Nearly 20 MSU students, faculty and alumni participated in the premiere biennial conference for choral professionals, signifying the ongoing contributions of Spartan conductor-educators to the profession.

College of Music alumnus Anton Armstrong was among them.

Armstrong delivered a keynote address and attended a virtual reception for the MSU choral community at the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association, March 18-20, 2021. An esteemed choral educator and conductor, Armstrong directs the St. Olaf Choir at St. Olaf College, where he is a professor of music. Armstrong earned his DMA from MSU’s choral conducting program in 1987, following degrees from St. Olaf College and the University of Illinois. While on fellowship, Armstrong also directed choirs at Calvin College, and led high-profile choruses and youth chorales in Grand Rapids.

“It was an honor to be included as a keynote speaker, but a bit intimidating,” said Armstrong, one of four headline speakers. “All our addresses had threads about community, respect and trust, and how our art serves others. More and more, our profession looks at how our art must be relational and transformative. In the end, music is a means of grace to meet the soul of the performer and the listener.”

Armstrong said his address reflected the conference’s theme of diversity and inclusion, and his belief that differences can bring people together rather than split them apart. That belief, he said, was greatly influenced through his experiences at MSU under the guidance of Charles K. Smith, the retired director of choral activities in the College of Music.

“Charles was an incredible mentor,” he said. “He left the program in the hands of an exquisite team—one that trains and nurtures people as human beings. Students at MSU become incredible educators who see how they serve the choral arts.”

Voices of enrichment

Armstrong joined thousands of choral professionals from across the U.S. and abroad who attended the ACDA conference, held virtually because of the pandemic. Workshops, presentations, performances and networking opportunities were among the abundant activities on deck for choral professionals from churches, community organizations, public and private schools, and colleges and universities.

Professor of Music David Rayl directs Choral Programs at the MSU College of Music. He said graduates and students of MSU choral conducting programs typically populate ACDA conference agendas. This year, MSU alumni, students and faculty were featured as invited performers and conductors, presenters, master class hosts, facilitators of discussions and workshops, and keynote speakers.

“We’re usually well-represented at regional and national conferences mostly because our program produces outstanding graduates who are active in the field,” Rayl said. “Our graduates also make significant contributions to the profession through teaching and research.”

Professor of Choral Conducting and Music Education Sandra Snow was among invited professionals from the U.S. and Europe to headline the conference. Snow led a well-attended master class for graduate student conductors via Zoom. She said the format worked well for isolating specific skills, and was a good opportunity to show future students the kind of climate they would encounter as students at MSU.

“It was rewarding to contribute to a young conductor’s practice during this time when singers are not yet able to be together,” she said. “Their opportunities have been limited during the pandemic, so the process of preparing for the masterclass was no doubt a welcome challenge.”

In addition to headliners Armstrong and Snow, MSU alumni and students conducted performances of three choirs, led eight presentations, and hosted two poster sessions.

“We’re exceptionally proud of our students and alumni,” said Rayl. “Their participation at ACDA is a mark of distinction.”

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MSU Participation in the 2021 ACDA Virtual Conference

March 18-20

All sessions of the national conference were presented live (synchronous) and recorded (asynchronous) to accommodate schedules. Sessions will be available to registered attendees through the ACDA website through December 2021.

Headliners

• Sandra Snow (Ph.D. ’88, choral cognate), professor of choral conducting and music education; chair of Music Education area, MSU: Graduate Student Conductor Master Class
• Anton Armstrong (DMA '87), Tosdal Professor of Music at St. Olaf College, conductor of the St. Olaf Choir: Keynote Address

Performing Choirs and Conductors

• Thomas Hales (MM ’17), East High School Headliners, Sioux City, Iowa
• J. Christine Le (MM ’15), Olympia High School Bella Voce, Orlando, Florida
• Anne (Weiss) Sieloff (BM ’14), Nimitz Middle School Varsity Treble Choir, Odessa, Texas

Presenters

• Zebulon Highben (DMA ’12), “Beyond ‘Special Music’” The Church’s Role in Worship”
• Coty Raven Morris (MM’ 20) and Maria E. Ellis, “Sight-Reading REMIX: Music Literacy in the Title 1/Urban Classroom”
• Kristina Caswell MacMullen (MM ’09), “International In-Between: The Art of Seamless Performance Transitions”
• Kelly Miller (DMA ’10), “Student Leadership in Choir”
• Michael Hanawalt (MM’09), Kevin Fenton, and Kari Adams, “Our Shared Song: Creating a Choral Collective through Introspection, Depiction, and Reflection”
• Carolyn Cruse (Ph.D. ’11) and Denise Eaton, “Creating Preparatory Sheets to Maximize Sequential Teaching”
• Marci Major (MM ’07) and Hilary Apfelstadt, “The Quiet Conductor: Best Practices for Leading Diverse Personalities”
• Liza Calisesi Maidens and Katy Lushman, “(re)Consider the Canon: Bringing the Past into the Present”
  Calisesi is a DMA student. Her session ended with a new work by B.E. Boykin, Castelloza’s Song, performed by MSU’s graduate choral ensemble and made possible by the Edward D. Anderson Choral Scholars Fund.

Poster Sessions

• Colleen McNickle, “Choir Teacher Wellness Experiences and Perception”
  McNickle is a Ph.D. student with a choral cognate.
• Jessica McKiernan and Connor Koppin, “Creating a Composer: A Narrative Case Study”
  McKiernan is a Ph.D. student with a choral cognate. Koppin is a DMA Student.