The Kenductor. Inside. President s Message Brent Merritt. Winter Year in Review page 4-5

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1 Winter 2013 The Kenductor Official Publication of the Kentucky Choral Directors Association Inside 2012 Year in Review page 4-5 Women s Choir Corner page 7 Kodály-a- Palooza page Summer Conference page 8 National Conference: Dallas page 9 President s Message Brent Merritt TIME!!! Where does it go? For many years now, I ve been saying If ONLY there were a secret day each week that nobody else knew about, maybe I could keep up with all the demands of my TIME and energy. But alas, we have what we have, only 7 days each week, and we all must do the best with what we ve got. Unfortunately for me, and I m assuming for most of us, that just doesn t seem to ever be enough. In a recent meeting for the State Advisory Panel for Exceptional Children we were discussing a multitude of issues facing the State Budget and the Department of Education. The discussion centered on what issues must be immediate priorities, and what issues, although important, must wait because of TIME and funding. I find that I am often in this place in my own life, and that I cannot do everything I truly wish I could. As I am nearing the end of my TIME as KY-ACDA President, I find there are some really important issues I haven t had the opportunity to really address the way I wanted. Perhaps during my TIME as Vice President, I can still find a voice to share some ideas with my fellow Choral Directors! If I could name and claim a couple of issues to address in the coming years, I would put a priority on developing a more official Mentorship Program and increasing Music Education opportunities for our Exceptional Children and Adults in school, church and community environments. I would like to see a more formalized Mentorship Program established in Kentucky. Last summer at the ACDA Leadership Conference, leaders from across the nation concluded that mentorship is among the highest priorities for our organization, and I agree. We have so many Kentucky Choral Directors, active and retired, who possess an amazing wealth of knowledge and experience and we have many new Choral Directors who are placed in new positions where they spend so much time and energy trying to re-invent the wheel. With a little help from a colleague from down the road, we could improve the experiences many of our young choral directors and their choir members face together. I know there is already mentoring going on all around us, but I d like to see us encourage even more and make sure folks aren t falling through the cracks. We can do this! continued on page 3

2 Congratulations to C J Hunter, 2012 recipient of the Robert K. Baar Choral Excellence Award Seeking Nominees for the 2013 Robert K. Baar Choral Excellence Award This award was named in honor of Robert K. Baar, outstanding master musician, retired from Murray State University, who developed KYACDA s Summer Choral Workshop. Previous recipients (not eligible to receive the award again) are: 1994: Robert K. Baar 2003: Shelia Miller 1995: Marilyn Schraeder 2004: Bradley Almquist 1996: Gary Anderson 2005: Arthur DeWeese 1997: Shirley Wilkinson 2006: John Stegner 1998: Robert Ellis 2007: David Davies 1999: Carl Smith 2008: Kent Hatteberg 2000: Frank Heller 2009: Heather McCormick & George Murphy 2001: David Brown 2010: Elaine Shirley 2002: Stephen Bolster 2011: Lori Hetzel Nomination/Selection Process Any member of KYACDA is eligible to nominate a candidate for the award by submitting a letter of nomination to the current Vice President of KYACDA, Phyllis Vincent, phyllisvincent@me.com by May 1. Each year after the nomination deadine, the past presidents, current President, and President-Elect of KYACDA will select the most outstanding candidate from the nominees submitted by the membership. The award is presented annually at the Summer Choral Workshop. Criteria The following criteria are used to determine eligible honorees. must have a minimum of fifteen years of musical experience in the choral art must be a current member of ACDA must be an active participant in KYACDA/ACDA activities and conventions must be dedicated to promoting music education in the state of Kentucky 2

3 Letter from the President continued ADVOCATING for MUSIC EDUCATION OPPORTUNITIES with EXCEPTIONAL POPULATIONS I am particularly interested to see what we can do as a profession to address the quality of lives of our children and adults with special needs. I understand this may not be everyone s strength or focus, but I just want to share with you a few words about my own experiences. After attending an interest session at the National ACDA Convention in Chicago featuring Alice Parker working with a choir of mentally challenged adults, I was committed to begin a class for our own students at Scott County High School. I am in my second year partnering with our Highly Structured Classroom teachers to offer our FMD students a music class. Like many of you, I had little or no training in college to prepare me for working with children with exceptional needs. Of course, many of you know that the birth of my son, Will, who has Down Syndrome, has given me a more direct purpose in developing this new set of skillsj. I have had the opportunity to attend a few conferences where I attended sessions sponsored by the VSA folks (Very Special Arts) and received an amazing book of lesson plan filled with ideas for not only music, but visual arts and dance, too! My group meets once each week, and only required a little adjustment to my schedule on Wednesdays. Students from our 4th hour Piano Class serve as student aides along with others from my advanced choir who simply want to be involved! The teachers have been phenomenal in their help and encouragement. The kids are awesome and I have found this to be a truly joyful time, and I love the relationships I ve developed with each of these wonderful kids! Some of the units/lessons/activities we have done together include: Echo singing and clapping rhythms. Singing Songs many with motions. We sing many songs celebrating holidays or current events (for example, we recently sang patriotic songs that were sung during the President s Inauguration. My kids LOVE Disney songs new and old! Piano we have learned about the keyboard and the notes on the keyboard. We have learned to play simple songs on the keyboards Rhythm reading and Note reading The students are excellent rhythm readers now!! We watched Stomp videos and learned how music can be made in many different ways. We watch unique music performances or animated performances on YouTube that can spark an interesting conversation or activity. We have made our own instruments!!! Fun project! We have learned about the unique properties of our individual voices and instruments! We have used music to learn and communicate about events going on in their lives. The students, their teachers and parents, and I have been really excited about this experience at Scott County HS. I know there are some really great examples of work that music folks are doing with our exceptional populations Please share those with us! It is my hope that more of us in Kentucky and beyond will take the opportunity to work with our exceptional children and adults and share the joy of music with them. Be prepared don t underestimate the amount of joy they will share right back with you! Thank YOU all for your TIME and energy that you put into creating opportunities for your students and choir members. KY-ACDA is interested in continually growing and evolving to meet the needs of the members as we inspire excellence in choral music through education, performance, composition, and advocacy. Let us know if there are ways we can better serve you. Brent Merritt, President, KY-ACDA 3

4 KYACdA 2012: A YEAR in Review Brent Merrit, President 2012 Southern Division ACDA Conference in Winston-Salem, NC The Kentucky Chapter of the ACDA was well-represented at the Southern Division ACDA Convention in Winston-Salem with numerous Elementary, Middle and High School students participating in the Honor Choirs, several Collegiate Choirs featured in performances and Directors leading Sessions. Congratulations to Dr. Jefferson Johnson and the University of Kentucky Men s Chorus, Dr. Kent Hatteberg and the University of Louisville Cardinal Singers, and Dr. Bradley Almquist and the Murray State University Chorale who were featured in concert. In addition, Dr. Lori Hetzel from the University of Kentucky and Professor Paul Oakley from Kentucky Wesleyan College each led sessions KY-ACDA Summer Conference takes on International Flair The annual KY-ACDA Summer Conference was held in Cincinnati, OH, July 8-10, 2012, in conjunction with the World Choir Games. This phenomenal event was a truly International Extravaganza, and we were fortunate to have the opportunity to take advantage of our proximity. The National ACDA leadership was present with us coordinating the International Choral Academy, which continued throughout the entire WCG. Some of our international clinicians included: Ronald Smart, Australia; Vytautas Miskinis, Lithuania; Jennifer Tham, Singapore; Ivo Antognini, Switzerland (along with a guest choir led by Dr. Jefferson Johnson, UK); Levente Gyöngyösi, Romania; Anders Jalkéus (from the Real Group), Sweden; and Aurelio Porfiri, Italy. Some of our clinicians from the US included: Tim Sharp, Exectutive Director of ACDA; Alan Alder, Indiana; Augustus Hill, Michigan; Morten Lauridsen, California; Travis Yeager, Ohio; Kelly Ann Nelson, Ohio; Terri McCoy, (A very inspiring session featuring her students, all with Autism, Aspergers, and Sensory Integration Disorders.) Kentucky had the 2 nd largest number of choirs representing our nation at the WCG with 13! The KY-ACDA Reading Sessions included: KMEA SSAA Choir lit, directed by Lori Knapke, Eastern HS, Louisville; KMEA TTBB Choir lit, directed by Dr. Jeff Johnson, UK; KY-ACDA Children s Choir lit, directed by Dr. Lory Hetzel, UK; KY-ACDA SSA Jr. High Choir lit, directed by Earlene Rentz; KY-ACDA SATB Jr. High Choir lit, directed by Michael Engelhardt, Millikin Univ., Decatur, IL. He also introduced us to his new composition written for our KY-ACDA Jr. High SATB All-State Choir! A special SATB Session was led by our representative from Shattinger s Music Co., Dr. Christina Shields. Our accompanist for these sessions was Jan Corrothers from Independence, KY. The Champions Concert which featured the winning choirs from each of the various categories was absolutely PHENOMENAL incredible! Beautiful! A feast for the ears and the eyes! A truly inspirational event! The Celebration of Youth Concert was coordinated by Robyn Lana, from the Cincinnati Children s Choir and featured several US and International Children s Choirs. Our conference accompanist, Jan Corrothers, serves as accompanist for the Cincinnati Children s Choir, and was heavily involved in the entire WCG event. MINI-GRANT RECIPIENTS Congratulations to the following schools/organizations who were each recipients of a KY-ACDA Mini-Grant! The Lexington Catholic High School Choral Department received a KY-ACDA Mini-Grant to assist in hosting the 2 nd annual Voices in Harmony, a contemporary a cappella contest held on March 4 for High School, College and Community Choirs. This event featured numerous choirs from Kentucky and Ohio. The Lafayette High School Choral Department received a KY-ACDA Mini-Grant to assist in hosting their annual Women s Choral Invitational in March. The Scott County High School and Georgetown College Music Departments received a KY-ACDA Mini-Grant for use as they Co-sponsored MMCMM:V, a multi-generational men s Choral Festival held on September 30. Over 700 men from around Kentucky have participated during the first five years of this event s existence. Guest Directors were Dr. John Campbell, John Stegner, Jon Nicholas and Jamie Wright. On Saturday, October 21, at the University of Louisville, KY-ACDA Co-sponsored a Choral Workshop with KOSA. Dr. Mary Goetze from Indiana was our featured clinician. This was a wonderful day of learning and growing! Deadline for Mini-Grants in this fiscal year is June 1 for an event initiating before July 1. The Mini-Grant Guidelines and Application Form can be found at 4

5 KYACdA 2012: A YEAR in Review ContinueD KYACDA FALL CONVOCATION 2012 Darrell Parks, Nelson County Schools Children s Choir R & S Chair Sam Coleman, Montgomery County Schools JH/MS Choir R & S Chair The annual KY-ACDA Fall Convocation was held on November 2 and 3 in Lexington, KY and featured approximately 600 students in Three Elementary and Jr. High Choirs. We enjoyed several Professional Development Sessions including: A Choral Reading Session, led by Melissa Weaver, Kammerer MS and Karen Welsh, KY Country Day School, Louisville; a Sight Reading Seminar, led by Maggie Blair, UK; an Interest Session led by Charles Noderer focused on interdisciplinary opportunities utilizing Poetry, Visual Arts, and Music; and a Panel Discussion of Choral Music Educators discussing the topic of Growing a Choral Program. Panelists included: Noel Weaver, Ballard HS; Chistina Bronaugh, West Jessamine Co. MS; Alexis Paxton, Male Traditional HS; Jeannie Orr, Bowling Green Jr. High; and Tegan Hanks, Tates Creek MS. Josh Pedde, from the Indianapolis Children s Choir directed our 5 th and 6 th grade Children s Choir, with Paula Roberts, accompanist. Earlene Rentz, noted Kentucky Composer and Publisher, directed our Jr. High SSA Choir, with Glenna Metcalfe, accompanist. Beth Holmes, from Millikin University directed our Jr. High SATB Choir, with Julian Bryson, accompanist. This year we added the option of utilizing digital auditions, and we invited members to assist in the new audition adjudication process. On Saturday, September 15, approximately 25 KY-ACDA members gathered at Scott County High School for an adjudication event. We spent an hour training the members and setting benchmarks for all the judges, and spent the day assessing each of the audition recordings at least twice, combining scores and creating our 3 All-State Choirs. While not every aspect of the new changes went as completely smooth, we all learned a great deal from the experience and look forward to moving forward to next year s event. HIGH SCHOOL SUMMER CHORAL MUSIC CAMP SCHOLARSHIPS! Brett Burton, High School Choir R & S Chair Twelve High School students from across Kentucky were recipients of the KY-ACDA Summer Choral Camp Scholarship. These students were nominated by their KY-ACDA Member/Directors and all attended the Stephen C. Foster Summer Music Camp at EKU in June, directed by Dr. Richard Waters. The 2013 HS Summer Choral Music Camp Scholarship application forms can be found on our website at Directors are encouraged to nominate students who are serious choral students who are interested in attending a summer Choral Camp Fall Convocation: Bowling Green November 1 & 2 5 th /6 th Grade Children s Choir Tom Shelton, Westminster Choir College SSA Choir Andrea Ramsey, Michigan State University SATB Justin Durham, Clemson University 5

6 KMEA Conference Event: KYACDA All-Collegiate Choir 2013 Dr. Greg Detweiler, Morehead State University Collegiate R & S Chair In 2012, KY ACDA had a record number of Kentucky colleges and universities participating in the choir as Gary Graden from Sweden directed a wonderful concert! This year we welcome Dr. Sandra Snow from Michigan State University as our All- Collegiate Choir Guest Director! Dr. Snow teachers conducting and music education and conducts the Women s Chorale at Michigan State University. Many of us are very familiar with her fabulous work with women s choirs and children s choir. The university directors are very excited to share her work as an SATB conductor with you. Dr. Snow has selected a varied program of great rhythmic interest. Central to the program are excerpts from Bob Chilcott s extended work, The Making of the Drum, and two movements from Sid Robinovitch s Caciones por Las Americas. Chilcott conceived The Making of the Drum as an a cappella work, but later added a marimba part. The Thursday evening concert will give you a chance to hear the marimba version. The work narrates the ancient and deeply spiritual ritual of drum making practiced in certain parts of Africa where the drum is revered as a living spirit. Chilcott s exuberant work captures the celebration of that spirit being brought to life. The Robinovitch pieces reflect varied aspects of Latin American Culture. One allows you to dance the tango (in your seat) while the other captures the African influence in Cuban culture with a mesmerizing chant for snake killing. Other works include the Josehf Rheinberger s beloved work, Abendlied, and Byron Smith s gospel piece, Shout Glory. Dr. Snow has also programmed I See the Heaven s Glories Shine, a piece by one of her MSU students, Andrea Ramsey. Central to Thursday s performance are pianist, Katie Barton (Assistant Director of Choral Studies, Northern Kentucky University) and Dr. Brian Mason (Associate Professor of Percussion, Morehead State University). Our 2013 All- Collegiate Choir has 106 members representing 15 universities throughout the state. The participating university conductors hope you will take advantage of this opportunity and attend the concert with your students. IN MEMORIAM Sadly, ACDA Life Member, Professor Paul Oakley passed away on November 23, He had most recently been serving as Director of Choral and Sacred Music Studies at Kentucky Wesleyan College. Although he was only in Kentucky for a short time, he had a significant impact on those who had the opportunity to work with him here. He was a nationally renowned choral clinician and conductor, and possessed a huge and joyful personality. He will be greatly missed. 6

7 Women s Choir Corner Raye Hurley, Franklin County High School KYACDA Women s Choirs R&S Chair The Fall of 2012 has been a busy semester for Women s Choirs in the bluegrass. In early September, the University of Kentucky hosted its 13th annual Bluegrass Choral Music Festival. Dr. Lori Hetzel directed the SSAA Honor Choir at this year s event. Over 200 ladies representing over 20 different high schools participated in this event. Of the following pieces, I personally took Quiet Sea and immediately implemented into my Beginning Ladies Chorus (un-auditioned, 9th-12th graders) to work on phrasing and breath support. The unison sections really allowed them to work on developing individual voices, and then divisi ing into the 3 parts didn t seem as challenging once we returned with ringers on those designated sections. The literature performed by the SSAA Choir at BCMF were: Et exultavit spiritus meus from Magnificat (J.S. Bach, arr. Harris) Every Time I Feel the Spirit (arr. Dilworth) SSA, Hal Leonard Quiet Sea - Friedersdorf and Malvar-Keylock, SSA, Colla Voce Letter from a Girl to the World - A. Ramsey SSAA, Alliance Give Us Hope - Papoulis, ed. Nunez 3-pt treble, Hal Leonard November brought us the KY-American Choral Directors Association Jr. High All State Choirs, with the SSAA Choir being led by Kentucky s own Earlene Rentz. Ms. Rentz performed amazing work with these female, developing voices, and chose repertoire that could be implemented back in their respective schools. Several tunes were familiar, but also several new pieces were included on the program. The SSA repertoire for the 2012 Fall Convocation KY ACDA Jr. High All State Choir were: Dobru Noc (Good Night) Victor Johnson Halle, Hallelujah D. Farrell Smith Winter Dream James Desjardines Afternoon on a Hill Nancy Hill Cobb Didn t My Lord Deliver Daniel Rentz Gaudeamus Hodie - Rentz Sound The Trumpet Purcell (Ed./Arr. Russell Robinson) November also provided high school women in our state another performance opportunity at Morehead State University s 54th Annual Choral Festival. One of the longest running choral festivals in our state, the Women s Choir this year was under the direction of Dr. Meg Hulley Frazier from Loyola University. Dr. Frazier is very active in the Louisiana ACDA Chapter and her work with the 220+ SSA voices was remarkable. As I watched Dr. Frazier s conducting and teaching approaches, I found myself reflecting on my undergraduate experience and re-learning some great tricks of the trade. The Angel Band is part of a bigger work that has 4 traditional hymns that have been re-arranged for SSA voices. My Advanced Ladies and Beginning Ladies are going to combine and perform 2 of the pieces, including Angel Band on our spring concert. The musical selections performed in this festival are listed below. Niska Banja arr. Nick Page Boosey & Hawkes SAAA, piano 4 hands Black is the Color of My True Love s Hair arr. Roth & Moran Alliance SSA, piano or dulcimer The Carol of the Dance Noël Goemanne Alliance SA, piano, timp, flute Angel Band from Parting: Anonymous 4 American Angels Anonymous Hal Leonard SSA, a cappella He Never Failed Me Yet Robert Ray Hal Leonard SSA, piano Additionally, I had the distinct honor of guest conducting the SSA Southern KMEA All District Choir in London, KY just before the Thanksgiving Break and want to congratulate those directors on a great district event. Just over 75 girls were placed in the SSA Honor Choir, and we had a blast! If any of you are holding district SSA choral events, please let me know at the address provided. As R&S Chair, I would like to enlist your help to compile a quality list of SSAA literature that could be shared across our state. I would like to include your suggestions in my next article. Send your suggestion(s) with appropriate categorization (Easy, Medium, Difficult) to raye.hurley@franklin.kyschools.us. If you are like me, you may have a few staple pieces that you always go to for your ladies. However, you may also want to include some pieces that you aspire to program in the future. Thank you for your help in this endeavor. 7

8 Kodály-a-Palooza Caitlin Myers Jennings, Noe Middle School If one were to attempt to express the essence of this [Kodály] education in one word, it could only be- singing. Zoltan Kodály On July 2 nd - July 13 th, 11 Kentucky music educators embarked on what proved to be a challenging yet supremely rewarding educational venture they completed their level I or level II certification in Kodály at Morehead State University s Kodály Institute. The Institute was lead by renowned Kodály instructors Joy Nelson (University of Oklahoma), Jo Kirk (CEO, We Joy Sing ), Liza Myers (K- 6 Music Educator, NY), Greg Detweiler (Morehead State), and June Grice (Morehead State). Participants attended Pedagogy, Ear Training/Musicianship, Choral Conducting, and Choral Ensemble classes each day. Aside from the hands- on teaching and learning experiences, each student also came away with repertoire, activities, materials, and techniques they can use in their classrooms and rehearsals! The Kodaly approach is a sequential, spiral curriculum that introduces level- appropriate concepts subconsciously (aka Preparing them), before labeling the concept ( Presenting them, one at a time) and reinforcing these labeled concepts over time ( Practicing them). This principle of Prepare, Present, and Practice is highly effective with young music students as well as older beginners. The Kodaly Institute at MSU can be taken for 75 PD hours and/or 5 graduate credit hours, through MSU. They are anticipating offering levels I, II, and III next summer. If interested, contact Dr. June Grice at j.grice@morehead- st.edu. This training promises to enhance your teaching, singing, conducting, and musicianship, so consider joining us in 2013! 2013 Summer Conference - Louisville KY- ACDA will return to Louisville this summer for the annual Summer Conference on July 15 & 16. The theme is Make Your Choral Garden Grow: Teach Singing! Dr. Brad Almquist, our KY- ACDA President- Elect has been busy putting together what I m certain will be a creative and inspirational conference for all of us! Please make plans now to participate! Dr. Bradley Almquist, from Murray State University will become President of KY- ACDA on July 1, He has held this post in the past, along with numerous other posts at the Divisional and National level in ACDA. He recently finished his term as President of ACDA- Southern Division before his election as President- Elect of KY- ACDA. Conference Headliners: Tom Shelton - Children s Voices Debra Spurgeon - Female Voices Susan LaBarr - Choristers Guild Huw Lewis - AGO 8

9 ACDA NATIONAL CONFERENCE Dallas, March The National ACDA Conference will be held in Dallas, TX, March Please go to or simply take a look at your January issue of the Choral Journal to check out more info about this fabulous opportunity! THERE IS SOOOOO MUCH TO EXPERIENCE...The Interest sessions and concerts will be PHENOMENAL! Congratulations to the many KY- ACDA members who are presenting a concert, interest session, have students performing in the ACDA National Honor Choirs, are competing in the Collegiate Conducting Contest, or are being recognized for outstanding work during the National Convention in Dallas! Bravo!! Dr. Kent Hatteberg and the UofL Cardinal Singers were selected to perform in Concert! Blue Track - Thursday, March 8 p.m. - Winspear Opera House Gold Track - Friday, March 8 p.m. - Meyerson Symphony Center Dr. Lori Hetzel and the UK Women's Choir were selected to present an Interest session! Treble By Choice: How to unleash the Power and Beauty of the Women's Voice in a Choral Ensemble. Thursday, March 10:30 a.m. - Cathedral de Guadelupe. Philip D. Morgan from the University of Louisville and Dee Walker from the University of Kentucky will both compete in the Collegiate Conducting Contest! Julian Bryson from the University of Kentucky won the Brock Student Composition Award. Excerpts from his work, Redemption Mass, will be performed at the conference by the UofL Cardinal Singers. Congratulations go out to the following Collegiate members who applied for and received the National ACDA Scholarships to the ACDA Convention in Dallas! Dom Piedemont WKU, Rachel Weaver WKU, Mary Osborne WKU, Lauren Ganote - WKU CALL FOR ARTICLES Articles, upcoming events, and advertisements for the Spring/Summer 2013 issue of The Kenductor may be submitted to Tiffany Marsh, KYACDA newsletter editor, at: tiffany.marsh@franklin.kyschools.us Please submit articles in Word format. Times New Roman or similar standard font, 11- point size is preferred. Advertisements should be submitted print ready. Upcoming ACDA Events -Mark Your Calendar- ACDA National Conference Dallas, Texas March 13-16, 2013 KYACDA Summer Conference Louisville July 15-16, 2013 KYACDA Fall Convocation Bowling Green November 1-2, 2013 Bowling Green 2013 The 2013 Fall Convocation will be held in Bowling Green on November 1 and 2. The spectacular new SKYPAC will host the concerts. The Bowling Green Convention Center will host our rehearsals and interest sessions, while the Holiday Inn will serve as our Convention Hotel. Check out the KYACDA website Spring/Summer 2013 submissions deadline: April 15 9