Great northwest choirs to perform PLUS the Crystal Children's Choir of San Francisco, the Phoenix Chorale, and the Soweto Gospel Choir...all this along with great interest sessions and the joy of networking with colleagues - SEATTLE, 2010

Conference venues
Seattle promises to be a very exciting destination for our March 10-13, 2010 conference.  We have great venues lined up for every aspect of the conference, beginning with the Sheraton Hotel Seattle:

 http://www.starwoodhotels.com/sheraton/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=460

The Sheraton is right in the middle of the action in downtown Seattle, close to all sorts of shopping and dining.  The hotel has greatly expanded and remodeled since our last gathering in Seattle, and will house all convention registrants, including honor choir members.  There are two floors of convention space, with large, well-appointed ballrooms that will be used for sessions, honor choir rehearsals, honor choir meals and exhibits. 

Two churches in the immediate area will be used for honor choir rehearsals, Plymouth Congregational Church (where the Children’s Honor Choir rehearsed last time) and First Presbyterian Church (which was the primary concert venue last time).  At this point in time, First Presbyterian will be the venue for the honor choir concerts, although we are also in negotiations with Benaroya Hall for that event, and will not know more until the Seattle Symphony posts their schedule in January.  Plymouth and First Presbyterian are both lovely churches with great acoustics for singing.

Our primary concert venue will be Town Hall, a beautifully renovated church that dates from 1922, now home to many of Seattle’s finest arts and cultural organizations. 

 http://www.townhallseattle.org/greatHall.cfm

The great hall has a thrust that adapts the stage to a size suitable for our needs, and a vibrant acoustic that is warm, clear and supportive.  My community choir has performed there and found it to be very rewarding. 

Venues very close...easy walk
One of the most oft-repeated positive comments about our 2008 convention was the great appreciation people had for the convention being housed in three venues that were very close together.  I’m not sure we could ever hope to do that as well as we could with those particular sites in Vancouver (I hope we go back there very soon!), but in Seattle all our venues are within an easy walk for most people, and we will be working to provide transportation for those who might have problems with even small distances. 

I look forward to seeing you in Seattle for the conference
Richard Nance, President, NW ACDA

Steve Dresen is in his twentieth year of teaching in public schools and at the collegiate level.  He received degrees from, Ricks College, Utah State University, and Brigham Young University where he studied with Ron Staheli and Mack Wilberg.  An active member of ACDA, MENC, and IFCM, he has served as organizing chair for numerous festivals and clinics and has served as an adjudicator and clinician himself.  He has had multiple listings in “Who’s Who in America’s Teachers.”  Currently, he is the choir director at Bonneville H.S. in Idaho Falls where he also serves as Fine Arts Chair as well as chairing the committee for Professional Learning Communities.  In addition to his work at the high school he is part of the adjunct vocal faculty at BYU-Idaho in Rexburg where he resides with his wife and six children. 

Bonnevaires is one of two auditioned ensembles representing some of the most accomplished singers at Bonneville High School, which has a student population of approximately 1200 Freshmen through Seniors.  Comprising 45 sophomores, juniors and seniors, the group performs a wide variety of choral literature with many performances throughout the school year.  They have received invitations to perform for the Idaho Choral Director’s Association retreat, NW ACDA, NW MENC, as well as the Idaho State University Choral Invitational in addition to this event.  The group has had experience with the Festival of Gold, attending events around the country.  They consistently receive superior ratings at these as well as their annual Idaho Music Educators regional festivals.

Bonnevaires
Bonneville High School, Idaho Falls, ID
Performing date: March 11, 10 a.m. concert hour

Dan Davison has been the Choir Director at Ballou Junior High, in Puyallup, Washington since 1979. In addition to conducting the tour ensembles at the school, he has numerous teaching and mentoring responsibilities, and, most notably, sings professionally with the Male Ensemble Northwest.  Dan received his Bachelor's degree from Pacific Lutheran University, studying under Maurice Skones, and his Master's degree from Western Washington University, studying with Bruce Pullan. In addition to being an educator and a singer, Dan is an active composer and arranger.  He currently has titles with Walton Music, Hal Leonard, and also with Sound Music Publications. His works range in difficulty, from those appropriate for junior high voices, to those appropriate for professional ensembles. 
 
The Ballou Jazz Choir is a sixteen-voice, individually mic'ed ensemble made up primarily of 8th and 9th graders.  The Jazz Choir meets twice a week, after school, and all members are required to be registered for a large ensemble.  Since the Jazz Choir  includes boys with changing voices, their director, Mr. Davison, writes or arranges nearly all of their selections.  Many of his jazz arrangements are available for purchase from Sound Music Publications.

Ballou Junior High School Jazz Choir
Puyallap, WA
Performing date: March 11, 8 p.m. concert hour

Dr. Steven Michelson, in his 18th year as the Director of Choirs in Helena, Montana, has brought to his current position a wide variety of experiences as a musician and educator.  His previous teaching experiences include high school choral director in California, Associate Director of Choral Activities at Michigan State University, and Director of Choral Activities at Murray State University. 

He received his Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree from Arizona State University.    As part of the MENC educational series “Getting Started,” a publication aimed at teachers beginning their careers in music education, Dr. Michelson was asked to write the book entitled Getting Started in High School Choir, which is still available through MENC.  During his tenure at Helena High School, his auditioned women’s choir(Ambiance) has received invitations to perform at a regional MENC convention, a national MENC convention, and two divisional ACDA conventions; his auditioned mixed choir(Starlighters) has performed at a divisional ACDA convention and a national MENC convention. He continues to believe that music is the key to self-discovery and self-expression.

Ambiance is an auditioned choir for women in grades 9-12.  The twenty-two students selected for this choir must have age-appropriate tone quality, pitch accuracy, sight-singing ability, and a positive attitude. 

With an emphasis on vocal production and musicianship, the students perform music that incorporates a variety of styles and languages.  

Ambiance performs seven concerts annually, and participates in community, regional, and national events as opportunities arise.  This choir has been honored with invitations to perform at an MENC Northwest Division Convention, an MENC National Convention, and three ACDA Northwest Division Convention during the seventeen years that Dr. Michelson has taught at Helena High School.

Ambience
Helena High School, Helena, MT
Performing date: March 13 -10:35 concert hour

Diane Hultgren is currently celebrating her sixteenth season as the Artistic Director of All-City Children’s Chorus and is enjoying the opportunity to work with the young, talented singers of All-City Children’s Chorus. Ms. Hultgren taught elementary music for twenty-six years, five years in Washington state and twenty-one years for Laramie County School District #1. She has music/curriculum degrees from Bethany College (KS) and Lesley College (MA), Orff levels certifications from the University of Wyoming and University of Memphis. She has also furthered her conducting studies with Henry Leck (Butler University – Creating Artistry) and Rodney Eichenberger (Florida State).

Diane continues her interest in all things educational, including her work with children and learning styles and her abiding interest in the impact of politics on educational reform. Ms. Hultgren remains active as a member of the Wyoming American Choral Directors Association (President 2004), a member of the Wyoming Music Educators Association and the Wyoming Chapter of the American Orff-Schulwerk Association. She also is active as a choral clinician/conductor in Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain Region.

All-City Children’s Chorus is a community/Laramie County School District #1 non-profit organization dedicated to providing high quality choral instruction and performance opportunities for children grades 4-8. The mission of ACCC is to provide quality music instruction with the goal of attaining the highest level of artistic excellence in choral music performance. ACCC has been honored to collaborate with many nationally known conductors and composers including: Henry Leck, Judy Herrington, Jim Papoulis, Barbara Tagg, and Rodney Eichenberger. All-City Children’s Chorus was recognized as a Governor’s Arts Award winner in 2004 and continues to receive accolades for their performances around the country. All-City Children’s Chorus is proud to have been an active participant in Cheyenne’s musical community for thirty-four years.

Cheyenne All-City Children's Chorus
Cheyenne, WY
Performing date: March 11, 10 a.m. concert hour

Carol Stenson is in her ninth year as Choral Director at South Salem High School in Salem, Oregon.  Her previous teaching experience also includes many years at both the elementary and middle school levels.  Ms. Stenson earned her Bachelor of Music Education from Willamette University, and her Master of Music from the University of Oregon.  Ms. Stenson is active in ACDA and OMEA, and currently serves as the Choral Chair for District IV.

The South Salem High School Symphonic Choir has long been recognized for its tradition of excellence.  Since the inception of the OSAA State Music Championships in 1987, South’s ensembles have earned numerous championships.  South Salem High School is the only 6A school in Oregon to have had all four of its state qualifying performance ensembles – choir, band, orchestra, and symphony - place in the top five for the past seven consecutive years. The music students and faculty consider themselves fortunate to be partners with a community and administration who strongly support music education in the schools.

South Salem High School Symphonic Choir
Salem, OR
Performing date: March 12, 10:50 concert hour

Wayne Pumphrey has been teaching at King’s High School since 1993. He has taught Concert Choir and Orchestra, Abundant Life (select choral group), Living Faith (select choral group), Jazz Band and currently teaches various choral groups as well as Pro-Tools and Introduction to Video Production. Mr. Pumphrey also heads up the King’s Recording Studio where yearly recordings of King’s groups and soloists are produced. Pumphrey received his Bachelor of Music and Master of Music from Azusa Pacific University where he studied choral conducting with Dr. Gary Bonner. He has also been extensively involved with church music. Under his direction, the King’s Music groups, soloists and combos have had many first place wins at various festivals. Two former King’s students have won DOWNBEAT awards and the King’s Concert Choir and Orchestra have been featured on the “Voices of the Future” Holiday recording. Mr. Pumphrey is a member of MENC and ACDA. Mr. Pumphrey and his wife Darla, also a music teacher at King’s, live in Edmonds, WA. They have two children, Josh and Sarah who are also musicians.

King’s High School Living Faith is a multi-mic select group with student rhythm section that comes out of the King’s High School Concert Choir. They sing all styles of music including jazz, where they have had first place wins at both the Reno Jazz Festival and the Lionel Hampton Jazz Festival. The Living Faith rhythm section, vocal combo and several vocal soloists have also had first place wins at Lionel Hampton. Living Faith is also involved in missions work. They have performed in the Ukraine, Japan, Korea, Slovakia, Honduras and Costa Rica.

Living Faith Jazz Choir
King's High School, Seattle, WA
Performing date: March 11, 8 p.m. concert hour

Judith Herrington is the Founder and Artistic Director of the highly acclaimed Tacoma Youth Chorus, a select auditioned choir serving more than 225 children in the south Puget Sound area since 1991.  She brings more than 30 years of teaching and conducting experience to her work at Charles Wright Academy in Tacoma, Washington, where she has received the Inspirational Faculty Award and the Murray Foundation Chair for Teaching Excellence.              

A graduate of the University of Oregon, Ms Herrington earned her Master of Education degree from Lewis and Clark College in Portland, Oregon.  She has furthered her conducting studies through master classes with Rodney Eichenberger and Henry Leck.  Ms Herrington is highly regarded as a guest conductor, workshop and choral clinician.  Through Pavane Publishing and Colla Voce Publishing, she has published choral compositions, arrangements and co-authored choral teaching texts.  She also edits a choral series for Pavane Publishing.

Tacoma Youth Chorus, founded in 1991 by Judith Herrington, is a select, auditioned choral program with more than 225 musically-gifted young people.  It is a nonprofit organization serving Pierce, Kitsap, Thurston, and south King counties.  The educational program consists of seven auditioned choirs for girls and boys, ages seven through high school, and provides members with outstanding performance experiences and a training program that emphasizes vocal pedagogy, ear-training and sight-singing skills with a focus on performance.  Members have the opportunity to work with many professional and talented musicians, such as the Tacoma Symphony Orchestra, the Northwest Sinfonietta, the Northwest Repertory Singers, Choral Union and the Tacoma Opera.  Together with the Young Men’s Choir, the Young Women’s Choir has toured the British Isles, France, Austria and Eastern Europe, including Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic.  Tacoma Youth Chorus is honored to receive their fourth invitation to perform for the Northwest Division convention of the American Choral Directors Association.

Sharon J. Paul is chair of vocal and choral studies and director of choral activities at the University of Oregon, where she teaches graduate courses in choral conducting, repertoire, and pedagogy, and conducts the Chamber Choir and University Singers.  She earned her D.M.A. in choral conducting from Stanford University, an M.F.A. in conducting from UCLA, and a B.A. in music from Pomona College.

From 1984 to 1992, Dr. Paul served as director of choral activities at California State University, Chico, where she directed a large choral program and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, choral literature, and the humanities. In 1991 Dr. Paul received the Outstanding Teacher Award at CSU, Chico.

The Chamber Choir is the most select ensemble in the University of Oregon’s eight-choir program.  Comprised of undergraduate and graduate students, the Chamber Choir specializes in a cappella music from the sixteenth through 21st centuries.  In recent years the Chamber Choir has performed under the direction of international guest conductors Helmuth Rilling, Maria Guinand, and Hirvo Surva.  They have performed at MENC state and divisional conferences, and at the ACDA Northwestern Division conference in Portland.

University of Oregon Chamber Choir
Eugene, OR
Performing date: March 12, 4:20 concert hour

Dr. Diane Retallack, Artistic and Executive Director of the Eugene Concert Choir and Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble, is now in her 25th season with the choirs. She was the recipient of the 2005 Bishop Arts and Letters Award for extraordinary contribution to arts and culture in Eugene. Prior to her position in Eugene, she was Director of Choral Activities at Seattle University. Retallack earned a Doctor of Music in Choral Conducting from Indiana University where she studied conducting with Margaret Hillis, the late Founder and Director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, and score analysis from the renowned choral scholar Julius Herford. She holds a bachelor's degree in Music Education from the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana and a master's from the University of Wisconsin at Madison. Dr. Retallack has also studied conducting with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival and the Bach Sommerakademie in Stuttgart, Germany, and she participated as a singer at Carnegie Hall in several Robert Shaw Choral Workshops. Dr. Retallack is an American Choral Directors Association certified adjudicator for the state of Oregon.

The Eugene Vocal Arts Ensemble is the chamber choir of the Eugene Concert Choir organization, a resident company of the Hult Center for the Performing Arts in Eugene, Oregon. Founded by Artistic Director Diane Retallack in 1986, the Vocal Arts Ensemble performs sophisticated vocal chamber music of all eras and presents an annual English Madrigal Dinner in authentic Elizabethan dress. Together with the Concert Choir, the Vocal Arts Ensemble has released two CDs, Holiday Joy and American Spirit, and members from the choirs have toured Europe, China and Australia.

Cynthia Dinsmore is a choral music director with the Olympia School District. She holds a B.A. in Music Education and Voice from Central Washington University with post-graduate training at Saint Martin’s University and Pacific Lutheran University.

She is a member of the Music Educator’s National Conference, the Evergreen Orff Chapter, and the American Choral Directors Association. She is a native of Olympia and resides in Boston Harbor where she has raised three talented children with her wonderfully supportive husband.

Olympia Youth Chorus Cantabile  is open to young women ages 15-18.  These young women come from Thurston, Mason, Lewis, and Pierce Counties in the state of Washington . Founded in 1994, by Cynthia Dinsmore and Denise Daverso  Olympia Youth Chorus is celebrating its 15th Season.

Cantabile has performed under the direction of
Z. Randall Stroope, Henry Leck, Juan-Tony Guzman, Rebecca Rottsalk, and Emily Ellsworth.  The
choir has toured in England, San Francisco and New York.  They have taken part in the Pacific Rim Festival, Hawaii, PiccFest in Eugene, Oregon, and the Fort Worden Choral Festival.  We are excited to be part of our first ACDA convention.

John Baker graduated from Oregon College of Education in the fall of 1979.  On Febuary 11,1980 he stepped into his current position as choir director at Rex Putnam High School located in Milwaukie, Oregon.   Mr. Baker received his Master of  Music in
Education from Western Oregon State College (now Western Oregon University).  He is a frequent clinician and adjudicator around the Pacific Northwest. Last year he was festival clinician at the Bangkok International Choir Festival held in Bangkok, Thailand.  Music literacy is a trademark of Mr. Baker's teaching.  He has a Sightreading/Theory program which is used at many high schools and middle schools through out the Northwest.  Developing complete musicians is his passion.

Rex Putnam High School is located at 4950 SE Roethe Rd Milwaukie, Oregon.  The school sits 10 miles south east of Portland, Oregon.

The choral program consists of six groups: A Cappella Choir, Choralaires, Vocal Point, Kingsmen Chorus, Cantabile and Beginning Guitar.

The Rex Putnam A Cappella Choir and Choralairaes  have performed at state and regional ACDA Conventions as well as MENC State conventions.  The group is truly honored to be selected to perform at this NWACDA Convention in Seattle, Washington.

Rex Putnam High School Choir
Milwaukee, OR
Performing date: March 12, 4:20 p.m. concert hour

Tim Fitzpatrick is a member of the Western Washington University choral faculty where he conducts the University Women’s Choir, The University Men’s Choir, and the Advanced Women’s Chorale. He received his master of music degree in Piano Performance from the University of Texas at Austin and earned a second master’s in Choral Conducting from WWU while serving as a the department’s collaborative accompanist. He is artistic director of the Bellingham Chamber Chorale and is highly regarded as a music educator, choral adjudicator and guest conductor throughout the Northwest.  Mr. Fitzpatrick is presently the Washington State ACDA R&S Chair for Women’s Choirs.

The Western Washington University Women’s Choir is a select ensemble of undergraduate singers, including both music majors and non-majors. The Women’s Choir performs challenging choral literature of all periods and styles.

Western Washington University Women's Choir
Bellingham, WA
Performing date: March 12, 10:50 concert hour

Marcia Patton has taught K-12 music in Casper, Cheyenne, and Newcastle, Wyoming, and in Olathe, Kansas. 

She is retired as choral director at Kelly Walsh High School, where her choirs performed on Northwest Division ACDA and MENC conventions. Marcia is director of the Casper Children’s Chorale, which has appeared on state, division, and national ACDA and MENC conventions. She is a recipient of the Wyoming Governor’s Arts Award, and a past Wyoming Teacher of the Year.

Marcia has served ACDA as Wyoming President and Northwest Division R & S Chair for Women’s Choirs. She presented “The Venus Factor” at the 2007 ACDA National Convention. Marcia founded the Wyoming ACDA Children’s State Honor Choir, now in its 14th season. She has appeared as a performer and conductor throughout the United States and in Europe, Southeast Asia, China, Brazil, and Canada. She is on faculty with the University of Wyoming College of Education.  Marcia is married to Dr. Patrick Patton, director of choirs at Casper College.

Alla Breve is an upper division of the Casper Children’s Chorale. This diverse group of high school, collegiate, and community women rehearses once a week, squeezing in ninety minutes between school, work, church, and family activities to join together in friendship and music.
Alla Breve presents a limited number of concerts annually.  They sang in Beijing and Shanghai in 2008, and hosted the ACDA Wyoming Women’s Chorus Festival that same year.   

Since 2006, Gary Weidenaar has been the Director of Choral Studies at Central Washington University in Ellensburg, where over 200 singers make up the five traditional and three vocal jazz ensembles which comprise CWU’s choral offerings.

Dr. Weidenaar has a wide-ranging background in teaching.  In 2002, he took his first college position at Northern Arizona University.  Before that,  he taught at public or private schools in Michigan, Germany, Norway, and California for a total of 15 years.  His assignments included teaching everything from 3rd-13th grade students  in choral, general and instrumental music courses at various times.  

Weidenaar spends a great deal of time with directors and/or choirs of all levels.  He has presented workshops to directors in 5 states, as well as in Switzerland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Norway, and Germany. He has adjudicated, served as clinician, or conducted over 500 choirs during the past seven years. 

Dr. Weidenaar is a life member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), where he has served in leadership roles in Kansas, Arizona and Washington,   In his words, “It’s important to me to give back to the organization which has helped me in so many ways”  Most recently, Gary was the coordinator for one of the two performance sites at the 2007 Miami National ACDA convention, and currently serves on the Northwest Division ACDA board as the Chair of Youth and Student Activities.

CWU’s Chamber Choir is a rigorously auditioned ensemble open to students at the sophomore level or higher.  A premium is placed on musicianship and growth of the individual singer.  Having a rich tradition of excellence, the Chamber Choir has appeared under former conductors Geoff Boers and Karyl Carlson at two prior ACDA conferences. 

The choir performs multiple concerts each quarter which include both chamber repertoire and major works, which in the recent past have included Monteverdi’s Sestina, Brahms Neue Liebesliederwaltzer, Vaughan Williams’ Serenade to Music, and Stravinsky’s Symphony of Psalms.

Central Washington University Chamber Choir
Ellensburg, WA
Performing date: March 11, 11 a.m. concert hour

Mary McCarty is the Conductor of Cascade and Conducting Associate of the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus.  She is also a free-lance flutist.  She received her Bachelor of Music degree from State University of New York at Potsdam. By day, she is an IT Manager at Daimler Trucks North America. Mary and her partner Lottie Zorn live in Portland with two fabulous daughters and many pets.

Cascade is a select 12-voice subgroup of the 120-voice Portland Gay Men’s Chorus.  The Portland Gay Men’s Chorus aspires to expand, redefine, and perfect the choral art through eclectic performances that honor and uplift the gay community and affirm the worth of all people.

Cascade
(Men's Ensemble, a part of the Portland Gay Men's Chorus)
Portland, OR
Performing date: March 12, 4:20 concert hour

Wendy Bamonte enjoys a varied career in music, both as conductor and instrumentalist.  She holds a Masters Degree in Music Education (conducting) from Portland State University and a Master of Music Degree (flute performance) from Boston University.  Originally from Ashland, Oregon, Wendy began conducting church choirs there in 1987.  Since 1999, she has served as Director of the Sanctuary Choir at Lake Grove Presbyterian Church in Lake Oswego, Oregon.  Under her leadership, choir membership at the church has grown from 28 to over 90 singers.  As a flutist, Wendy Bamonte maintains an active schedule, performing with many orchestras in the Northwest, including the Portland Chamber Orchestra, Sinfonia Concertante, and the Eugene Symphony.  Before settling in Portland, she spent a year touring the country with the Broadway National Tour of Les Miserables.  Presently, Wendy Bamonte makes her home in Southwest Portland with her husband Dave, a member of the Oregon Symphony, and their two year old daughter, Emily. 

The Sanctuary Choir of Lake Grove Presbyterian Church, Lake Oswego, Oregon, under the direction of Wendy Bamonte, is an all volunteer choral group of approximately 90 singers comprised of lawyers, doctors, teachers, and business people, just to name a few.  This choir provides the music ministry at two services each week in addition to special music services and concerts throughout the year.  
The Sanctuary Choir has a heart for mission, giving many benefit concerts for our African church partners in Zambia and Senegal. Funds generated from these concerts have helped drill water wells, build schools, and provide food in areas affected by crop failure.  In 2005 the choir took a music mission trip to Italy, France, and Austria where sacred choral concerts were held in historic churches.  The choir enjoys singing a wide variety of musical styles including larger works:  Bach’s  Magnificat and Cantata 121, Vivaldi's Gloria, Handel’s Messiah, and Faure’s Reqiuem.  The Sanctuary Choir's singing is always steeped in excellence and always to the Glory of God!

Lake Grove Presbyterian Church Sanctuary Choir
Lake Oswego, OR
Performing date: March 11, approx. 6 p.m.

In addition to his work as Director of Professional Activities for The College Music Society, Peter Park is an active choral conductor, clinician and adjudicator. He is the founding conductor and artistic director of both Dolce Canto and the Missoula Ambassador Choir. Peter conducted the 2006 Wyoming All-State Choir, the 2004 Big Horn Basin District Honor Choir, and led the Missoula Ambassador Choir on a tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2005, where the group collaborated with Eric Whitacre to present a concert of his music in the Sydney Opera House. As a chorister, Peter toured the Czech Republic with the Robert Page Festival Singers (1999) and sang as a member of the critically acclaimed Carnegie Hall Workshop Chorus under conductors James Conlon, Sir Neville Marriner, Peter Schreier, and Robert Shaw. He recently was invited to present a lecture on Robert Shaw’s legacy and rehearsal techniques to graduate students at Ewha Womans University in Seoul, South Korea. Peter received his B.M. in Music Education from The University of Montana. He also led Missoula's International Choral Festival as Executive Director from 2001–2006, and currently serves on its artistic committee.

Dolce Canto
Missoula, MT
Performing date: March 12, 10:50 a.m. concert hour

Groove for Thought
Seattle, WA
Performing date: March 11, 8 p.m. concert hour

Artistic Director Robert Bode is regarded as one of his generation’s most exciting choral conductors. His depth of knowledge, artistic imagination and passionate music making has brought him critical praise from around the country. He has been a featured performer at regional and national conventions of the American Choral Directors Association and has been invited to conduct concerts in Russia, China, Mongolia, England, Czech Republic, Germany, Rumania, Poland and Bulgaria. In December of 2006, Bode conducted a performance of Handel's Messiah at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig, Germany. Upcoming engagements include concerts with the Valdosta (GA) Symphony Orchestra and a performance of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony at the Atheneum in Bucharest, Romania. Bode has been a member of the music faculty at Whitman College since 1986.

Since its inception in January of 1993, Choral Arts has received both local and international acclaim for their mastery of style, language, and genre. The ensemble performs up to four concert series each season in Seattle and Tacoma. Guest appearances have included: Mark Morris Dance Company, International Music Festival of Seattle, Northwest Sinfonietta’s 5th Anniversary Gala Concert, Arts West Music Series, Puget Sound Music Society, and Seattle Symphony’s Christmas Singalong Concert at Benaroya Hall. The choir participated in the International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf Germany, where they placed fourth overall out of 300 international choirs and received a special recognition award. Choral Arts has three recordings available through the Loft/Gothic label, with plans for a fourth to be completed next spring.

Choral Arts
Seattle, WA
Performing date: March 11, 11 a.m. concert hour

Benjamin T. Keller came to Lakes High School in the fall of 1987 as Director of Choral Activities and Music Department Coordinator. He conducts over 200 students in six choral classes. His degrees are from Pacific Lutheran University and he holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree with a major in Choral Conducting and a minor in Music Education from the University of Arizona.

Dr. Keller has wide choral experience at all levels for forty years. He directed the Gloriana Chamber Singers, a semi-professional choral group in Tacoma, for five seasons. His groups have consistently received superior ratings at contests and festivals and have performed at state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association, Music Educators National Conference, and the American Guild of Organists National Convention.

Dr. Keller has served on state and regional boards for MENC and ACDA, currently serving as president of the Mountain Region of Washington Music Educators Association. See complete Ben Keller bio...>

The Concert Choirat Lakes H. S.has earned forty-six consecutive Superior (I) ratings since 1963, a streak unmatched in the state of Washington.

The choir has an incredible list of performances at festivals and for ACDA and MENC functions. See complete bio...>

Loren Wenz received his B.A. degree in Music Education from Whitworth College, in Spokane Washington and his M.A. degree in Music Education from Eastern Washington University in Cheney Washington.

Mr. Wenz has taught high school and junior high choral and instrumental music in the Spokane and Mead Washington school districts. He has also taught choral music and been the department coordinator of the fine and performing arts, foreign language, ESL and industrial education departments at South Salem High School. Loren has been an adjunct instructor at Gonzaga University, Whitworth College, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Western Oregon University and Willamette University. He has also been very involved in church music for over twenty years. For more bio information...>
 
The George Fox University Concert Choir is the school’s premier large choral ensemble and consists of 65 advanced singers. Membership is open to all students regardless of their major chosen by audition each fall. The purpose of the ensemble is to provide high quality musical experiences for undergraduate students.  Performance literature includes a wide variety of music styles from standard concert repertory.  The group has been featured at the OMEA State Music Educators Convention (Oregon Music Educators’ Association) in 2006 and the MENC Northwest Division Biennial Convention in 2007.

Karen P. Thomas, conductor of Seattle Pro Musica, is active internationally as a conductor and composer. Ms. Thomas has guest conducted at international festivals in Europe and North America, and has conducted and presented interested sessions at ACDA NW Division Conventions. She has received awards from the NEA, American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, Chorus America, and ASCAP, among others. Her compositions are regularly performed internationally by groups such as The Hilliard Ensemble, and her commissions include works for the Grand Jubilee 2000 in Rome, the American Guild of Organists, and the Goodwill Arts Festival.Her conducting has received critical praise for its “integrity and high purpose...delivered with taste and impeccable musicianship…” and she has been lauded for her “charismatic...magnetic podium presence.”

Seattle Pro Musica has produced seven critically-acclaimed commercial CD recordings, and has received the Margaret Hillis Award for Choral Excellence and the ASCAP-Chorus America Award. One of only a few choirs nationwide selected for the National Endowment for the Arts’ American Masterpieces Choral Initiative, Seattle Pro Musica has appeared on NPR’s Saint Paul Sunday, and is ranked by American Record Guide as “among America’s very best choirs.”  

Seattle Pro Musica
Seattle, WA
Performing date: March 10, Wednesday's "Seattle Choirs" 8 p.m. concert

Colleagues on the choral staff at the University of Washington, Giselle Wyers (University Chorale) and Geoffrey Boers (Chambers Singers) will combine their groups for a concert Wednesday evening for the NW ACDA Conference in Seattle.

Giselle Wyers is Associate Director of Choral Studies and Voice at the University of Washington, where she conducts the University Chorale and teaches courses in voice, undergraduate choral conducting, graduate choral repertoire, and music methods. University Chorale’s 2008 performance of the Genesis Suite with Seattle Symphony was termed “brilliant” by the Seattle Times.  This year University Chorale and Chamber Singers will tour Estonia, Latvia, and Finland, and will sing for the President of Latvia at his invitation. For further bio information...>

Geoffrey Boers is Director of Choral Activities at the University of Washington in Seattle, where he is the Mary K. Shepman Endowed Professor of Music. Under his direction, the choral program at the University of Washington has grown to include nearly twenty graduate choral conductors each year, as well as nine ensembles conducted by five faculty and many graduate students, with nearly 600 singers participating. For further bio information...>

Crystal Children's Choir, California
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Jenny Chiang was born and raised in Taiwan.  She received her early music education from Professor Chuan-Sheng Lu, who is well known as a composer and “Father of Children’s Choral Music” in Taiwan.  She earned her M.A. degree from University of Utah, Salt Lake City.  Ms. Chiang co-founded Crystal Children’s Choir in 1994 and has served as Artistic Director ever since.  In the summer of 2000 and the spring of 2005, she studied choral conducting with Dr. Charlene Archibeque at San Jose State University.

Karl Chang is the co-founder of two choirs in Silicon Valley, California. He has received his M.S. in Engineering from University of Texas and an MBA from Santa Clara University. However, his passion for choral music has led him to pursue his lifelong dream in children music education. He studied choral conducting with Charlene Archibeque. He is the President of Crystal Children’s Choir. Under his leadership, Crystal Children’s Choir has received superior ratings at many choral festivals and has been recognized for its outstanding performance of repertoire rich in cultural diversity. His unique character has inspired a community choir, ChingChing Chorus to continue growing over 28 years.
 

Crystal Children's Choir, Jenny Chiang and Karl Chang, Co-Directors
San Francisco, California
Concert is at 3:50 Thursday, March 11

Crystal Children’s Choir was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area in 1994 with the mission of providing excellent choral music education throughout a child’s life, and to blend the best of Eastern and Western musical traditions. Since then, Crystal has grown to over a thousand members, and continues to provide its members a warm, loving, and fun community to sing in.
 
Crystal Children’s Choir’s unique sound has brought it to four continents – Australia, Asia, Europe and North America – and to many prestigious venues, including St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, and the Beijing Concert Hall. Crystal has also been honored to accept invitations to many local and regional conventions and festivals, including the national conventions of the
ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) in 2007, MENC (of the National Association for Music Education) in 2006, and the Organization of American Kodaly Educations in 2004. Crystal has also participated twice in the ACDA Western Division Convention, in 2002 and 2006, and three times in CMEA Convention in 2001, 2002 and 2004.

Crystal aspires to be a cultural ambassador of children’s choral music, celebrating the wonderful diversity of its native San Francisco Bay Area, and its own Chinese-American cultural heritage. By offering choristers a unique musical and life-enhancing education, Crystal Children’s Choir hopes to nurture teamwork, choral excellence, and a lifelong appreciation of music.

One of the most admired choral onduct-
ors in the United States, Charles Bruffy began his career as a tenor soloist, performing with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in recordings and concerts in France, and in concerts at Carnegie Hall. 

Shaw encouraged his development as a conductor and in 1996, Mr. Bruffy was asked by National Public Radio to help celebrate Shaw’s eightieth birthday with an on-air tribute. 

In 1999, The New York Times named him as the late, great conductor’s potential heir, and in 2005 Fanfare magazine called him ‘one of the next big things in American choral music.’  He has been Artistic Director of the Kansas City Chorale since 1988 and of the Phoenix Chorale since 1999. (More bio info...>)

Phoenix Chorale
Phoenix, Arizona
Conference performance Friday, March 12, 8 p.m. "Grammy Night"

The Grammy Award-winning Phoenix Chorale, in residence at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in downtown Phoenix, is regarded as one of the finest professional choral ensembles in America.  The 27-voice chorus is equally dedicated to the creation and performance of new music, which it intermingles with more traditional concert literature.

Audiences around the world have been treated to the sounds of the Chorale through live performances across the United States and in Canada, and in live broadcasts and recordings on radio stations across the globe.

In March 2009, the Phoenix Chorale made their New York debut with their sister organization, the Kansas City Chorale, at Lincoln Center’s Alice Tully Hall.  The New York Times referred to the Chorales’ “…refined sound and elegant phrasing…” with “vivid intensity…” and the performance had a “…buoyant pulse and energetic finesse.”

In 2004, the Phoenix Chorale became the first North American choir to release an album on Chandos Records, one of the largest independent classical record labels in the world.  Since then, four more recordings have been made on the Chandos label, including a three disc series of joint-recordings with the Kansas City Chorale and their newest album, a solo disc titled Spotless Rose.  Three of the albums have received a total of eight Grammy Award nominations and two Grammy Award wins including “Best Small Ensemble Performance” and “Best Engineered Album, Classical.”

“(The choir) has a cornucopia of remarkable voices: sharp, sweet, kindly, raspy and incantatory leads above a magnificently velvety blend…..the music was both meticulous and unstoppable…..the songs were both spirited and spectacular”
                                                            Jon Pareles – The New York Times 

When it comes to vocal talent, Africa, and more particularly South Africa, has spawned the most evocative sounds on earth and still produces the very best that the world has to offer in this art form. Soweto Gospel Choir is that very best.

 “..songs calculated to go straight to the heart, sung with that joyous sense of celebration and exuberance that only black South African choirs seem capable of achieving.”

West Australian, Perth

Expect earthy rhythms, rich harmonies, acapella numbers as well as accompaniment by an exciting 4 piece band and percussion section. Add to this, energetic dancing and vibrant, colourful costumes, and the mix is awesome. This young dynamic choir performs both traditional and contemporary music, adding its own unique feel and interpretation to both. The choir performs in 6 of South Africa’s 11 official languages.

This magnificent 52 strong, choir, styled with a contemporary feel, leaves all who hear it stunned with emotion. It is small wonder that they are charting a meteoric rise to international fame. Those that saw the 46664 Concert in Cape Town 2003, under the auspices of former President Nelson Mandela, will have witnessed Soweto Gospel Choir in action alongside other musical greats like Bono; Queen; Anastacia; Peter Gabriel; Jimmy Cliff; and the Eurythmics.

Members of the Soweto Gospel Choir - 2009 Oscar Awards
South Africa

Soweto Gospel Choir sings for Mandela Day in New York, July 18, 2009

Performance Friday Evening, March 12 "Grammy Night"

TICKETS FOR CONFERENCE SPECIAL EVENTS
Tickets to the Crystal Children's Chorus Concert and the Grammy Night Performance are included in the FULL registration cost for conference attendees. For those registering for a single-day, or those who will receive participant badges as a member of a performing ensemble, tickets are available for advance purchase. TICKETS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE TO GENERAL PUBLIC FOR THE SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR/PHOENIX CHORALE CONCERT FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 12 ("GRAMMY NIGHT") AND FOR THE CRYSTAL CHILDREN'S CHOIR.

Thursday, March 11, 2010 at 3:45 PM in Town Hall
CRYSTAL CHILDREN'S CHOIR (Karl Chang, conductor) - www.crystalchoir.org

Tickets for non-conference attendees to the Crystal Children's Chorus Concert are $15. Contact Twyla Brunson to purchase tickets.

GRAMMY NIGHT --  Friday, March 12, 2010 at 8:00 PM in First Presbyterian Church - 1013 8th Ave., Seattle
PHOENIX CHORALE (Charles Bruffy, conductor) - www.phoenixchorale.org
SOWETO GOSPEL CHOIR - www.sowetogospelchoir.com

Remember, tickets to this event are included in your registration fee if you are attending the conference.

For general public or single day attendees or for members of other peforming groups, the following applies:

Grammy Night Performance is $25. You may order tickets online by clicking here, or by printing off and mailing in this PDF form by clicking here. Questions about tickets may be directed to Twyla Brunson, Grammy Night Organizer. Tickets will also be available at the registration desk during the conference, subject to availability.