, GA.  Matthew has performed and recorded with such artists as Gloria Estefan, Time for Three, and Broadway's star Rachel Potter. He has published research in NCCO’s The Choral Scholar, Chorus America’s Research Memorandum Series, ACDA’s The Choral Journal, and several state and regional journals. Matthew’s choral arrangements are published by Hal Leonard. In 2022, Dr. Bumbach coauthored A Quick Start Guide To Choral Singing (GIA Publications) with Dr. Dean Luethi. Matthew lives in Atlanta, Georgia, with his wife, Dr. Melissa Bumbach, and their twin daughters, Rachel and Selena. 

To get in touch with Matt, you can find him on Facebook (@mbbumbach) or email him at mbumbach@shallowford.org.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"It is important for our members to be seen in spaces that they've traditionally not been welcome to. When you feel that you belong in a space, it changes something inside of you... You learn to use your voice by singing, and then you have the confidence to go use it in ways that dramatically impact your life and the lives of others."

Erin Guinup’s pursuit of creative, uplifting, and service-oriented work is the driving force behind her varied career. She is the founding Executive and Artistic Director of the Tacoma Refugee Choir which has included singers from 66 countries and performed for over 40,000 people. With the choir, she has spoken at TEDxSeattle, been featured on PBS, and presented on hope in diverse communities for Starbucks and the Global Migrant Festival in Singapore. She has led national community singing events, spoken at national conferences for NATS, ACDA, and Chorus America, and presented workshops on the voice of leadership for Amazon and small business groups. Erin is a classically-trained soprano and has been featured with groups including Symphony Tacoma, Ensign Symphony and Tacoma Concert Band singing Puccini’s La Bohème, Handel’s Messiah, Carmina Burana, Disney’s Frozen, and her own original songs. Her internationally performed one-woman show about female composers was praised as “an amazing tour-de-force” and another show was described as “life-changing”.  A sought-after teacher in classical and contemporary vocal technique and contributing author for three books, Erin’s voice students have found success on Broadway, operatic stages, radio and television. Other career highlights include directing the world premiere of Orson Scott Card and Mark Mitchell’s He is There; performing as Mary Poppins; conducting Rob Gardner’s Lamb of God; hearing her choral works performed by other choirs; and singing with Israeli-Palestinian choir Common Ground Voices in Jerusalem and Germany. Erin was recently recognized as an American Leadership Forum fellow, OL Reign Legend, one of Tacoma’s Most Inspiring Women and one of five Women to Watch by South Sound Magazine. She became a Senior Fellow of the Tacoma/Pierce County chapter of the American Leadership Forum in 2022.

To get in touch with Erin, you can find her on Facebook (@erin.guinup) or visit the Tacoma Refugee Choir website, https://www.refugeechoir.org/ .

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"It's not about only 'what do you hear,' it's about how you hear. What is the color of the sound you hear? What do you hear in the vocal mechanism? What are some of the things that they are doing that maybe are reflected in my conducting? Is my conducting reflective of the music? Is my conducting causing the issues?"

Jo-Michael Scheibe, a Southern California native, has spent years cultivating his passion for choral music and higher education. Mike, currently retired, recently chaired the Thornton School of Music’s Department of Choral and Sacred Music at the University of Southern California, where he conducted the USC Chamber Singers, taught choral conducting and choral methods, and supervised the graduate and undergraduate choral program. Before his time at USC, he spent fifteen years in Miami directing Choral Studies at University of Miami’s Frost School of Music.

Dr. Scheibe has prepared many choruses at USC and around the world. These include works with Sir Colin Davis and the London Symphony Orchestra, Helmuth Rilling, Michael Tilson Thomas and the New World Symphony, Franz Welser-Möst and the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Formosa Singers in Taiwan. Under his leadership, ensembles have performed at National ACDA Conventions and National Conventions of the Music Educators National Conference. Walton, Albany, Colla Voce Music, and Naxos publish recordings of Scheibe’s ensembles.

Dr. Scheibe received his B.A. and M.M. degrees from California State University at Long Beach and D.M.A. from USC.

A champion of contemporary music, Scheibe regularly commissions and performs new works of choral literature. He has helped to launch careers of promising young composers and to promote music by international composers largely unknown in the United States. Music publishers Walton, Colla Voce Music and Santa Barbara distribute the Jo-Michael Scheibe Choral Series internationally. Composers in his series include Eric Whitacre, Susan LaBarr, Stacey V. Gibbs, David Dickau, and many others.

To get in touch with Mike, you can find him on Facebook (@drjomichaelscheibe) or send him an email at jscheibe@usc.edu.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode from September 16, 2022, to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"The feeling that I got from being part of a good, and solid and warm choir culture was a big one for me. The feeling of being the person that has a hand in creating that space for somebody else and also sharing my love for music in the same breath just really appealed to me. I never saw myself going for anything else, really, except for music ed."

Alana Scott is a fervent curator of sounds, committed to sharing rich stories through the crafts of education, composition and songwriting. The Louisiana-native educator/musician treats personal experience as an opportunity to explore, honor and challenge personally formative traditions through her crafts. She currently holds the position of head choir director at a junior high in the greater Houston area, and cherishes sharing her love of her crafts with her students. Her compositions serve as vibrant melodies flecked with material retrieved through life’s lessons as a black southern woman of intersectionality– described as “boldly voiced” and “well-crafted”. Her most recently premiered work, “Joy” for string quartet, was premiered in July 2022 at the Tampa Museum of Modern Art.

To get in touch with Alana, you can find her on Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/alana.scott.315) or email her at alanascott4@gmail.com .

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"I was in this limbo place, and I took a church job and a community chorus job. [I thought,] 'I need a piece that does this thing, and I can't find one, so I might as well just write it.' I discovered that I really liked it. It became central to me fairly quickly. Writing has always been a fairly need-driven activity rather than something that I just did off the top of my head."

Reginald Unterseher is Music Director and Composer-in-Residence at Shalom United Church of Christ, Richland, Washington. His works are published by Oxford University Press, Walton Music, MusicSpoke.com, and his web site, as well as in the Justice Choir Songbook.

He was the Washington State Music Teacher’s Association’s “Composer of the Year” for 2013. Mr. Unterseher’s compositions are regularly performed throughout the world and have been featured at regional and national ACDA and NAfME conventions in the US as well as at Carnegie Hall in New York City.

Reginald Unterseher has always been drawn to composing pieces about the natural world and current events. His career path has careened between being a ski instructor, an opera and music theater performer, an at-home dad to three children, a conductor, and voice teacher. He has served WA ACDA and NW ACDA in several R&R roles over the last 20 years. He is a founding member of Northwest Choral Publishing. Reg has had more of his compositions performed in a nuclear reactor than any other composer in history, living or dead. He is originally from Walla Walla, Washington.

To get in touch with Reg, you can visit his website, https://www.reginaldunterseher.com .

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"As someone who moves at a million miles per hour, choir -- music -- is the one thing that does make time stop for me. I knew that I needed to be in the arts. I have to be a teacher, I have to be a conductor, so that I can live in this endless moment that is quite finite but feels like infinity. I want to live in this forever."

Coty Raven Morris  is a proud alumnus of Texas State University- San Marcos where she studied with Drs. Lynn Brinckmeyer, Jonathan Bacock, and Joey Martin. She received her Masters of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University in the Spring of 2020 under Drs. David Rayl, Jonathan Reed, and Sandra Snow. 

She is currently the Visiting Assistant Professor of Choir, Music Education, and Social Justice at Portland State University. Prior to this, she was the Director of Choirs at Crosby High School in the Houston area and has served as the Outreach Choir Director at the MSU Community Music School and Music Director at Grand Ledge United Methodist Church. Her choirs received consistent Sweepstakes & Division I ratings at UIL and choral festivals.      

Morris was the recipient of the Hays CISD Linebarger Academic Recognition Award for 2013 & Galena Park ISD's Dazzling Diamond Award in  2014, 2016, 2017, and 2018  for outstanding mentorship and leadership in her field. She is the Northwest Choral representative for the National Association for Music Education as well as the Community Choir Chair for Northwest  region of the American Choral Directors Association.

A newly published author and composer, Morris is a sought after clinician and speaker across the country. She has recently served as the Clinician and Headliner for Florida ACDA, Washington MEA, and Minnesota ACDA as well as the Keynote speaker for the city of Lake Oswego’s Juneteenth festival. 

Her future engagements include the Alaska All State Treble Choir and the Oregon Middle School Tenor Bass Choir. Morris has been a choir member of the South Texas Vocal Artists and Mirabai and has devoted over a decade of summers to working as a camp director at the Texas State, Northeastern and Lamar University summer camps.

Coty Raven Morris the Founder of Being Human Together, a budding community rooted in music education  striving to normalize difficult topics in our field through conversation and connection. BHT seeks to discuss traditionally taboo topics like mental health, systemic oppression, diversity, and inclusivity.

To get in touch with Coty, you can visit her website, https://cotyravenmorris.com or find her on Instagram and Tiktok: @cotyraven.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"As a realist, it's hard for me to be a dreamer, but I think when you're creative, you have to be. You have to find those ways to surround yourself with people who speak opportunity into your life. That's something that I'm really focusing on: how to find a neat path forward that isn't necessarily set in stone."

Skip Stradtman is a choral composer and arranger based out of Tuscaloosa, AL. He is pursuing a DMA in music composition at the University of Alabama, where he serves as graduate assistant for the University Singers. He completed his Master of Music in Choral Conducting at the University of Alabama and his Bachelor of Music Education and Sacred Music Certificate from the Florida State University, where he graduated summa cum laude. As a composer, Skip specializes in writing in the "traditional choral" and "contemporary a cappella” styles for middle school, high school, collegiate, and community vocal ensembles. His works have been featured in multiple concerts and reading sessions at various ACDA conferences. From 2016-2018 and prior to his studies at UA, Skip was the choral director at East River High School in Orlando, FL. Skip also served as assistant choral director and staff accompanist at The Geneva School in Orlando, FL from 2018-2019.

To get in touch with Skip, you can visit his website, https://skipstradtmanmusic.com, find him on MusicSpoke (https://musicspoke.com/composer/skipstradtman), or reach out on Facebook (@skipper.stradtman) or Instagram (@sstradtman).

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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“We’re often put in positions that make us uncomfortable with the inner struggle of how to keep our job and have our program recognized enough to get support versus how to carry out our true mission with students. If I’m trying to continue to fall in love with the choral art, I think the way to do that is looking for literature that will balance the soul-searching and academic needs of the students and the entertaining needs of the audiences. Looking for literature for all of those reasons often reignites my own curiosity and interest.”

Dr. Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah is a Full Professor of Music serving as Director of Choral Activities and Undergraduate Music Education at Eastern Washington University. She has earned degrees from Edmonds Community College, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, and the University of Kentucky. She was the Artistic Director of the Spokane Area Youth Choirs, and the Director of Spokane Symphony’s Chorale & Chamber Choir.  Previously in Spokane, Kristina taught Choral Methods at Gonzaga University, observed student teachers for Whitworth College, and taught Middle School Choir at St. George’s School and High School Choir at West Valley High School in the Spokane Valley.  Before moving to the Spokane area, she taught at Everett HS, Ephrata HS, and AC Davis HS. Kristina has served on the WA ACDA Board as an R&S chair in world music, children’s chorus, university, and jazz, and is the current President-Elect of WA ACDA. She has presented numerous times for state and all-northwest MENC/WMEA conventions and twelve WA-ACDA Summer Institutes. Directing Honor Groups and All-State Choirs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Kentucky, from Elementary through High School levels; as well as presenting at festivals and conferences in WA, MA, OR, ID, FL, and KY has given her the opportunity to work with a wonderful array of choristers and directors. The Spokane Arts Commission of the City of Spokane has awarded Kristina the “Arts in Education Award,” and the “Arts Organization Award” for her work with the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus.  Kristina also received Spokane’s “YWCA Woman of Achievement in Arts and Culture Award.”

To get in touch with Kristina, you can e-mail her at kploeger@ewu.edu.

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"I'm an only child. I grew up in rural North Dakota in the country, and I spent a lot of time by myself and at the piano bench and in my own head. I hold my ideas very close to the chest. I don't let them out until I'm pretty sure I know what they're going to be. Learning to collaborate was something I actively had to go after and figure out." - Jocelyn Hagen

Jocelyn Hagen composes music that has been described as “simply magical” (Fanfare Magazine) and “dramatic and deeply moving” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul). She is a pioneer in the field of composition, pushing the expectations of musicians and audiences with large-scale multimedia works, electro-acoustic music, dance, and opera. Her melodic music is rhythmically driven and texturally complex, rich in color and deeply heartfelt. A champion of the female spirit, many of her projects focus on the stories of women. She is a co-founder of Graphite Publishing and the band Nation, singing her heart out every chance she gets.

Inspired by narrative, magical realism, speculative fiction and making better humans through art, the music of Timothy C. Takach has become a mainstay in the concert world. Applauded for his melodic lines, text choices and rich, intriguing harmonies, his compositions are performed worldwide. He is a co-founder of Cantus, Graphite Publishing and Nation, and he is a co-creator of the theatrical production All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914. Takach has frequent work as a composer-in-residence, presenter, conductor, clinician and lecturer.

You can learn more about Jocelyn & Tim by subscribing to their YouTube pages, visiting their websites to join their newsletter lists, or reaching out on Facebook or Instagram.
Websites: https://www.jocelynhagen.com/, https://timothyctakach.com/
YouTube: @JocelynHagenComposer, @TimothyCTakach
Facebook: @JocelynHagenMus, @timothyctakach.composer
Instagram: @jocelynhagenmus

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

"A lot of our projects and our pieces seek to empower people and to bring stories to the surface that don't always get told. We have a literal stage to put these ideas forth, and we're able to ask our audiences for a little more out of them." - Timothy Takach

Jocelyn Hagen composes music that has been described as “simply magical” (Fanfare Magazine) and “dramatic and deeply moving” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul). She is a pioneer in the field of composition, pushing the expectations of musicians and audiences with large-scale multimedia works, electro-acoustic music, dance, and opera. Her melodic music is rhythmically driven and texturally complex, rich in color and deeply heartfelt. A champion of the female spirit, many of her projects focus on the stories of women. She is a co-founder of Graphite Publishing and the band Nation, singing her heart out every chance she gets.

Inspired by narrative, magical realism, speculative fiction and making better humans through art, the music of Timothy C. Takach has become a mainstay in the concert world. Applauded for his melodic lines, text choices and rich, intriguing harmonies, his compositions are performed worldwide. He is a co-founder of Cantus, Graphite Publishing and Nation, and he is a co-creator of the theatrical production All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914. Takach has frequent work as a composer-in-residence, presenter, conductor, clinician and lecturer.

You can learn more about Jocelyn & Tim by subscribing to their YouTube pages, visiting their websites to join their newsletter lists, or reaching out on Facebook or Instagram.
Websites: https://www.jocelynhagen.com/, https://timothyctakach.com/
YouTube: @JocelynHagenComposer, @TimothyCTakach
Facebook: @JocelynHagenMus, @timothyctakach.composer
Instagram: @jocelynhagenmus

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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On the Choir Fam Holiday Special, Dean and Matt discuss making music during the busy holiday season and also look back on some favorite winter memories from their childhoods. We wish all our listeners a happy holiday season! We hope you all can enjoy some rest and relaxation as your semesters wind down.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"We’ve found other ways to make music by centering on the creative process and composition – collective composition in particular. Bringing young people together to meet across difference and to put music at the center as a tool for them to engage in dialogue has just been greater than I could have imagined."

Alysia Lee receives national recognition for advancing access, equity, and decolonization with leaders, organizations, and communities. Her methods center on youth, anti-racism, creativity, and justice.

Alysia is the inaugural President of the Baltimore Children & Youth Fund, the bold hyperlocal grantmaker stewarding public funds to support the success of Baltimore’s young people. Lee is the Founder and Artistic Director of Sister Cities Girlchoir (SCG), the El Sistema-inspired, girl empowerment choral academy in Philadelphia, Camden, and Baltimore in its tenth season. SCG is an award-winning and trendsetting choral education program with performance credits from Carnegie Hall, The Kennedy Center, and numerous school and community stages.

Lee has an emerging voice as a choral composer. She is the series editor of Hal Leonard’s Exigence for Young Voices, the new choral series uplifting Black, Brown, Indigenous, and Asian composers for young choir ensembles. Her piece ‘Say Her Name’ is published by Hal Leonard. She has recent composition commissions from Baltimore Choral Arts, Portland Lesbian Choir, and GALA Choruses. Lee is also a Board member of Chorus America and a National Advisor to ArtsEdSEL. Lee is formerly the education program supervisor for Fine Arts Education for the Maryland State Department of Education across five arts disciplines: music, dance, visual art, theatre, and media arts.

Recent recognitions include awards from The Kennedy Center, The Knight Foundation, National Association of University Women, Stockton Bartol Foundation, Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation, and BEQ Pride. Recent speaking/facilitation engagements include the U.S. Department of Education, The Kennedy Center, VH-1 Save the Music, Carnegie Hall, Arts Education Partnership, TEDX, many colleges and universities, and national and state professional associations.

A Baltimore native, Lee is an alumna of Maryland public schools (Baltimore County Public Schools). She earned her graduate degree from Peabody Conservatory. Alysia also completed Executive Education programs at Harvard University and La Salle University.

To get in touch with Alysia, follow her on Instagram: @alysiadlee.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"The skill set of the executive director is actually the activation of knowledge in the organization rather than the specialization of the knowledge itself. I’m better served in clearing the road so that the artistry can come through. The outcome of that is really exceptional experiences for students and their teachers."

Robyn Hilger is beginning her second year as executive director of the American Choral Directors Association. A native Oklahoman, Hilger is a classically trained clarinetist. She graduated with high honors in 1999 from Oklahoma City University with a bachelor’s degree in instrumental music education. She earned her master’s degree in school administration from the University of Central Oklahoma and is currently pursuing her doctorate of education in administration and leadership at Southern Nazarene University. She is a National Board-Certified Teacher in early adolescence/young adult music with specialization in band.

The overarching theme of her work is meeting the identified needs of historically marginalized and under-resourced communities. Robyn began her career as the band and strings teacher at Belle Isle Enterprise Middle School, in Oklahoma’s largest urban school district, where she created the fine arts department. In 2006, she was recognized as Oklahoma’s State Teacher of the Year and she served as Oklahoma’s Ambassador of Teaching, traveling more than 20,000 miles delivering some 200 workshops and speeches focused on teaching, advocacy, and education policy.

In 2007, she joined the staff of the Foundation for Oklahoma City Public Schools as the chief programs officer. In 2013, she supported the launch of El Sistema Oklahoma as a volunteer. In 2014, she was asked to join the organization as the executive director. El Sistema Oklahoma facilitates the development of empowered youth who use music to make strong positive change in their lives, their communities, and the world. El Sistema Oklahoma operates every day after-school and is completely free for participating families.

In 2017, she was named New Fundraiser of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Oklahoma City Chapter. Robyn also serves on the advisory board for the Oklahoma Youth Orchestras and is a board member for Oklahoma Youth Sing! (formerly known as the Norman Children’s Chorus).

Robyn is a connector of people, organizations, and opportunities. She lives in Oklahoma City with her husband Stephen and their three cats.

To get in touch with Robyn, you can add her on Facebook (@robynhilger or @robynhilgeracda) or email her at executivedirector@acda.org.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Choir Fam Minisode 1 includes Lightning Round answers from four of our Choir Fam listeners:

Jessica Koenig
Rockford, Illinois
Choir and piano lab teacher at Harlem Middle School

Kayla Mommsen
Pullman, Washington
Choral music education student at Washington State University

James Rodrigue
Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Choral conducting graduate student at Louisiana State University and co-founder of Opus Vocal Ensemble in New Orleans, Louisiana

Ben Morgan
Houston, Texas
Assistant Choir Director at Porter High School in New Caney Independent School District

We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to answer our Season 1 lightning-round questions for us to share with our audience. We are looking forward to getting to know you better.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com with the following info:

1. Subject Line: Choir Fam Minisode
2. First and last name, pronouns optional
3. City and state you live in
4. School where you teach or study, choral organization you work with, etc.
5. Answer any and all of our lightning round questions:
       a. Do you have a favorite flavor of ice cream?
       b. What is your favorite guilty-pleasure tv show?
       c. If you could pick between being able to fly and being invisible, which would you pick and why?
       d. Tacos or hamburgers?
       e. If you had to pick one favorite choral piece, what would it be?
       f. What is one composer that you feel needs more attention?
       g. What is your favorite memory associated with choral music?
       h. What projects are you working on right now that you’re excited about?

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"It's really easy for a teacher to work 80, 90, 100 hours a week. What does that do to a person? When I'm exhausted, I'm a less effective communicator. I am less prepared to deal with the emotional challenges of the classroom. I am less likely to give grace when I'm tired. Giving 100% of yourself is not an effective educational strategy. You can't give everything."

Benjamin Hawkinson is Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Millikin University. There he conducts numerous ensembles including the University Choir, the True Blue Chorale (TB) and Millikin's premier vocal jazz ensemble OneVoice. Additional teaching responsibilities include courses in High School Choral Methods and Conducting. Ensembles under his direction have toured across the region with One Voice recently being invited to perform at the 2022 Jazz Educators Network in Dallas, TX, and at the Illinois Music Educators Conference in 2023. Recently Dr. Hawkinson served as guest conductor for the Millikin Decatur Symphony Orchestra in a performance of Bernstein's Chichester Psalms, and served as chorus master for Ravel's Daphnis et Chloe. 

Dr. Hawkinson is an active clinician, presenter, and researcher. Common presentation topics include vocal improvisation practices of the late Italian Renaissance, interdisciplinary interactions between music and the social sciences, and mitigating burnout through time new perspectives in time management. 

Dr. Hawkinson holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from Texas Tech University, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Westminster Choir College, and a Bachelor of Music in Music Education from Northern Arizona University. 

To get in touch with Ben, you can email him at bhawkinson@millikin.edu. You can also find him on Instagram (@hawkinsonben) or Facebook (@ben.hawkinson.14).

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"When I was teaching high school, I really wanted to do some comprehensive and interdisciplinary lessons and didn't have the time to do that for all of my music. Now I have some time to do that research. Inspired Choir is a place that I get to share well-researched information on individual pieces of music."

Dr. Colleen McNickle is Assistant Professor of Music Education at Arkansas State University, where she teaches undergraduate and graduate music education courses and conducts Scarlet Voices and the Singing Statesmen. With a PhD in Music Education and Choral Cognate from Michigan State University, Colleen’s scholarly interests include music educator wellness and interdisciplinary choral education. Colleen previously taught middle school and high school choirs, piano, ukulele, and music theory in Illinois and earned her BA in Music Education from Augustana College and her MME in Music Education from the University of Illinois.

An active clinician, Colleen has presented research and practice sessions at the Symposium for LGBTQ Studies and Music Education, Music and Wellbeing Conference, Desert Skies Symposium on Research in Music Learning and Teaching, the Big Ten Academic Alliance Music Education Conference, the American Choral Directors Association North Central Conference, the New Directions in Music Education Conference and at state music educator conferences in Michigan, Texas, Iowa, Ohio, and Virginia. Upcoming engagements include directing the ArkCDA Region 1 Junior Tenor/Bass Honor Choir in November and presenting 'TikTok and Choir: An Unexpected Pairing' and 'Connecting with the Chor-US: Building Ensemble through Social Emotional Learning' at the 2023 American Choral Directors Association National Conference.

To get in touch with Colleen, you can find her on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok (@inspiredchoir), visit her website (http://www.inspiredchoir.com) or send her an email: hello@inspiredchoir.com.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"The International Conductors Exchange Program was a profound experience. What was unique was the chance to work with Cuban choirs, not just take an American choir and perform in a spectacular setting. It really is a life-changing cultural exchange. There's nothing like international travel to broaden your horizons."

John F. Warren is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Syracuse University, where he conducts choirs, and teaches both graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting, choral literature, and rehearsal techniques.

During his fifteen-year tenure, Syracuse choirs have performed at two state and three Eastern Region American Choral Director Association Conferences, including Rochester, New York in 2020, and toured throughout the Northeast United States and Canada, as well as Europe and South America. In 2017, the Syracuse University Singers performed for the National Conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In 2015, Singers won the Grand Prix at the Florilegé Vocal de Tours in France, which entitled them to compete in Varna, Bulgaria in May 2016 as a finalist in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing. Dr. Warren travelled back to Varna to judge the 2017 International Choir Competition. The choir’s first album, Mysteries and Wonders is available on ITunes and Amazon.com. Dr. Warren is a regular guest conductor with Symphoria, the professional orchestra of Syracuse, New York, having most recently conducted a program of music by J. S. Bach, C.P.E. Bach, and Mahler.

He was the NYACDA Choral Director of the Year in 2016 and is a 2011 recipient of the Outstanding Faculty Award from the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Syracuse University. Prior to coming to Syracuse, Dr. Warren was the Director of Choral Activities at Erskine College in South Carolina, where he was awarded the Younts Excellence in Teaching Award in 2005.

Dr. Warren serves ACDA on the Standing Committee on International Activities, and is NYACDA Vice President. Dr. Warren has lectured, adjudicated and conducted festival choirs throughout the Eastern United States, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cuba and France, and has published research in the Choral Journal and the International Choral Bulletin.

To get in touch with John, you can find him on Facebook (@john.warren.7524) or send him an email: jfwarr01@syr.edu . 

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"If you can give students really clear directions about what they're doing with their bodies at all times, then their minds are much more likely to be focused. By the end of the rehearsal, there's all this energy. That comes if you're able to grab their attention and have everyone participate in a visual and kinesthetic way."

Dr. Reed Criddle is Director of Choral Activities at Utah Valley University, where he conducts the Chamber Choir and Men's Choir and teaches conducting and voice. In recognition of his innovative pedagogy and professional work as a composer and conductor, Utah Valley University has presented him with the School of the Arts Dean’s Award, two Faculty Senate Excellence Awards, and the Presidential Fellowship Award.

As a conductor and U.S. Fulbright Senior Scholar, he has directed ensembles, conducted research, and led workshops throughout Europe, Asia, Cuba, and the United States. Dr. Criddle has served as president of the Utah chapter of the American Choral Directors Association. UVU choirs under his direction have performed many times at the national conference of NCCO, the western division conference of ACDA, and state conferences of the ACDA and NAfME.

Dr. Criddle’s compositions have been performed worldwide by a large variety of ensembles like Musikhochschüle Lübeck Kammerchor (Germany), Beijing Queer Chorus (China), Hollywood Master Chorale (California), National University of Singapore International Festival Chorus, and Auckland Welsh Choir (New Zealand). He has recently guest-lectured at institutions such as the Hochschüle für Musik Franz Liszt Weimar (Germany), California State University (Los Angeles), Taipei University of the Arts (Taiwan), Foguangshan Buddhist College (Taiwan), and the Technical University of Kenya. His compositions and arrangements are available through Earthsongs, Hal Leonard, Santa Barbara Music Publishing, and North Star Music.

He is a graduate of Stanford University, the Eastman School of Music, and the University of Michigan.

To get in touch with Reed, you can find him on Facebook (@reed.criddle) or Instagram (@reedcriddle).

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Thank you for listening to our show this season!!

Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the fifth season:
Christmas Oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach

Mass in B Minor, Johann Sebastian Bach (x2)

Trois Chansons Bretonnes, Henk Badings

The Sweetheart of the Sun, Eric William Barnum

Ein Deutsches Requiem, Johannes Brahms

The Music Makers, Edward Elgar

The Ground, Ola Gjeilo

Kalinda, Sydney Guillaume

Measure Me, Sky, Elaine Hagenberg

Messiah, George Frideric Handel

Las Amarillas, Stephen Hatfield

Gloucester Service, Herbert Howells

Where the Light Begins, Susan LaBarr

O Magnum Mysterium, Morten Lauridsen

Symphony No. 2 (The Resurrection), Gustav Mahler

Elijah, Felix Mendelssohn

Vespers of 1610 , Claudio Monteverdi

Exaudi, Jocelyn Morlock

Ave Verum Corpus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Lacrimosa (from Requiem), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mori quasi il mio core, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

The Call, Roxana Panufnik

I Was Glad, Hubert Hastings Parry

Bogoroditse Devo (from All-Night Vigil), Sergei Rachmaninoff

To the Hands, Caroline Shaw

God So Loved the World (from The Crucifixion), John Stainer

If Ye Love Me, Thomas Tallis

Dona Nobis Pacem, Ralph Vaughan Williams

Va Pensiero (from Nabucco), Giuseppe Verdi

Here are the composers that our guests suggested you check out:
Dominick Argento

Johann Sebastian Bach

Benjamin Britten

Saunder Choi

Jennifer Lucy Cook

Rob Dietz

Reena Esmail (our guest on Episode 50)

Rachel Fogerty

Joshua Hines

Kevin Johnson

Susan LaBarr

Andrew Lippa

Ryan Main

Ily Matthew Maniano

Francis Poulenc

Zanaida Robles (x2)

R. Murray Schafer

Robert Schumann

Caroline Shaw

Barbara Strozzi

Tracy Wong (our guest on Episode 58)

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"One of my opportunities here at this school is to be able to do ‘harder’ music while still honoring our mission of being for the community. I have people who don’t read music. I have people who have never been in a choir before in their lives. But everybody should sing, so come on in here, and let’s do the best we can."

Dr. Jacob Funk is director of choirs at Clark College in Vancouver, Washington. He came to Clark from the University of Missouri—Kansas City where he completed his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting. During his doctoral study he was a Graduate Assistant to the Choral Department, Associate Conductor of the Conservatory Concert Choir and co-conductor of the University Singers. While at UMKC he also served as Opera Chorus Master and the director of Canticum Novum. Jacob earned his masters degree in choral conducting from the University of British Columbia, and his undergraduate degree in vocal performance from John Brown University. Jacob has taught 5-12 grade vocal music in the state of Kansas. He served on the music faculty of John Brown University and Northwest Arkansas Community College, and served as the Associate Choir Master at Grace Episcopal Church in Siloam Springs, AR, where he conducted the Adult Choir and oversaw the Grace Children’s Choir School. 

To get in touch with Jacob, you can email him at jfunk@clark.edu.

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro episode to hear how to share your story with us. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"A lot of my choral works get inspiration from Philippine indigenous chants. We have 7000+ islands with different cultures and soundscapes, and that is itself is a very rich jump-off point for a new composition. I contact a tribe, interview them, ask permission to use a folk chant, and recompose it in a manner that is respectful of the original form of the chant but with something new added to it."

Trailblazing composer and artist Nilo Alcala is carving a legacy for Philippine Arts internationally. He is the first Philippine-born composer to receive the COPLAND HOUSE Residency Award (2017), as well as to be commissioned by Grammy-winner Los Angeles Master Chorale. He is also the first Filipino-American artist to be featured as Musical America Worldwide's Artist of the Month, and be awarded The American Prize in the Professional Division, Major Choral Works Category. He has received two Ani Ng Dangal (Harvest of Honor) awards from two Philippine Presidents.

His commissions include San Bernardino Symphony Orchestra, Asia-Europe Foundation; Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival; Korean Ministry of Culture; National Music Competition for Young Artists, Manila Symphony Orchestra, the Filipino-American Symphony Orchestra, and many other ensembles. Other notable performances include the World Youth Choir, Asia Pacific Youth Choir, San Francisco Girls Chorus, the U.P. Symphony Orchestra, the Metro Manila Community Orchestra, and the South Dakota Symphony Orchestra.

Alcala's virtuosic choral works have been performed by numerous winning ensembles in prestigious competitions and festivals in Asia, Europe, Africa, and the Americas. He was member and composer-in-residence of the Philippine Madrigal Singers (UNESCO Artist for Peace). An Asian Cultural Council grantee, Alcala was a Billy Joel Fellow at Syracuse University where he received the Irene L. Crooker Music Award.

Alcala was composer-mentor from 2016 to 2019 of Pasadena Master Chorale’s “Listening to the Future” program for promising high school composers. In 2022, in cooperation with the Rotary Club University District (Quezon City, Philippines) Alcala has established the Rotary Club University District-Nilo Alcala Arts Scholarships or RCUD-NAAS for student artists.

To get in touch with Nilo, you can visit his website, www.niloalcala.com, or you can find him on Instagram or Twitter: @alcalanilo.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Excerpt from "Kaisa-Isa Niyan" by Nilo Alcala, performed by the WSU Concert Choir, Dean Luethi, conductor. Available from Walton Music: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/kaisaisa-niyan-print-wjms1156

We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to answer our Season 1 lightning-round questions for us to share with our audience. We are looking forward to getting to know you better.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com with the following info:

1. Subject Line: Choir Fam Minisode
2. First and last name, pronouns optional
3. City and state you live in
4. School where you teach or study, choral organization you work with, etc.
5. Answer any and all of our lightning round questions:
       a. Do you have a favorite flavor of ice cream?
       b. What is your favorite guilty-pleasure tv show?
       c. If you could pick between being able to fly and being invisible, which would you pick and why?
       d. Tacos or hamburgers?
       e. If you had to pick one favorite choral piece, what would it be?
       f. What is one composer that you feel needs more attention?
       g. What is your favorite memory associated with choral music?
       h. What projects are you working on right now that you’re excited about?

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Thank you for listening to our show this season!!

Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the first season:
Even When He Is Silent, Kim André Arnesen
The Gift I Leave You, Kim André Arnesen
Bist du bei mir, J. S. Bach
Der Geist hilft unsrer Schwachheit auf, J. S. Bach
St. Matthew Passion, J. S. Bach
Warrior, Kim Baryluk
Chichester Psalms, Leonard Bernstein
Hymn to St. Cecilia, Benjamin Britten
War Requiem, Benjamin Britten
In the Beginning, Aaron Copland (x2)
Ka Huliau ‘Ana, Palani Vaughan, arr. Randie Fong
On the Strangest Sea, Daniel Hall
O Magnum Mysterium, Morten Lauridsen
Be Not Afraid, Knut Nystedt
Threshold of Night, Tarik O’Regan
The Road Home, Stephen Paulus
To Touch the Sky (Mvt. 9: Most Noble Evergreen), Kevin Puts
Bogoroditse Devo, Sergei Rachmaninoff
Gospel Mass, Robert Ray
Let My Love be Heard, Jake Runestad (x2)
Concerto for Choir, Alfred Schnittke
Symphony of Psalms, Igor Stravinsky
Path of Miracles, Joby Talbot (x2)
Sea Symphony, Ralph Vaughan Williams
As Vesta Was from Latmos Hill Descending, Thomas Weelkes
A Boy and a Girl, Eric Whitacre
Cloudburst, Eric Whitacre
Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine, Eric Whitacre

Here are the composers that our guests suggested you check out:
Amy F. Bernon
Abbie Betinis
B. E. Boykin (x2)
Maddalena Casulana
William Dawson
Ashi Day
Rob Dietz
Melissa Dunphy
Antonin Dvorak
Ēriks Ešenvalds
Reena Esmail (See Choir Fam Episode 50)
Laura Farnell
Ryan Gunderson
Jocelyn Hagen (See Choir Fam Episodes 34-35)
Elaine Hagenberg
Bo Holten
David Lang
Undine Smith Moore
MaryAnne Muglia
Kyle Pederson
Rosephanye Powell
Sarah Quartel
Zanaida Robles 
Kentaro Sato
Moira Smiley
Ingrid Stölzel
Z. Randall Stroope
Joby Talbot
Randall Thompson
Dale Trumbore (See Choir Fam Episode 16)
Gwyneth Walker
Tracy Wong
Manuel de Zumaya

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"Smart kids are good thinkers. They don't like to make mistakes, but they're going to. So many of them are perfectionists, as are many musicians. The beauty is giving students a chance to explore, to fail, and try again - all the time figuring out what it means to be okay with being uncomfortable. Beautiful things come out of that vulnerability."

Heath Weber is Dean of the School of Visual and Performing Arts at Morningside University. During his tenure at Morningside, he has served as Associate Dean for Performing Arts, Music Department Chair, Director of Choral Activities, and artistic director for the Betty Ling Tsang Summer Performance Series. Prior to his appointment at Morningside, Heath Weber worked in public school music education at all levels, K-12.

A South Dakota native, he found his home in Sioux City, Iowa, first teaching at East High School for 10 years before assuming his position at Morningside. His comprehensive choral program at East was the largest student organization in Iowa, engaging one-third of the student body at EHS. His competitive show choir, The Headliners, was voted one of America’s top three favorite show choirs in Parade Magazine’s first contest.

As a performer, Weber has performed as a member of the GRAMMY-nominated South Dakota Chorale, an organization for which he has also served as Board President. Additionally, he has performed as a bass/baritone soloist with the South Dakota Symphony, The Sioux City Symphony, Opera South Dakota, and Together in Hope Choral Singers.

Weber has directed camps for gifted and talented students for nearly three decades. Each year, Morningside University hosts The Catalyst Collective, a two-week immersive experience offering students an opportunity to learn various academic pursuits from Morningside faculty, receive leadership development opportunities, and intense performing arts training for high-ability youth from all over the country.

To get in touch with Heath, you can email him at weberh@morningside.edu or find him on Instagram: @weberday. You can also check out the Morningside School of Visual and Performing Arts at @msideperforms on Instagram, TikTok, and Twitter.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"Being part of an ensemble taught me to look not just at my line but at all the music. The composer gives you so much information in the orchestra that you don't get from just the vocal line. That really informs your character. It allows me to be more fun and more creative if I can focus on being part of the whole at any given time."

Bass Benjamin Sieverding of Minneapolis, MN has gained notice for his “resonant, expressive bass” (StarTribune). He most recently made his Metropolitan Opera debut as one of the Offstage Voices/Jury in Brett Dean’s Hamlet. In 2022, he also made his Intermountain Opera Bozeman debut as Mr. Noble (Pish-Tush) in The Montana Mikado. In 2021, he made his Tulsa Opera debut as Betto in Gianni Schicchi and his Omaha Symphony debut performing excerpts from Mozart’s Requiem and Handel’s Messiah. In 2020, he was slated to return to Minnesota Opera to sing the roles of Bull and Neal in the world premiere of Edward Tulane, to make his Austin Opera debut as the Mandarin in Turandot, reprise the Dough’s Mate in Companionship with Virginia Arts Festival, reprise Doctor Grenvil in La traviata with Out of the Box Opera, and return to Mill City Summer Opera as Sparafucile/Ceprano in Rigoletto. Mr. Sieverding has performed several roles with Minnesota Opera including Alfred Austrian in The Fix, Prison Warden George Benton in Dead Man Walking, Colline in La bohème, Frère Laurent in Roméo et Juliette, Sacristan in Tosca, and Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte. Other recent performances include appearances with South Dakota State Symphony, Madison Opera, Glacier Symphony, Pacific Symphony, Fort Worth Opera, Opera in the Heights, Opera South Dakota, Lakes Area Music Festival, and Madison Symphony Orchestra. In the upcoming season, Mr. Sieverding returns to Minnesota Opera, The Metropolitan Opera, and Madison Opera.

To get in touch with Ben, you can visit his website: www.benjaminsieverding.com.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"It's not about the notes. It's not about the rhythms. It's about connection. It's about getting a connection with each other, a connection to the conductor, and a connection to the music -- and discovering that it's a relationship with the music that will make a huge difference. I'm there as facilitator to make that happen."

Dr. Edith A. Copley is regents professor emeritus at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff, where she conducted the Shrine of the Ages Choir, Chamber Singers, and University Singers and taught undergraduate and graduate conducting, choral methods, and graduate choral literature. Her choirs have performed at state, region, and national choral conferences, in Carnegie Hall, and have toured internationally. Prior to her 31-year tenure at NAU, she taught secondary choral music in Iowa and later in Vienna, Austria at the American International School. Copley has received numerous honors, including the NAU Centennial Teacher of the Year, Arizona Music Educator of the Year, Arizona ACDA Outstanding Choral Director, and The Weston H. Noble Award from her alma mater, Luther College. She has served ACDA as a state and regional president, and interest session chair for the 2011, 2019 and 2021 national conferences. Copley is currently ACDA national president-elect. She has conducted all-state choirs in over 30 states, ACDA and NAfME national honor choirs, and international choral festivals in Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Luxembourg, Tasmania, England, Australia, China, Oman and Turkey.

To get in touch with Edith, you can email her at ec@nau.edu or find her on Facebook @edith.copley.9 .

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"In mentoring a new teacher, I ask, 'How do we bring the music home to the students? Really, what is our job as music educators?' I believe my job as a music educator is to create better people. That's what I try to instill within my student teachers."

Barbara Tappa just completed her 15th year at Ferris High School in Spokane, Washington, and her 23rd year of teaching overall. During her time at Ferris she led a comprehensive program with six choirs, including mixed choirs, treble choirs, a tenor/bass choir, show choir, and jazz choir. She has just begun her retirement from her position. A graduate of Western Washington University, she has directed junior and senior high school choirs in Moses Lake, Bothell and Woodinville, WA; Anaheim, CA; and Havelock, NC. She was an elementary teacher at Oslo International School in Oslo, Norway, and, more recently, taught elementary music at St. Charles Catholic School in Spokane. Barbara has been a cantor and choir director at Catholic churches in the United States, Japan, and Norway. She has directed festival choirs in Washington and Montana and adjudicated Solo and Ensemble contests. She is the conductor of Le Donne, a Spokane area women’s choir. She sings with Spokane Choral Artists, Le Donne, is the Music Director at St. Charles Catholic Parish, and has performed in a number of musical theatre productions throughout her career. Barbara has served as Choral Representative and then President of the Eastern Washington Music Educators Association, as the Eastern Liaison for Washington American Choral Directors Association, and as Choral Curriculum Officer for Washington Music Educators. In 2016 Barbara was the Washington State High School Music Educator of the Year. She currently serves as president of Washington’s ACDA chapter.

To get in touch with Barbara, you can email her at btappa@comcast.net.

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"My tunnel vision of choral music just exploded. I was able to learn so much about all these different cultures that were in my school and the music that represented them. That's where I really learned that students have to have some representation to make them feel that they're really part of this community."

Amanda Stevenson is currently the 4th and 5th grade vocal music teacher at Titan Hill Intermediate School in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Recently, Ms. Stevenson was the Founding Artistic Director for the Omaha Children’s Choir - an organization she founded to provide all singers with an appreciation and understanding of the city’s diversity and to inspire change by the power of choral music. Over the last 7 years, Ms. Stevenson created an inclusive and diverse repertoire that truly reflected the singers represented in Omaha Children’s Choir. She led the organization to launch the Voices Creating Change initiative which gives voice to the issues of our time and uses music as a tool to inspire social change in the community. Ms. Stevenson also taught middle school vocal music in Iowa. Ms. Stevenson holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Iowa Wesleyan University and a Master of Music with an emphasis in choral music education from Western Illinois University. She is currently working on a Master of Arts in Teaching, Leadership, and Cultural Competency through the University of Iowa. She lives in Omaha with her husband, 4 children, and their dog Oscar.

To get in touch with Amanda, you can find her on Instagram or Twitter (@amandastvnsn) or on Facebook (@amandarstevenson).

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"We all get this exposure to popular music as young children, and when we get to the academy, we're quickly taught that popular music is less worthy, less valuable. The idea that started to settle with me is that we don't tear down the choir model that we have, but we start to add to it and allow different avenues."

Matthew Bumbach (he/him) is known for heartfelt choral programming that engages singers and audiences alike. He uses choral performance to develop the whole person and equips students with the tools to think deeply, create imaginatively, and lead transparently. For this purpose, he focuses not only on quality performance that is culturally informed and carefully polished, but an ethical path to excellence. Dr. Bumbach works to create an inclusive environment that focuses on equity and justice so that all students receive an equitable experience.

With a research interest that focuses on the confluence of classical choral music and popular musical styles Dr. Bumbach frequently writes, presents, and lectures on bluegrass style, fusion choral works, technology integration in choral performance, and storytelling in virtual choir videos. He has published articles in ACDA’s The Choral Journal, NCCO’s Choral Scholar, Chorus America’s Research Memorandum Series, SDMEA’s South Dakota Musician, and FMEA’s Florida Music Director. His choral compositions have been performed by the Virginia Chorale, Florida Singing Sons Boychoir, the Orlando Chorale, Fredonia State University Chamber Singers, College of Central Florida, University of Miami, and several middle and high school choirs. His published choral music is carried by Hal Leonard and his independent publications can be found at sheetmusicplus.com.

Dr. Bumbach has taught middle school, high school, community college, and university choirs in Florida and South Dakota. He earned his Bachelor of Music Education degree from Stetson University, his Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of South Florida, and his Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Miami’s Frost School of Music. 

Dr. Bumbach lives in Clarksville, AR, with his wife and twin daughters. 

To get in touch with Matthew, you can email him at mbumbach@ozarks.edu or find him on Facebook (@mbbumbach) or Instagram (@drbumbach) .

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“More competitions are being organized, and it has become a way for these conductors and choirs to work on their skills. By joining these competitions, the rate of their progress accelerated. People join choirs for different reasons. For most of us, we started only because we loved singing, because we found a place where we can share our voice with friends with the same interest. This desire to join competitions would just be a product of years of singing with a choir.”

Mark Anthony Carpio is recognized as one of the most respected figures in choral music today. He is a faculty member of the Conducting and Choral Ensemble Department of the University of the Philippines College of Music, where he earned his Master’s degree in Choral Conducting and his Bachelor’s degree in Piano.

In 2001, Prof. Andrea O. Veneracion, National Artist for Music, chose Mark to succeed her as choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, also known as the “Madz.” Since then, he has continuously led the already much-awarded choir to even greater heights, including placing first in several prestigious choral competitions in Europe. Under his leadership, the group has been invited as guest choir in several international choral conferences in the USA and South America, among others.

In 2007, under the baton of Mark, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won, for the second time, the grand prize in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Arezzo, Italy. This victory makes them the first of the only four choirs in the world to win the grand prize twice.

In 2009, UNESCO designated the group as a UNESCO Artist for Peace. This title is given to celebrity advocates charged with the mission of embodying and raising awareness of the UNESCO ideals, which include peace, security, fundamental human rights, and freedom.

In the Philippines, he regularly collaborates with the Philippine Choral Directors Association, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, for music and choral education programs. He heads the Andrea O. Veneracion Sing Philippines Foundation, which spearheads choral music development initiatives including the Sing Philippines Youth Choir, whose singers come from all over the country.

Mark has adjudicated in different choral festivals and competitions and presented around the world, including Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Italy, Latvia and the US. Locally, he has been the chairman of the board of jurors of the biennial Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival and the 1st Asia Choral Grand Prix (2019).

He also directs the Consortium of Voices, a choral society of young choristers, consisting of the Kilyawan Boys Choir, Kilyawan Male Choir and the Voces Auroræ Girls Choir.

​To get in touch with Mark, you can find him on Facebook (@markanthonycarpio) or visit the Philippine Madrigal Singers website.

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"Quality breeds quantity. If we establish really high expectations, people will be attracted to that, and they're going to want to be a part of it. I just led with some sort of blind enthusiasm that you can only have as a new teacher. I just wanted to go for it."

Aubrey Dunham just completed her first year as choir director at South Salem High School in Salem, Oregon. At South, she directs 6 curricular ensembles and serves as the vocal music director for South’s musical productions. Previous to her time at South, Aubrey served as choral director and Instructional Coach for Fine Arts at Riverside Brookfield High School in Riverside, Illinois, for five years and choral director at Plainfield East High School in Plainfield, Illinois, for eight years. Her choirs from Riverside Brookfield and Plainfield East performed at Illinois Music Education Conferences and Illinois ACDA conferences. 

Aubrey previously served as the Senior High School Repertoire and Resources Chair and the Treble Choirs Repertoire and Resource Chair for the Illinois ACDA Chapter. In November 2019, Aubrey was the guest conductor for the ILMEA District 2 Junior High Treble Ensemble at Augustana College. Aubrey completed her Masters Degree in Music Education from Vandercook College of Music and holds a Bachelor’s of Music in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Western Illinois University. She lives and breathes the choral arts but loves to get out and enjoy the beautiful Pacific Northwest.

To get in touch with Aubrey, you can find her choral program on Facebook or Instagram (@southsalemchoir).

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"In the times that we are in, trying to reach students, encouraging them to be themselves, and giving them that safe space is so important. I've learned so much about how unwelcoming the world is for some of my students, and I like that they feel comfortable and safe in my classroom."

Sara Bray is entering her seventh year as the choral director at St. Amant High School in Ascension Parish, Louisiana. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of South Dakota and her master's degree in choral conducting from the University of North Dakota. Sara currently serves as the High School Coordinator for the District IV Choral Directors Association where she organizes the Louisiana Music Educators Association round one auditions as well as the District IV Honor Choir. Sara is an active performer, singing soprano with the Baton Rouge Early Vocal Ensemble and performing on stage with Ascension Community Theatre. She has also music directed stage productions with ACT and the St. Amant High School Theatre.

To get in touch with Sara, you can find her on Facebook (@sara.ottemanbray) or email her at sara.bray@apsb.org .

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"My elementary music teacher took a chance on me. She was the one who opened music up to me, and it was incredible. I've come from being the mentee to the mentor. I just want to pass on that information and let people feel what I felt as a young student."

Kimberly Barclay Ritzer is in her 31st year as director of the Green Valley High School Choirs in Henderson, Nevada, opening the school in 1991. She is in her 32nd year as a teacher for the Clark County School District. She is a 1990 graduate of UNLV where she received a Bachelor of Music degree in Music Education. In 2021 she received her Master's Degree in Educational Administration from the University of Phoenix. Kim currently serves as the CCSD Task Force Chair for High School Choir and Facility Chair for the district's Secondary Fine Arts Programs. In addition, Kim chairs the Green Valley High School (GVHS) Performing Arts Department and has taught Secondary Choral Methods at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She has served three terms as president of the Nevada Music Educators Association and three terms as Nevada ACDA president. She is currently Past-President of the American Choral Directors Western Division and Secretary of the Nevada ACDA chapter.

The GVHS Concert Choir performed at the 1998 ACDA Western Region Convention in Reno; the Madrigal Singers performed at the 2005 ACDA National Convention in Los Angeles; the 2009 ACDA National Convention in Oklahoma City; the 2014 ACDA Western Region Conference in Santa Barbara, and the ACDA Western Region Conference in Long Beach in 2022. In June 2021, she was appointed Western Division Representative to the NAfME Council for Choral Education.

Kim's honors and recognitions are many. In November 2001, Kim was named the Henderson Chamber of Commerce "Most Outstanding Educator," and in February of 2002, she was named "Nevada Music Educator of the Year.” In 2004, she was named “Outstanding Alumni for the College of Fine Arts” by the UNLV Alumni Association and was a finalist in the “Heart of Education” Awards for the Clark County School District in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2020. Kim was also a 2021 semi-finalist for the Grammy Music Educator Award.

To get in touch with Kim, you can find her on Facebook (@kimberly.b.ritzer) or Instagram (@ilvtosing) or email her at ritzek@nv.ccsd.net .

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"The text is so crucial to my process. I try and derive every little detail -- rhythm and harmony and melody and the overall mood and tone and textures and timbres of the piece -- from the text itself. The text is really at the heart of everything I do."

Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been called "devastatingly beautiful" (The Washington Post) and praised for its "soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies deployed with finesse" (The New York Times). Trumbore's compositions have been performed widely in the U.S. and internationally by the Chicago Symphony's MusicNOW ensemble, Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Modesto Symphony, Pasadena Symphony, Phoenix Chorale, Tonality, and VocalEssence.​

The recipient of ACDA’s inaugural Raymond W. Brock Competition for Professional Composers, an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, Trumbore has also served as Composer in Residence for Choral Chameleon. She has been awarded artist residencies at Copland House, the Helene Wurlitzer Foundation, the Tusen Takk Foundation, and Ucross. Her choral works have been commissioned for premieres at national conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, American Guild of Organists, Chorus America, and National Collegiate Choral Organization, and her music is available through Boosey & Hawkes, G. Schirmer, and Graphite Marketplace.

Trumbore is passionate about setting to music poems, prose, and found text by living writers. She has  written extensively about working through creative blocks and establishing a career in music in essays for Cantate Magazine, the Center for New Music, and NewMusicBox. Her first book, Staying Composed: Overcoming Anxiety and Self-Doubt Within a Creative Life, was hailed by writer Angela Myles Beeching as a "treasure trove of practical strategies for moving your artistic career forward... not only for composers, but for performers, writers, and any other creatives." Trumbore's short fiction is published or forthcoming from Southern Indiana Review, New Delta Review, and F(r)iction. She is currently working on a collection of short stories.

Trumbore holds a dual degree in Music Composition (B.M.) and English (B.A.) from the University of Maryland, as well as a Master of Music degree in Composition from the University of Southern California. A New Jersey native, Trumbore currently lives in Azusa, CA with her spouse and their three cats.

To get in touch with Dale, you can visit her website --  daletrumbore.com -- or use her contact form.

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"Receiving the news that I would need to have vocal cord surgery was really hard. I love teaching and singing. I need my voice for both of those things that are literally my entire life. I'm extremely grateful for my ENT, and her expertise helped me feel comfortable and eased my fears."

Aubrey Nelson is active as a music educator, singer, and flutist in the Houston, TX area. She is a high school choir director and AP Music Theory teacher in Cypress-Fairbanks Independent School District, and will soon begin her fifth year as a public school music teacher. As a singer, she has performed with Houston-based ensembles Bach Society Houston, Chorus Angelorum, Casulana Women’s Choir, and Suono Chamber Choir. Aubrey received her Bachelor's degree in Music Composition from University of South Carolina, where she also studied flute and voice, and her Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University. Outside of music, she loves food, reading, running, and her 2 orange cats Norah and Dandelion!

To get in touch with Aubrey, you can find her on Facebook (@aubbbs) or Instagram (@aubsjnels). You can also email her at aubreyjnelson@gmail.com. 

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"Through breaking down stereotypes and saying 'this is who I am'...my students in turn would be their authentic selves and break down some of their own stereotypes about how they're supposed to sound... and be more open to the journey of being creative through choral music."

Angelica Brooks is an acclaimed choral director and music educator. With a passion for excellence in music and education, Mrs. Brooks’ résumé exhibits service, equity, and drive.  She has taught at all levels and served various student populations. Angelica Brooks was recently the Director of Choral Activities at Bowie High School in Prince George’s County, Maryland where she taught choir, drama, and music theory.

Mrs. Brooks earned a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance and Media Management from the Bowie State University in Bowie, Maryland. She completed her Master of Music  with a focus in Vocal Pedagogy from The Catholic University of America in Washington, DC. Mrs. Brooks also holds a Administration I Certificate from McDaniels College. She is currently a DMA Candidate in the Music Teaching and Learning program at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, CA and serves as adjunct faculty at the University of Maryland Baltimore County in the Music Education Department.

A member of the National Association for Music Education Equity Committee and the American Choral Directors Association, Angelica has served as an honor choir guest conductor, choral festival adjudicator, and presenter at statewide and local music conferences. Mrs. Brooks has been honored to serve her professional community as a mentor teacher, curriculum writer, and professional development presenter. She is a member of Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity.

To get in touch with Angelica, you can find her on Facebook (@angelica.brooks) or Instagram (@angelica_brooks) or visit www.angelicabrooks.com. Information about The Table Music Education Conference is available at www.thetablemec.com.

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"Education is an opportunity for self-reflection, a beautiful time to look inwards and ask 'Who am I? Why am I here? Do I really want to be here?' Those answers for me have been, 'yes, I really want to do this. I want to effect change in this world in a positive way.'"

Dr. Raul Dominguez was recently accepted as a Fellow for the Cleveland Institute of Music's inaugural Future of Music Faculty Fellowship, sponsored by the Sphinx Organization. He is also the founder of the Choral Conductors Colloquium which provides its 900+ subscribers with opportunities to learn from choral music’s finest conductors; subscribers are made up of choral musicians representing every continent (except Antarctica) and 54 different countries. Next fall, Raul will continue his role as the Associate Artistic Director of the Denver Gay Men's Chorus and serve as the Director of Choral Activities at Regis University in Denver, CO. His primary research focus is the choral music of the United Mexican States. 
 
He holds a Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting and Literature from the University of Colorado Boulder (CU), where he studied with Dr. Gregory Gentry, and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from Ithaca College, where he studied with Dr. Janet Galván. Prior to Ithaca, he was the Choir Director at Clear Lake HS in his hometown of Houston, TX, for four years. He earned Bachelor of Music degrees in Vocal Performance and Music Education from Oklahoma City University, where he studied with Dr. Randi Von Ellefson and Judith Willoughby.

To get in touch with Raul, you can find him on Instagram (@raulconducts) or visit raulconducts.com.

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"I came to Alexander Technique trying to see if there was a way that I could experience less pain when I conduct. Over time, I retaught myself. It's not a quick process, because nothing about Alexander Technique is a quick fix, but I do experience less pain."

Dr. Angelica Dunsavage serves as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Tennessee State University, where she conducts the TSU University Choir and the Meistersingers. Prior to her appointment at TSU, Dr. Dunsavage taught music education and choral/vocal classes at Washington State University. Dr. Dunsavage received her DMA in Choral Conducting and Music Education from University of Arizona. She received her MM in Choral Conducting from Bowling Green State University, and her BS in Music Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania. Her conducting mentors include Dr. Elizabeth Schauer, Dr. Bruce Chamberlain, Dr. Mark Munson, and Dr. Sandra Stegman.

Dr. Dunsavage currently serves as editor of Western ACDA’s Tactus publications and previously served as editor of AzACDA’s Antiphon. Her writing has appeared in these journals as well as the Choral Journal and the Choral Scholar. She has presented posters and interest sessions for NCCO, NAfME and College Music Society conferences. Dr. Dunsavage’s primary research interests are secular music of the German Baroque era, and the application of Alexander Technique to choral and conducting pedagogy.

Dr. Dunsavage has served in church, community, and public-school teaching positions in the Arizona, Ohio and Pennsylvania areas, and remains in demand as a clinician, vocal teacher, professional chorister, and mezzo soprano soloist.

To get in touch with Angelica, you can find her on Facebook (@a.m.dunsavage) or send her an email at adunsavage@gmail.com.

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"Let's celebrate the choral art form in all of its varieties. What you do does not have to look like everyone else. Your choir and your community are going to look and feel and sound very different than other communities."

Amanda Hanzlik is the Director of Choral Activities at Edwin O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut. She currently serves as Immediate Past-President of the Connecticut Chapter of The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and was a Semifinalist for the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award.  Mrs. Hanzlik is co-chair of the Connecticut CMEA High School All-State Choirs and is a member of the Interest Sessions & Insight Choirs subcommittee for the 2023 ACDA National Conference. Mrs. Hanzlik frequently appears as a clinician and ensemble conductor for regional and all-state music festivals. Under her direction, The E.O. Smith Chamber Singers performed as a Selected Choir at the 2020 ACDA Eastern Regional Conference in Rochester, NY - and in 2016 and 2019, were featured as the Connecticut CMEA Conference High School Showcase Choral Ensemble. 2021-2022 marks Mrs. Hanzlik’s 23rd year as a music educator, teaching in K-12, early childhood, college, community and senior-citizen ensembles, in both urban and rural settings. Amanda Hanzlik is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Teachers College, Columbia University. She resides in Storrs, CT, with her husband, Louis Hanzlik, and their children, Ethan and Grace. 

To get in touch with Amanda, you can find her on Instagram (@amandahanzlik) or on Facebook (@amanda.hanzlik).

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"A retreat sets the tone, sets the table, but throughout the year, whether it's a little sprinkle of a community-building activity, an exercise that is reflective, or a revisit to something that they did at the retreat, that's even more important. The retreat is just the first step... then we maintain that culture in our ensembles."

Melanie Brink grew up and began her career in South Dakota, U.S.A. prior to teaching abroad. Her undergraduate degree in vocal music is from Augustana University and she holds a Master's in Educational Leadership from Southwest Minnesota University.

She moved to the Sultanate of Oman 20 years ago to begin a choral music program at The American International School of Muscat (TAISM). There she teaches about 200 choral students in grades 6-12.  She prioritizes developing heart within her ensembles through retreats and inclusion activities that help her students learn how to be adaptive collaborators and leaders. Melanie designs activities and themes that promote a sense of belonging; promoting community, healthy singing and a meaningful experience. The selection of repertoire and telling a story through connection and design in the performance is a process she deeply enjoys.

Melanie applies her training of the Mindfulness in Education Institute, a practice of centering - paying attention to the present in her rehearsals. She has also completed the Thinking Collaborative (Adaptive Schools) Seminar which presents a productive, practical set of strategies for developing collaborative groups in becoming effective and better equipped to resolve complex issues around student learning. She has presented workshops for both AMIS and ACDA music educator conferences. Melanie has been a guest conductor for the AMIS Middle School Mixed Honor Choir, the ASIAC Choir Festival in Chennai, and the MESAC Senior Fine Arts Chorus in Abu Dhabi.

Since March 2004, she has served as the founder and Artistic Director of TAISM’s annual Festival of Choirs. She oversees the coordination of the event and works closely with each year’s guest conductor from the United States. Over 2,500 students have participated in the TAISM festival. Melanie is also a member of American Choral Directors Association and serves the South Dakota chapter as the R&R Chair for Global Music.

To get in touch with Melanie, you can email her at brinkm@taism.com or find her on Facebook (@MelanieReneeBrink) or Instagram (@melanie.brink28).

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“We had 10 sopranos, 4 altos, 2 tenors, and 1 bass, and they were all volunteers. We were spending hours trying to learn this music that we didn’t have the numbers for, so I ended up writing almost 100 church arrangements, and I made the voice leading very stepwise. Being that close to the music made me a better writer because I’m not just writing for ensembles I don’t hear regularly. I’m there in the rehearsal process, and I know what’s hard and what might be easier to grab onto.” 

MaryAnne Muglia (she/her) is a composer, vocalist, and educator based in Arizona. She arranges and writes contemporary choral music, vocal jazz, and indie-influenced original songs. Her music has been performed by ensembles across the country, including Lyyra, Chanticleer, The King’s Return, Säje Voices, and more. Recent commissions include works for community choirs, professional vocal groups, and student ensembles of all levels.

​MaryAnne’s arrangements and compositions have been published by Alfred Music, Graphite Publishing, Anchor Music, Hal Leonard, and Shawnee Press, and she has self-published over 25,000 copies of her work to date. She is the founder of Red Letter Daze, a professional vocal group with over 200,000 followers online and multiple Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) recognitions. With Red Letter Daze, she has headlined major events including the NAU Jazz Madrigal Festival and the BOSS Festival (Boston Sings), sharing her original work and signature vocal arrangements with audiences nationwide.

 Her viral videos—including harmony breakdowns and arrangements of “The Parting Glass,” “The Sound of Silence,” “Carol of the Bells,” —have garnered millions of views across platforms. She also directs the Vocal Jazz and A Cappella programs at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and teaches at A Cappella Academy, a premier summer intensive for young vocalists founded by Avi Kaplan, Ben Bram, and Rob Dietz.

​To get in touch with MaryAnne, you can visit her website (maryannemuglia.com) or find her on Instagram (@maryanne.muglia).

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"I'm really into using music to teach culture and life lessons... It's like cuisine. With different tastes come different etiquettes. It's the same thing with music. You want to show respect for how the music was written and try to have it sound that way."

John Stafford II is the Associate Professor of Music, Director of Choral Activities, and Co-Coordinator of the Music Department at Kansas City Kansas Community College (KCKCC). Professor Stafford was a 2015 recipient of the John & Suanne Roueche Excellence Award for outstanding teaching and leadership at the community college level. Also, Stafford was the recipient of the Henry Louis Award for Teaching Excellence at KCKCC in 2020 (our Faculty of the Year award). He has also received two other teaching awards from KCKCC for Recruitment and Teaching Excellence.

Previously, he was appointed at Millikin University, Eastern Illinois University, and Danville Area Community College teaching composition, theory, orchestration, history, and vocal jazz. He holds degrees from Millikin University (music business), Bowling Green State University (composition), and has done additional doctoral studies at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (choral conducting).

To get in touch with John, you can email him at jstafford@kckcc.edu .

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"In the context of talking about the value of choral music, are you acknowledging the identity of the person in front of you? Does the beauty of what we do require components of strict uniformity in which that person has to forget themselves, or does it speak to an amplification of self?"

Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan serves as the Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa. Dr. Saplan teaches courses in undergraduate and graduate choral conducting and pedagogy, conducts the Concert Choir and the University of Hawai'i Chamber Singers, and oversees the graduate choral conducting program. 

Dr. Saplan received a Bachelor of Arts in Music from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Concordia University-Portland,  Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Oregon, and Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting with cognates in Music Education and Ethnomusicology from the University of Miami Frost School of Music.

Known for work in celebrating the intersection between Hawaiian music and choral performance, Dr. Saplan is the artistic director of Nā Wai Chamber Choir, a professional vocal ensemble based in Hawaiʻi dedicated to the preservation and propagation of Hawaiian choral music. Under Dr. Saplan's direction, Nā Wai has commissioned and mentored emerging Native Hawaiian composers and conductors, toured throughout rural Hawaiian communities, and led workshops on the performance of Hawaiian choral music at schools and universities throughout the country.​

Prior to this appointment to the University of Hawai’i, Dr. Saplan served as Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Hamilton College and the Artistic Director of the Syracuse Vocal Ensemble. Dr. Saplan also was the chorus master for the Frost Opera Program at the University of Miami and prepared a number of contemporary works such as Golijov’s Ainadamar, Kuster’s Old Presque Isle (done in collaboration with the John Duffy Composer’s Institute and the Virginia Arts Festival), and a premiere work by Grammy-nominated composer Shawn Crouch. 

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Visit Jace's website at www.jacesaplan.com if you'd like to get more info or get in contact.

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"Working with different people on the podium has given me a lot of skills I can take back to my classroom. It's just a matter of reaching out. If you have one connection, you have 25. If you have 25, you have 1000."

Katherine Rosenfeld graduated from Northern Arizona University in 2019 with a degree in choral music education. Her time at NAU was marked by leadership roles including serving as the President for both the NAU chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and the Shrine of the Ages Choir. Rosenfeld grew up in Arizona and is an alumna of the Phoenix Children’s Chorus and Horizon High School in Scottsdale. She has sung with the Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra, the Sedona Academy of Chamber Singers, Quartz Ensemble, Canto Vivo, was the soprano soloist for the Pinnacle Presbyterian Church Chancel Choir, and has sung backup for touring acts including Roger Waters and the Eagles. Rosenfeld loves sharing her passion for music through education. She currently teaches choir and guitar at Rhodes Junior High in Mesa, runs a private voice studio in North Phoenix, and serves on the Arizona state board of the American Choral Directors Association. She currently sings soprano with the Grammy Award-winning professional choir, the Phoenix Chorale.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to get in contact with our hosts.

You can find Katherine on TikTok and Instagram: @ms.rosenfeld. You can also email her at ms.rosenfeld23@gmail.com. 

Podcast music from Podcast.co
Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels