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2010
Eastern Division
In 2010, the Eastern Division will proudly host its biennial conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on Tuesday, February 9 – Saturday, February 13. Planning continues at a rapid pace, and we anticipate that this will be the most unique and diverse conference ever produced in our division. In keeping with the conference theme of “We the People,” the Philadelphia conference will offer meaningful musical, educational, and social experiences for EVERY member of ACDA.
Exciting opportunities for participation abound, and now we need YOU
to spread the word to your colleagues!
Special Guests
Full conference activities will kick off on Wednesday night, February 10 with a performance by the award-winning a cappella group "Off the Beat." Known for their innovative vocal percussion, this student ensemble from the University of Pennsylvania will surely provide an energetic and uplifting beginning to our festivities, and also provide a fun diversion for weary travelers who are arriving that day. "Off the Beat" will be performing at the Marriott Downtown Philadelphia at 8:00pm.
Conductor
Craig Hella Johnson and "Conspirare:
A company of voices" will be with us on Thursday and Friday of
the conference. This choir has been featured at previous national
conferences and IFCM, and has been nominated for a Grammy award. In
addition to several conference sessions including an address by Craig
Hella Johnson and a children's choir session led by Nina Revering and
Rick Grabillo, "Conspirare" will perform a complete concert for us on
Thursday evening. More information regarding "Conspirare" can be found
at www.conspirare.org.
Ysaye Barnwell, a member of "Sweet Honey in the Rock" and a
wonderful composer, will be joining us throughout the conference to
present sessions on Building a Vocal Community as well as singing in the
African-American tradition.
Currently living in Washington, D.C., Dr. Barnwell is the composer/
arranger of many well-known works published by Musical Source
Publishing. For a complete biography and information on the dynamic work
of Ysaye Barnwell, please go to
www.ymbarnwell.com.
In addition to these exciting events, Mr. Rilling will present an open
conference session on Friday, February 12 regarding the
commission of a new oratorio by composer
Sven-David Sandström.
Exemplifying
our conference theme in a profound way, Philadelphia’s own “Singing
City” under the direction of
Jeffrey Brillhart, with guest
Nick Page, will close our conference on Saturday evening, February
13 with a gala concert and “sing” at the National
Constitution Center on Independence Mall. The concert will
be preceded by the Feast of the East, an all-conference reception
featuring traditional foods
of Eastern Division states.
Reception attendance will include access to
the Center’s wonderful interactive exhibits along with multiple showings
of the multi-media performance titled Freedom Rising.
More information regarding the outreach of “Singing City” can be found at www.singingcity.org. For information regarding Nick Page, please access www.nickmusic.com. A full description of the educational activities available at the National Constitution Center is located at www.constitutioncenter.org.
Choral Performance and Participation
In order to meet the needs and wishes of our ever-expanding ACDA membership, we have developed a conference schedule that allows the opportunity for more choirs to participate than in previous conferences. Over 30 choirs have been selected by audition to participate in one of the following categories:
A.
Concert Performance
The number of traditional concert performance sessions has been increased to allow for a larger number of conductors and their choirs to participate. You will hear outstanding performances conducted by your Eastern Division colleagues representing schools, colleges, communities, private institutions, and churches.
B. High School Soundtable
Have you ever gone to a great concert and wondered "how did they
do that?" The High School Soundtable provides the
opportunity for that question to be answered! The following choirs will
demonstrate vocal warm-ups and perform for 10-12 minutes. Following
that, the conductors will provide a brief history of their choral
programs, discuss curricula and rehearsal techniques, and talk about
their school communities. Audience interaction with the conductors and
singers will be encouraged.
Pennsbury High School Concert Choir; James D. Moyer, conductor (PA)
Cherry Hill High School West Chamber Singers; Christine Bass, conductor
(NJ)
Herricks High School Chamber Choir; Louise O'Hanlon, conductor (NY)
Strath Haven High School Silvertones; John H. Shankweiler, conductor
(PA)
C.
Community Choir Festival
Again
in keeping with the theme of “We the People,” we are hosting a full day
of community choir performances on Saturday. Six choirs have been
selected to perform and these choir members, along with our conference
registrants, will have the opportunity to hear the other choirs, take
part in a vocal workshop with clinician
Kimberly Steinhauer, and participate in talk-back sessions
following each performance. Mendelssohn Club conductor Alan Harler
will conclude the day by conducting the massed choirs in "Dona Nobis
Pacem" from the Mass in B minor.
Interest Sessions, Repertoire Forums, and Research Sessions
Due to the expanded schedule, there are also increased opportunities for sessions that meet the specific interests of all ACDA members. Registrants will have the opportunity to participate in sessions on: College/University, High School, Men’s Choir, Women’s Choir, Junior High/Middle School, Children, Boychoir, Multicultural Choir, Jazz Choir, Show Choir, Community Choir, Music in Worship, and Urban and Rural Initiatives, as well as sessions specifically targeted toward student members and those in their first five years of teaching.
We
will also offer an expanded menu of 17
Repertoire Forums, one offered nearly every hour of the day for the
entire length of the conference. Reading session music will be supplied by The
Musical Source,
www.musicalsource.com.
New to the 2010 Eastern Division Conference is a research component to provide scholars, conductors/teachers, and student members the opportunity to share their research regarding choral music, conducting, rehearsal technique, and education. Specific research sessions have been scheduled to include discussion and collaboration. A research gallery will also be located in the Exhibit Hall to provide more exposure for these research projects.
Opportunities abound for all school-aged singers to participate in the 2010 Division honor choirs. Here is a summary of the exciting ensembles awaiting your best choristers.
Children’s Honor Choir (treble voices ages 10-16) – conducted by Elaine Quilichini (Calgary)
High School Men’s Honor Choir (9th-12th grade) – conducted by Jerry Blackstone (Michigan)
High School Women’s Honor Choir (10th-12th grade) – conducted by Sharon Paul (Oregon)
Jazz Honor Choir (11th-12th grade/collegiate) – conducted by Vijay Singh (Washington)
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| Elaine Quilichini | Jerry Blackstone | Sharon Paul | Vijay Singh |
In a break with previous tradition, the honor choirs will be performing
at separate times to allow all family members and conference attendees
the opportunity to attend these performances without the necessity of
tickets.
In addition to the official honor choir performances, the honor choirs will also be singing on the lunchtime recital series along with the famous Wanamaker Organ, and touring the National Constitution Center. We also plan a "jazz jam" on Friday night for the jazz honor choir.
We the People...United in Praise
A full day of activities on Friday is being planned for conductors of
choirs in worship settings. The day will culminate in a
conference-wide interfaith worship service in partnership with AGO, including
Nashirah,
the Jewish Chorale of Greater Philadelphia conducted by
Jonathan
Coopersmith; the Korean United Christians Choir conducted by
Changho
Lee; and an
African-American church choir conducted by J. Donald Dumpson.
Organist
Joshua Stafford will provide hymn accompaniments and service music.
As part of this all-day festival, a festival chorus of 100 church/temple
choir members from throughout the Eastern Division will be convened.
This chorus will be conducted by well-known composer and clinician
Craig Courtney.
“Men in the Middle” Workshop Choir
On Thursday, February 11, Kansas native
Terry Barham, author
of Strategies for Teaching Junior High and Middle School Male Singers,
will present a 2-hour session on the boy’s changing voice. Designed for
middle/ junior high choral conductors as well as high school directors,
we are forming a workshop choir of 70 young men in 7th-8th
grades who are in the midst of the “typical” voice change. These
gentlemen will provide vocal demonstration at the session as well as
showcase voice-appropriate choral repertoire.
Performance Venues
We are thrilled to have the opportunity to offer our conference performances and interest sessions in some of the most historic and beautiful church sanctuaries of the city. Here’s a short tour of these musically and architecturally significant spaces.
Church of the Holy Trinity Rittenhouse Square
Phillips Brooks, the famed preacher and rector, served this historic
church during the Civil War years. At that time, he penned the words to
O Little Town of Bethlehem and church organist Lewis Redner
composed the well-beloved tune. The triptych on the wall behind the
altar, installed in 1942, pays homage to this event. The stained
glass windows come from English, French, and American studios including
five windows by Louis Comfort Tiffany.
Church of the Holy Trinity, Rittenhouse Square will be the site of the “Conspirare” concert on Thursday evening and will also serve as the performance venue for three of the four honor choirs on Saturday. For more information about the church and its active music program, contact www.htrit.org.
First Baptist Church of Philadelphia
A registered historic landmark, First Baptist was founded in 1698 by
colonists fleeing religious persecution in England. It later served as
one of the church homes to those who framed the Constitution just a few
blocks away. The sanctuary is built in the Byzantine style and
surrounded by a circular balcony. Holding a long-standing musical
tradition, First Baptist hosted the Philadelphia premiere of the Britten
War Requiem, as well as two performances of the Duruflé
Requiem conducted by the composer with his wife at the organ. The
well-known hymns At the River and He Leadeth Me were
written by organists of First Baptist and first sung there.
First Baptist will host concerts by our performing choirs and also serve as the home for the "United in Praise" events on Friday, February 12.
Arch Street Presbyterian Church
Built in 1855 and on the National Register of Historic Places, Arch
Street Presbyterian originally served as the spiritual home of the large
immigrant Welsh population in the Philadelphia area
and recently hosted
Charles, Prince of Wales, during his visit to the United States. The
recently refurbished church, built in the Neoclassic style, was the
church home of Emily Dickinson when she visited Philadelphia, and boasts
one of the best organs in the city. Vincent Persichetti was hired as the
church organist here at the age of 16, and continued to serve Arch
Street Presbyterian as choir director and organist for the next 20
years.
Arch Street Presbyterian will be the site of the High School Soundtable, Men in the MIddle, and the Community Choir Festival.
Saint Luke and the Epiphany
Performance home to the “Philadelphia Classic Symphony”, the “Philadelphia Singers” and the choral program of the nearby University of the Arts, this church boasts a long history of outreach to the Center City community. The merger of two Episcopal congregations in 1898 gave the church its unusual name. Noted as the second largest church organ in Philadelphia, the present instrument was recently restored by E. M. Skinner with additional digitally sampled organ stops by Walker Technical Company.
Saint Luke’s will serve as a performance venue for auditioned choirs. For more information, contact www.stlukeandtheepiphany.org.
The Ellen and Ronald Caplan Center for the Performing Arts
With
its skyline views and visionary design, the University of the Arts'
Caplan Center for the Performing Arts is a sought-after performance
venue in Philadelphia. Opened in September 2008, the $7 million,
22,000-square-foot performing arts venue is on the 16th and 17th floors
of the University's Terra
Hall. It includes a 150-seat recital hall, a 100-seat black box
theater, green room and dressing room space, state-of-the-art sound
equipment, and classrooms. The Caplan Center will host the jazz and show
choir events on Friday, February 12 and also serve as the performance
venue of the Jazz Honor Choir.
Mark your calendars NOW to join your many Eastern Division friends in Philadelphia 2010!
Last revised
January 09, 2010