Steve Danielson

Interest Session 6

1/26/24 | 11:15am-12:15pm

Group Composition in the Middle School Classroom

Session Description

As a follow-up to a session presented in 2022 about group composition at the collegiate level, Dr. Steve Danielson breaks down the process of composing together as a class at the middle school level. Even beginning choral students can find success in this project. Hear student perspectives about their experience moving from choosing a class theme to completing and performing a fully-formed composition. Steve will walk teachers through every step in detail in a way that will allow teachers to use this project immediately in their classrooms. He will talk about the challenges of the project and ways to improve it in the future.

Clinician Bio

Dr. Steve Danielson has been conducting the Ensign Symphony & Chorus since 2018. He spent 11 years directing choirs at Germantown High School in Germantown, Tennessee, and currently conducts choirs at Jefferson Middle School in Olympia. Steve earned a B.A. in Voice from Brigham Young University, a M.M. in Choral Conducting from the University of Memphis, and, in 2019, he completed a Doctorate in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington under the mentorship of Dr. Geoffrey Boers and Dr. Giselle Wyers. His research areas include Slovak choral music, improvisation in the choral classroom, and choral folk music.