Issuu

2 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023

California Choral Directors Association

IN THIS ISSUE 5 | BEE THE CHANGE from the president’s pen · by arlie langager 6 | ROOM FOR SWEELINCK letter from the editor · by eliza rubenstein 7 | LETTER TO THE MEMBERSHIP 8 | WHEN WE WALK THROUGH THE DOOR by nicole lamartine

31 | VISION FOR THE FUTURE scholarship fund donors

32 | R&R: VOCAL JAZZ by andreas preponis

33 | R&R: SSAA CHOIRS by iris levine

34 | R&R: STUDENT ACTIVITIES by alan garcia

EVERY NEW MUSICAL YEAR IS BETTER WITH JAZZ HANDS! Dr. Cristian Grases got everyone dancing at the Southern Regional Fall Kickoff on September 30. More photos begin on Page 22!

37 | R&R: JUNIOR HIGH & MIDDLE SCHOOL by anthony arnold

38 | CCDA DIRECTORY

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 3

CANTATE Volume 36, Number 1

Official publication of the California Choral Directors Association, an Affiliate of the American Choral Directors Association Eliza Rubenstein, editor

cantate.editor@gmail.com

GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS We welcome and encourage CCDA members to contribute articles, announcements, music and book reviews, job vacancy listings, photographs, and other items of interest to Cantate! Please send queries and article ideas to

cantate.editor@gmail.com. You are also

welcome to submit completed articles, but please note that not all articles received will be published. Deadlines for publication are as follows: August 15 (Fall issue); November 1 (Winter issue); March 1 (Spring issue). The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions.

ADVERTISING IN CANTATE Please visit our website (www.calcda.org) or e-mail us at cantate.ads@gmail.com for complete information on advertising in Cantate, including rates, deadlines, and graphics specifications. Advertisements are subject to editorial approval. On the cover: Dr. Gene Chung leads the Los Angeles Youth Philharmonic Orchestra, Band, and Choir in a summer concert at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

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WHEREAS, the human spirit is elevated to a broader understanding of itself through study and performance in the aesthetic arts, and WHEREAS, serious cutbacks in funding and support have steadily eroded state institutions and their programs throughout our country, BE IT RESOLVED that all citizens of the United States actively voice their affirmative and collective support for necessary funding at the local, state, and national levels of education and government, to ensure the survival of arts programs for this and future generations.

California Choral Directors Association empowers choral musicians to create transformative experiences for California’s diverse communities. CCDA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt corporation and an affiliate of the American Choral Directors Association.

UPCOMING EVENTS CASMEC January 31-February 4, Sacramento ACDA Western Region Conference March 6-9, Pasadena CCDA Summer Conference at ECCO July 21-24, Oakhurst

California Choral Directors Association

From The president’s pen:

BEE THE CHANGE ome of you may remember the 90s S band Blind Melon and their song “No Rain.” The music video weaves clips of Arlie Langager studied oboe and arts administration before completing graduate work in voice performance and pedagogy, and received her Master of Music degree in conducting from the

University of Calgary. For the next decade, she taught courses in elementary classroom and secondary choral education and directed award-winning vocal jazz ensembles as well as the University

Chorus and Chamber Choir. She completed her doctoral degree in choral conducting at the University of

Texas in Austin and joined the faculty of

MiraCosta College in 2008. Arlie and her

the free-spirited band members singing in between a narrative about a fun-looking, tap-dancing girl wearing a bee costume. The arc of the girl’s story is predictable: Several times she searches unsuccessfully for a place where she fits in, but she’s ostracized for her love of tap-dancing and for her unique costume. As the song draws to a close, the video shows the girl looking through a gate and suddenly seeing many, many other dancing bees on the other side. The joy on her face seeing other people who love dancing just as much as she does is something all of us recognize. When I moved to California years ago, I initially attended a few California ACDA events but didn’t get very involved. Then, at one event, I had some time to really talk to some other members. I went home afterwards and told my non-choir-nerd friend: I found my dancing bees. The members of CCDA have become my most important professional network, my inspiration, my encouragement, my guides, my co-conspirators, my shoulders to lean on. I cannot imagine my career without you. I’ve heard that from many of you, too. Consistently, the top reasons our members give for being members of CCDA and ACDA are belonging, community, and connection. We saw our networking grow exponentially during the pandemic. We desperately reached out to each other to get information and ideas outside of what many of us were trained for. We connected as a community to offer rehearsal and performance ideas, but also to commiserate, encourage, and share the concerns we didn’t want to dump on our friends and families. Over the last few years of serving on the board, I have heard how what you learned, discussed, or saw through CCDA shaped

your work with your own choirs. For many of us, CCDA is also our first source to learn new repertoire, or to hear new approaches to rehearsals, or to find ways we can work better with our singers. We all hope to create transformative experiences for our singers, and CCDA’s mission is to empower you to do that, through resources, feedback, ideas, and community. his past July, our Board of Directors T and Advisory Council made communicating more effectively with our

membership a top priority. You can help open communication by reaching out to let us know what you need and what you’d like to see from CCDA. On the back page of this issue, you can see all the people representing you on our Board of Directors and Advisory Council. Most leadership positions have committees made up of members like you. Please consider joining a committee, or reaching out with questions, or even just introducing yourself to your chair or representative. We also encourage you to nominate others who might bring a new and different perspective to a committee. You dancing bees have become my dearest friends. Even though we may live miles apart and only see each other at our events, I am honored to be serving as your President. 

best dog, Nakiska, live in Carlsbad.

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 5

letter from the editor:

ROOM FOR SWEELINCK he dozens of us who attended the T CCDA Fall Choral Kickoff at CSU Long Beach on September 30 soaked in a Eliza Rubenstein is the Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at

Orange Coast College, and the Artistic

Director of the Orange County Women’s Chorus. She holds degrees from

Oberlin College and UC Irvine, and she is a former animal shelter supervisor and the co-author of a book about dog adoption.

Eliza’s family includes her partner, Julie

Fischer, and four dogs. She’s passionate about vegan Thai food, photography, and the

St. Louis Cardinals and St. Louis Blues.

lot of wisdom between our doughnut breaks: mini-rehearsal sessions with a variety of SoCal conductors, “ConducTED” Talks from colleagues on topics ranging from decentralizing classroom management to viewing ourselves as “ministers” in and out of worship settings, and Dr. Cristian Grases’s brilliant introduction to the history and practice of Latin American music, to name but a few highlights. It was a richly satisfying day of music and friendship, but if one single spoken line has remained with me more than any other, it was an almost offhand reminder in the middle of a reading session by Lori Marie Rios: “Make room for Sweelinck.” A few of you may need to Google “Sweelinck,” so go do that. A few others may be thinking “Oh, yeah, that guy— didn’t we sing a Hodie of his in college? The one where it sounds like everyone’s saying ‘no way, no way, no way’ over and over at the end?” I’m told one of his works was performed at the ACDA National Conference in Cincinnati this past spring that I wasn’t able to attend. I’m also told it was one of only two Renaissance works performed there. Again, I can’t confirm that, but I wouldn’t be surprised by it, either; at the Chorus America conference in San Francisco in May, we heard a grand total of two works written before the middle of the 20th century. That’s certainly been the trend in recent years. High schools still have madrigal choirs, but few sing madrigals. Palestrina and Handel and Brahms appear in fewer and fewer choral concerts, and they’ve never been more scarce on conference programs. Even those conductors who sing their works “at home” don’t seem eager to show them off to their colleagues on the biggest stages.

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I understand this: We like to introduce new repertoire discoveries to our choral peers at conferences, and we’ve done good, urgent, and frankly long overdue work as a profession in the last decade to diversify our repertoire. More than at any time in our choral past, composers of all eras, cultures, ethnicities, gender identities, and sexual orientations are taking their rightful place at the table alongside the old masters whose music was the only music many of us grew up singing. ut I worry sometimes that we’re elbowing B out some of the canonical composers of the past rather than building a bigger table

we can all share. I worry that we devalue longevity in the quest for novelty. We can (must) acknowledge the profound and destructive prejudices that led generations of artists and listeners to adopt a narrow—and racist and sexist—definition of “quality,” and we can (must) work to unravel and unlearn those prejudices, but we can still love “Il bianco e dolce cigno,” too. There’s still room for Renaissance music in our choral rehearsal rooms, just as there’s room for Shakespeare in our English classes. There’s deep satisfaction to be found in counterpoint in an era of cluster chords. There’s a world of opportunity, of humanity, available to us when we help our singers contextualize and connect music from remote times and places. I’ve spent much of my career advocating for the study and performance of new music and music by underrepresented composers, and I’ll never stop. But does that mean I’m going to stop programming Sweelinck? No way, no way, no way. 

California Choral Directors Association

letter to the membership Hello California Choral Directors Association family! We just wanted to let you know you are an awesome group of people! We recently had the privilege to work with you and the team again at the 2023 ECCO retreat. As we sat in the back running audio and visuals for your conference, we listened to you in amazement as you sight read songs for the first time and performed those songs better than some rehearsed groups. (Well...sometimes at least, if we’re honest...but we won’t mention the other times...) In any case, we just wanted to let you know that we greatly appreciated the opportunity to visit with you, listen to your stories and share in your fantastic gifts. As you put your skills and talents to use each and every day, we want to encourage you all and say thank you for all that you do.

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Thank you for sharing your love of music with the people in your community. Thank you for putting your heart, soul and time into preserving the gift of music and instilling that passion into others around you. You truly are a special group of people, and you are greatly appreciated. Thank you again for inviting our team to be a part of your time together and for your willingness to share your musical gifts with others. We wish you health, success, happiness and blessings as you serve in your communities. And as some of our friends have printed on their line of T-shirts, “Just Keep Singing”. You guys rock. Thank you for your business and wishing you all blessings, Jim and Cal The Mountain Top Media Team

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8 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023

California Choral Directors Association

When we walk through the door By Nicole Lamartine Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 9

s I was teaching a conducting lesson last week, A my student, Tamara, and I deconstructed the rehearsal segment she had led in front of one of my

need to take yourself so seriously—yes, hold yourself and your students to standards, but be you!

choirs. Tamara said, “I just didn’t feel good, and I had too much going on in my head from all of my classes... and we had a performance that afternoon...and...and... and...” She stopped, looked down, and then earnestly looked me in the eyes. Tamara asked, “When you are having a bad day, how do you always have energy, and how are you always positive for rehearsals?” Whoa. I stammered and didn’t know what to say. I had never thought about how I mentally or physically prepare for teaching every day, especially if I don’t feel good, have frustrations, or feel overwhelmed. It is very much in my nature to “suck it up, Buttercup,” and I had never thought through the preparations and choices I make to put myself in a productive and open mental state. The preparation is most likely different for introverts and extroverts, and I write specifically from an introvert perspective. I am writing this article for Tamara, and I’ve tried to put on paper some of the things that have helped me on “those” days. I hope that they might help you, too.

Acknowledge each person

Practice

Give. Give. Give. It is by giving that we receive. When we feel like we are completely drained—physically or emotionally—that’s when it is hardest to give of ourselves in rehearsal. I’ve found that when all I need is to be filled, the door to that fulfillment opens when I give something to my students first: a smile, a moment of laughter, a beautiful moment of music, a realization of text. Be open and allow your own cup to be filled.

Preparation to walk through the door takes practice. It is a choice. I’m not quite sure when I learned that what I bring into the rehearsal is what I get out of it. It takes a lot of dedication to commit to only bringing in what we want. All decisions begin with a choice to accomplish the goal. In choosing, we begin to practice what we want to be every day—as a person, as a teacher, as a musician. Choose to practice. Preparation can begin in your office, in your car on the way to work, or wherever you can find focus and excitement about what you will accomplish in the class. It can also be as you walk to the classroom, unlock the door, and greet the students. Most importantly, it can also be part of the collective warm-up process for the ensemble.

It’s not about you...but be you! Remember that this rehearsal is not about you. As soon as we release the self-consciousness, self-judgment, and perceived student judgment, we can be true and honest humans. I believe people respond to that. Our students can see through us trying to “be” a certain way. Love yourself for what you bring to the rehearsal, and learn from the students about what you can be. There is no

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Enter the room with love. Not with an agenda or rehearsal plan or emotional baggage from a prior meeting. Love. People feel it when you look into their eyes, and it is a gift. Give it freely. A high-five, handshake, fist bump, or elbow tap brings acknowledgement of each person and engagement in greeting.

Breathe before you open the door! Take deep breaths. Three in a row before opening the door, even when students are around, asking questions as you accomplish the task.

Live the example...even if you feel goofy! Know that you influence someone’s day. Why not choose to make it a great one by living the example? Who cares if you feel goofy? You just might make someone smile. One student will remember this rehearsal for one reason one day.

Allow your own cup to be filled

Do something amazing every day with the people who are there

Make the best music you can with the people in front of you at any given moment. This adage I got from Jonathan Talberg, and it has served me well. There will always be students gone from rehearsal for illness, activity and sports conflicts, or ditching—but we are there to do something amazing every day for the people who are there.

Energy! Create the expectation of energy. Each Conductor/ Teacher/Leader will operate best in the energy that is most fulfilling to that person. For me, I feel uncomfortable when there is silence as my students enter the room. I would rather see, experience, and be

California Choral Directors Association

a part of their interactive energy. If I feel that the energy is too low, I bring it up with physical or interactive activities like “tell three people why you appreciate them in this choir.”

the front matter of the rehearsal, scan the ensemble. By setting the standard of connection, students are more able to connect and engage in rehearsal. Reach the tender soul.

Let it go!

Engage with purpose

Have a mantra. When you don’t feel like you can make it through the hour, the afternoon, or the day, tell yourself you can...because we must be the best self for our students. I often find myself with the soundtrack of “Let It Go” from Frozen running through my head.

For whom or what are you singing today? This is my mantra. It came to me after one of those really trying rehearsals where I just wanted to throw in the towel. I asked myself this question, and then the next day in rehearsal, I asked the students. Thinking they would hold their answers in their minds, I was surprised when a shy voice offered, “my mom.” Then others chimed in until almost everyone in the room had said something. The music we then created had utmost engagement and purpose.

Smile! Smile, even when you think you can’t. Let it begin on the outside to become true on the inside.

Is it a “you” problem? Choose a positive response. “So, when IS the concert?” “I don’t have that piece...” “I can’t see you.” After providing significant information, establishing a procedure for music distribution or borrowing for the day, and wearing my high heels, it is easy for me to get irked at these questions and statements. A dear friend of mine (in tech, not teaching) said he would respond to a student and say “That sounds like a you problem.” At first I was surprised at his candor, but I’ve been able to take his statement and transform it for my conversations with the students: “You have the ability and choice to change that, and I invite you to do so.”

But how did they feel? People will forget what you did, but they’ll never forget how you made them feel (Maya Angelou). Feelings and emotions are transparent...and transferable. I try to walk into every rehearsal with my greatest emotional goals for the atmosphere: joy, acceptance, excellence, and openness. And it always comes to pass that great music is made when I hold these atmospheric goals in mind. Over and over, students will recount stories: “Remember that time when....” with descriptions of what they felt at the time, but very rarely do they include the title of the piece we were singing, or the beautifully tuned chord, or the perfect [o] vowel. We remember and learn deeply from emotions.

Connect Look your students in the eye. Every individual. During

Leading the Way

Take in what you need, let out what you don’t Breathe together. I’ll often lead some breathing exercises that are meant to focus the mind and body...and sometimes this is more for me. More and more, students are plagued by depression, anxiety, and insomnia. We must teach them how to clear the mind to be able to switch gears into a place of creativity in which they get to make choices and are not told what to do by a screen. We breathe with this: “Take in what you need from the universe and let out what you don’t.”

If we choose, we are in control “Have to” vs. “choose to”: When we exchange “have to “ for “choose to,” wondrous things happen! The simple act of acknowledging that we have a choice to walk into the classroom—or not—produces a great sense of ownership and power. When we “have to” do something, we sound victimized and small. If we choose, then we are in control, and that is a feeling that is essential for running a rehearsal.

Notice the sparkles! Wear something that makes you happy. I have a pair of children’s pink sequined flats. I wouldn’t normally wear these crazy things, but sometimes I do because they simply make me smile. As I walk across the building to rehearsal, I watch my feet sparkling back and forth across the floor and that reminds me that we have moments everyday where we can choose to notice the little things, or not. When I notice my sparkles, it makes me happy, and I feel ready for rehearsal. I have various bright colored or printed clothes and I wear them when

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 11

I wake up with that heavy feeling in the morning—that feeling of “how will I make it through this day?” Feeling happy on the outside helps you to feel happy on the inside.

Keep the love notes Keep a file of love notes. If you don’t already have one, begin a file or box in which you keep those special notes, cards, and mementos from students that remind you why this profession is so amazing. Remind yourself before teaching of the impact you have on people’s lives and why that is important. My Collegiate Chorale does “plates” at the end of each semester (this idea came from Leslie Guelker-Cone) where each person wears a paper plate tied with a string on their back. We take turns writing something special about that person on their plate. I treasure these things, and I know the students do, too.

Yes, you love that piece of music, but... Do the music that you love and look forward to it! When I am excited about the music, it’s like a volcano of excitement. My students laugh at me because I love our pieces so much. But sometimes you must have a divorce with a piece, and that’s okay. The piece that once spoke to you deeply does not connect with the students, or it is too challenging, or whatever. You still love the music, but it is not the right time in life for you to be together. Reduce the struggle and put it aside. It is not failure.

This piece originally appeared in NW Notes, the newsletter of Northwestern Region ACDA. It is reprinted here by kind permission of the author. Nicole C. Lamartine serves as the Director of Choirs at Central Washington University and is passionate about creating innovative, engaging, and diverse choral experiences to positively impact the next generation of choral musicians. She served previously on the faculties of the University of California, Santa Barbara, and the University of Wyoming. She has conducted numerous All-State and international honor choirs, and appeared with her own choirs at regional ACDA and NAfME conferences. She is the Conductor of Chor Anno and was the founding conductor of the Santa Barbara Gay Men’s Chorus. She is a Past President of Northwestern ACDA.

Three rules to consider 1. Show up. 2. Tell the truth. 3. Don’t be burdened by the outcome. These three rules come from Craig Hella Johnson. I scribbled them down on the inside cover of a piece of music I was singing with Conspirare many years ago, and they have stuck with me. Being present, physically, is half the battle of preparing for rehearsal. Be there, because your students need you. Honesty in music making and expression comes from a place of vulnerability, and this is crucial to demonstrate humanness. The product is so much less important than the process. The journey is every day...and begins when we choose to walk through the door. 

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California Choral Directors Association

Leading the Way

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Your Choir:__________

Summer Music Festival by LAYP at Walt Disney Concert Hall

Organizational Application Deadline: November 1, 2023

Festival Chamber Singers (5th-12th school grade SATB)

Individual Audition Video Submission Deadline: March 31, 2024

14 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023

Sing at Disney Hall

California Choral Directors Association

In remembrance Anne-Marie Katemopoulos died on March 29, 2023, after a short illness. She and I attended the same high school in San Jose, and she was a student when I was a student teacher at Branham High School. She had a wicked sense of humor that bubbled up that when I stood in front of the band for the first time, wide-eyed and very green. It was my first time in front of any band. She decided she wanted to see if I was any good, so instead of playing the march, Anne-Marie played “Mary Had a Little Lamb” on her clarinet. I have no idea whether I noticed (I doubt it), but when she told me years later, her eyes sparkled as she laughed her full-body laugh. Our friendship was forged through the fire of building a program together at Lincoln High School in San Jose and tested during that first year of our partnership when we shared a choir. Over our 13 years teaching together, the trust and fondness between us grew and thrived, even as our relationship shifted when my daughters became her students. Anne-Marie never married, but she had countless friends from the jazz world, ACDA, CMEA, Rod Eichenberger’s Cannon Beach workshop, and much more. Yet during the school year, she gave herself completely to her students without reservation. Quite fortunately, decades of her students understood this and loved her for it. Her love for them was reciprocated many times over. They came out of the woodwork to honor her at a candlelight vigil just days after her passing, and her memorial was almost entirely planned by a team of former students. It makes my heart glad knowing that Anne-Marie will never be forgotten; her legacy will live on through her students. —Lou De La Rosa

In 1969 Jack became the Choral Director at the newly opened Monta Vista High School in Cupertino, where he taught for 27 years before retiring in 1997. It was during these years that Jack Lindsay developed the diverse and highly noted Monta Vista High School Choral Music Department, which enrolled hundreds of singers each year. International travel, diversity of style, creativity of programming, and quality of presentation were all hallmarks of the department. In Jack’s retired years, he continued to flourish as a Faux-Art Painter, highly sought after throughout the San Francisco Bay Area for his creative artistry and mastery. Throughout his life Jack was a collector: of clocks, instruments, canaries, silver, classic cars—things of unsurpassed beauty, sure to evoke awe. Even into his later years Jack could demonstrate a strong tenor-baritone voice, and friends described him as “the funniest person I know.” It is truly challenging to think of Jack without remembering his wonderful sense of humor, his infectious laugh, and his many evolving stories centered around that somewhat mythical childhood town of Burley, Idaho. Jack died surrounded by loving friends who represented the many thousands of individuals whose lives were positively and forever changed, enriched, and blessed by knowing this remarkably gifted, loving man.

—Mark Shaull 

Jack Lindsay, beloved choral music educator and conductor, died Sunday, July 9, 2023, at his home in San Jose, California, at the age of 87 years old. A lifelong musician, choral teacher, and conductor, Jack went to the University of Nebraska and in 1957 completed his degree in voice performance. After a brief stay in Los Angeles, Jack moved to Gilroy, where he began his teaching and his graduate studies at San Jose State College. Jack’s career took him on to Alviso schools and Peter Burnett Middle School. While in his first post-college teaching assignment, he met Richard Enos of San Jose. “Dick” spent a career as an administrative assistant in the Navy, private industry, and education. It was after that chance meeting in 1961 that Jack and Dick began what was to become a close and loving 63-year partnership. Richard “Dick” Enos died on November 10, 2022, at the age of 92. Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 15

HONOR CHOIR UPDATES by Susie Martone and Angelina Fitzhugh fter two days of in-person auditions at sites around A the state, our High School Regional Honor Choirs will take place November 16-18, 2023. Coastal Region Honor Choirs Chabot College, Hayward Dr. Jenny Bent, SATB Dr. Tim Keeler, TTBB Ms. Lori Marie Rios, SSAA Central Region Honor Choirs San Joaquin Delta College, Stockton Dr. Corie Brown, TTBB Dr. Cari Earnhart, SSAA Dr. Jonathan Talberg, SATB Southern California (SCVA) Honor Choirs University of Redlands, Redlands Dr. Joseph Modica, SSAA Choir Dr. Jace Saplan, SATB Choir Mr. John Byun, TTBB Choir Thank you to Kira Dixon, Bethany Encina, Susanna Peeples, and Kristen Walton for chairing these events! Students interested in moving on to All-State Honor

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Choirs will be notified by December 1, and registration for All-State will be due by December 22. Students in grades 6-9 can submit their auditions for the All-State Junior High/9th Grade Honor Choirs before October 20. Please see the CCDA website (calcda.org/all-state) for the most up-to-date audition information. The All-State Honor Choirs will take place at CASMEC in Sacramento from February 1-3, 2024, with guest directors Ms. Mary Biddlecombe (JHS SATB), Dr. Elisa Dekaney (HS SSAA), Dr. Troy Robertson (HS TTBB), Dr. Brandon Williams (JHS SSAA), and Dr. Julie Yu (HS SATB). Rehearsals will be held on the campus of Sacramento State University, and Saturday’s concerts will take place at Sacramento’s historic Memorial Auditorium. We will need chaperones for the All-State Choirs – please keep your eye out for an email in December with details on how to volunteer! Chaperones receive free conference registration, free lodging (double occupancy), and a small stipend. CASMEC/All-State 2025 will take place in Sacramento from January 16-18, 2025. Please keep in touch with any questions - honorchoir. allstate.ca@gmail.com. We look forward to another exciting year of CCDA Honor Choirs! 

California Choral Directors Association

Eat. Sleep. Sing.

REPEAT. Leading the Way

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CASMEC 2024 by ángel Vázquez-Ramos am excited to be CCDA’s CASMEC (California All-State Music Education Conference) Coordinator. II would love to see you at our upcoming conference! As

some of you already know, CASMEC is moving from Fresno to Sacramento, and the conference dates will also be earlier in the spring semester. This upcoming CASMEC will take place from January 31-February 4. New site, new dates, great sessions, performances, and the All-State ensembles…you really don’t want to miss it! We have selected great sessions for you, including: • Voices in Transition by Roger Emerson • Building a Repertoire of Gestures: Laban Movement for Choral Conductors by Dr. Jenny Bent • Using the African Pedagogy to Teach a Score-less Song to Perfection in a Single Rehearsal by Dr. David Akombo • Great Stuff I Never Learned (or May Have Forgotten) in Choral Methods Class by Dr. Christopher Peterson • Help! I Have To Teach Choir by Mark Swope • Teaching Musicianship with Choral Repertoire by Dr. Niké St. Clair • Seal the Deal: Marrying Traditional Breath Management with Cutting-Edge Voice Training (for Classical, Jazz, Belting, and More!) by Dr. Julie Ford • Directing and Producing a Musical by Ethan Albala and Paul Kimball • Every Moment Counts: Mindful Planning for Better Days, Weeks, Months, and Years by Matthew R. Hanne

• Crystal Children’s Choir | Karl Chang The All-State choirs continue to be a very important part of the conference. We will showcase the first California Junior High SSAA All-State Choir conducted by Dr. Brandon Williams! We are also excited to present: • Junior High SATB, conducted by Mary Biddlecombe • High School SSAA, conducted by Dr. Elisa Dekaney • High School SATB, conducted by Dr. Julie Yu • High School TTBB, conducted by Dr. Troy Robertson Add these dates to your calendar and don’t miss it! 

In addition, our guest performing ensembles represent a broad spectrum of voicing and repertoire. This year’s guest performing ensembles are: • Redlands High School Chamber Singers | Jesse Diaz • Thomas S. Hart Middle School Advanced Choirs | Andrew Lu • Chabot College Concert Choir | Ken Rawdon • San José State University Choraliers | Dr. Jeffrey Benson • Castro Valley High School Madrigal | Laryssa Sadoway

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California Choral Directors Association

UNIVERSITY of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THORNTON SCHOOL of MUSIC

DEGREES OFFERED Choral Music BM, MM, DMA Sacred Music MM, DMA APPLICATION DEADLINE DECEMBER 1, 2023 music.usc.edu/choral

choral& sacred music MUSIC.USC.EDU

Leading the Way

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California Choral Directors Association

The SDSU Experience A balance of art and academics, culture and community, exploration and excellence. Explore the possibilities at SDSU. Undergraduate: BM Music Education, BM Vocal Performance Graduate: MM Choral Conducting, MM Vocal Performance, Graduate Artist Diploma

music.sdsu.edu Dr. Arian Khaefi, Director of Choral Studies akhaefi@sdsu.edu

Leading the Way

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California Choral Directors Association

ECCO 2023 “Did God give that to you, or was it Felicia?” Good question—and God knows Dr. Felicia Barber gave us a whole lot as the headliner for CCDA’s 2023 Summer Conference at ECCO! From her opening plenary session to the closing “Out of This World” party, it was a time of restoration, celebration, and “scoochin’ and scotchin’.... as they say on the streets.” Thanks to Dr. Barber and to ECCO chair Alissa Aune, and congratulations to Howard Swan Award winner Julie Dana!

Leading the Way

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SEEN & HEARD Clockwise from near right: CCDA Bay Area members gather for the Fall Choral Kickoff on September 9 (photo courtesy Corie Brown); the Vocal Ensemble of Santiago High School—part of the Garden Grove USD—enjoys a retreat in Running Springs (photo courtesy Tzipora Khodzhayev); and the Riverside City College Chamber Singers were the featured chorus for the 2023 Jeju Choral Symposium on the island of Jeju, Korea (photo courtesy John Byun). Turn the page for more photos!

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California Choral Directors Association

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 25

Clockwise from above: Andrew and Justin of Ragazzi Boys’ Chorus shared the “Shepherd Boy” role in Opera San Jose’s Tosca (photo courtesy Kent Jue); the Peninsula Girls Chorus performs on KRON 4’s “Live in the Bay” (photo by Parul Somani, courtesy Karyn Silva); and the Middle School Honor Choir of Irvine USD performed and had fun at Knott’s Berry Farm (photo courtesy Rosemary Montgomery).

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California Choral Directors Association

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 27

News and notes

from around the state SOUTHERN REGION The Pomona College Glee Club (Dr. Donna di Grazia, director) traveled to England and Scotland in May 2023, singing for enthusiastic audiences in London, Cambridge, York, Durham, St. Andrews, and Edinburgh. Highlights of their trip included benefit concerts for the Otakar Kraus Music Trust in London, supporting music therapy for persons with special needs; for “Restore York,” an organization that provides assistance to people experiencing homelessness; and at the magnificent Durham Cathedral for County Durham Community Foundation’s “Poverty Hurts” appeal, supporting grants to local community projects that help people facing financial hardship. The South Bay Children’s Choir, conducted by Julie Corallo, had an amazing time in England, where they participated in the International Children’s Choir Festival. SBCC had the opportunity to make new friends, sing in historical places such as the Canterbury Cathedral, and experience the history of a place much older than our country! In June, the Corona del Mar High School Madrigal Singers, conducted by Andrew Ball, competed in the International Choral Kathaumixw in Powell River, British Columbia. They won first place in the Youth Chorus and Contemporary divisions, second place in the Folk Song division, and won the esteemed Elmer Iseler award for the best performance of an original composition by a Canadian composer. Jouyssance Early Music Ensemble (Dr. Nicole Baker, Artistic

Send news of hirings, retirements, awards, commissions, premieres, collaborations, or projects to your regional representative!

Director) presented two performances in June of “Hidden Voices,” a program of Renaissance-era music by a diverse group of composers from under-represented groups. Featured were motets and madrigals by Italian cloistered nuns, as well as motets and villancicos by the first composers born in Mexico.

FAR SOUTH REGION Brian Lustig (First United Methodist Church of San Diego) hosted four Summer Sings events with three guest conductors (Ruben Valenzuela, Keith Pedersen, and Yewon Lee). The event was open to the entire community and around 100 singers participated each week. The music sung included selections from Bach’s Mass in B Minor, Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Dan Forrest’s Requiem for the Living, Elaine Hagenberg’s Illuminare, and John Rutter’s Requiem. Brian will also be the director of the University of San Diego’s Concert Choir. The Choral Consortium of San Diego (CCSD) thanks Carol Manifold for her many years of service to the organization and the choral community at large, wishing her well upon her retirement. This year’s CCSD Summer Chorus (July 15, directed by Brian Lustig) featured the rarelyperformed Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo (Cecilia McDowall) as well as Psalm 42 (Mendelssohn). Beer Choir San Diego has resumed with a new free-to-attend format, hosting two events since the spring. With deep appreciation for his dedication in the San Diego music scene, we celebrate Dan Ratelle’s well-deserved retirement from San

28 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer

Diego Community College and First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego for over thirty years.

NORTHERN REGION The Sacramento Choral Society and Orchestra, under the direction of Dr. Donald Kendrick, completed a sold-out performance of Orff ’s Carmina Burana that also included the area premiere of a new piece by Ēriks Ešenvalds. The SCSO hosted a packed church for their annual Summer Sing in August and now move forward with their 28th season of choral-orchestral concerts for the Capital region that includes Dvorak’s Stabat Mater in the spring.The chorus will also undertake a concert tour to northern Italy in June 2024. Sacred Heart’s Schola Cantorum under the direction of Dr. Donald Kendrick just completed a highly successful concert tour of Seattle and Vancouver, B.C., and are preparing for their 33rd year of Masses and concerts in Sacramento’s Sacred Heart Church. The Sacramento Master Singers are celebrating their 40th Anniversary Season this year. Established in 1983 under the guiding vision of founding director Ken Winter, SMS (originally called the Camellia Concert Chorale) was formed as an auditioned choir of carefully selected singers who would focus on expert performances of choral music. The name was changed to Sacramento Master Singers in 1984. In the fall of 1986, Ralph Hughes became conductor and Artistic Director. Under his leadership, the membership has grown from 14 to approximately 48 vocalists and SMS is recognized as an esteemed member of the Sacramento arts community.

California Choral Directors Association

BAY AREA Bravi to Peninsula Cantare and Ragazzi Boys Chorus who were nominated for Favorite Choral Ensemble by the SF CV Audience Choice Awards.

Provence and Festival Choral en Aveyron. The choirs are under the direction of John Knutson. After several years of an interim choir director, Arroyo Grande High School has hired a new choir director! Her name is Gina Dattilo and she comes to us recently from The University of Tampa in Florida. Please welcome her to our CA choral community!

Congratulations, “toi toi” and good luck to the following Bay Area directors on their new positions this year: Dr. Jenny Bent in her ACDA National position as Collegiate Coordinator, Kira On September 9, the Central and Central Dixon as director at Lincoln Coast Regions of CCDA held a fall High School, Kelly Walker as event on the camps of Cal Poly San Luis Gilroy Middle School director, Obispo. The event included conducting and John Souza moving into masterclasses, interest sessions, some fun both Gilroy and Christopher High sharing and singing of favorite repertoire, School director. We congratulate and lots of connecting and socializing! Chris Felice who is taking on the Fremont High School choirs, CENTRAL REGION Jessalynn Levine who will direct the Aptos Junior High and High We are excited to announce the start School choirs, and Brendan of the Central Valley Youth Chorus in Lodge who is starting at Livermore Modesto, led by Polly Vasché, Beth High School. We welcome to the Holtam, and Chelsea Foy. CVYC Bay Andreas Preponis from began rehearsals October 9 and is open to SoCal who is leading the choral 4th-8th grade singers. area at Las Positas College, and The South Bay Children’s CHOIR sings Jason Gallardo who is joining at Canterbury Cathedral during Festival season is in full swing! Kern Sings Dr. Scot Hana-Weir at Santa their summertime tour of England. drew more than 500 treble singers from Clara University. the Bakersfield area for a great morning with clinician Dr. Corie Brown; John Sorber hosted We’re excited to hear the performances of our Bay Area another great year of Sing Loud–Sing On! for 700 tenor/ members at Western ACDA in Pasadena, including bass voices with clinician Travis Rogers; and Tim Kent Jue and Ragazzi Boys Chorus, and Kristina Takach was the headliner for the Fresno State SOUND Nakagawa and Resounding Achord. Dr. Jenny Bent OFF! Festival, drawing more than 700 tenor-bass singers and Dr. Corie Brown (with Juan Manuel Hernándezfrom the Fresno area! Morales) will offer interest sessions at the conference. Thank you to all colleagues who attended and shared your knowledge with us at the September 9 Fall Choral Kickoff at Carlmont High School, and a special thanks to CCDA Treasurer Genevieve Tep for hosting us!

CENTRAL COAST REGION The Canzona Women’s Ensemble of San Luis Obispo, under the direction of Cricket Handler and Jill Anderson, will present a November concert called “Lyric Muse,” featuring choruses and solos from four centuries of opera. It will also feature Amy Goymerac, soprano, who is a professor of voice at Cal Poly SLO. The Cuesta College Chamber Singers as well as the jazz voice ensemble Vocé recently returned from an exciting concert tour of France, where they represented the United States at two festivals put on by Festival International en Leading the Way

We congratulate our own Julie Dana, this year’s Howard Swan Award winner! Congratulations also to our directors starting new positions this fall: Allison Crose (Clovis East HS), Gary Kliewer (Buchanan HS), Evelyn Shu (Justin Garza HS), Dorie Hibanada (Lemoore HS), Cameron Clarno (Hanford West HS), Jorge Flores (Selma HS), David DeLa Concepcion (Sanger HS), Morgan Lari (Reyburn Intermediate), Amy Scott (Clark Intermediate), and Mia Alvarez (Fresno Unified). 

Thanks to our Regional Representatives (William Zinn, Northern; Corie Brown, Bay Area; Cari Earnhart, Central; Scott Glysson, Central Coast; Kellori Dower, Southern; and Yewon Lee, Far South) for collecting and sharing news from their areas! Send your news to your regional representative if you’d like to be included in a future issue.

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 29

CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY

FULLERTON

We Believe that great Teaching and great Performing are inseparable.

music.fullerton.edu Kerry Jennings Director of Opera, Vocal Area Coordinator

Joni Prado Professor of Voice

Christopher Peterson – Choral Music Education

Robert Istad - Director of Choral Studies

Come study with us at Cal State Fullerton with our world-class Choral Directors and Voice Teachers and start your professional journey with Artistry, Community, and Distinction!

Courtney Taylor

Susan Montgomery

Rebecca Tomlinson

30 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023

Krystle Menendez

Robert MacNeil

Kimberly Nason

James Martin Schaefer

California Choral Directors Association

Vision for the

Future

Scholarship Fund Donors This list includes donations made between MARCH 20, 2022, and APRIL 20, 2023. Donations made after that time will be acknowledged in the next Cantate and may be found on our website. Thank you for your support!

President’s Circle Diamond ($1000 and higher) Erin Ellis Family, in honor of father and papa, William Hall Dr. William D. Hall, in thanks to my students and friends for the many years of music and memories Christopher Hall Family in honor of father and papa, William Hall Hutton Parker Foundation David Masone, in honor of husband, Dr. William Hall ECCO Scholarship Melanie Nelson, Dr. William Hall ECCO Scholarship Lori Marie Rios and Bryan D. Walker*, in honor of Shirley Nute, Don Brinegar, and Bruce Mayhall-Rastrelli

President’s Circle Dr. William Hall David García Saldaña ECCO Scholarship Silver ($100-$299) Dr. Ángel M. Vázquez-Ramos and Anonymous Florence Agcawili Jody R. Vázquez* Florence Agcawili Mrs. Heather Bishop Jenny Bent Katheryn Bravante Supporter (up to $50) Pamela Bertin Patrick Burzlaff Anonymous, Katheryn Bravante Laura Holmes Cea in honor of Travis Rogers Alvin and Juanita Brightbill Lauren Diez Anthony and Cassie Arnold Patrick Burzlaff Michael DiGiacinto Andrew Ball* Kathryn J. Carpenter Deborah Divine Rhonda Lynn and Brian D. Bauer Jane Carter Mary Hamilton Jeffrey Benson* Laura Holmes Cea Brandon Harris Judy Bowers Michael DiGiacinto Andrew Hathaway Corie Brown Erin Ellis Family Wendy Hauk Kaiser Kellori Dower* Hutton Parker Foundation Dr. Ron Kean*, Dr. Cari Earnhart in memory of Dr. Lynn Bielefelt Dr. William D. Hall Brandon Elliott Stacey Y. Kikkawa Christopher Hall Family Jennifer Gaderlund Anastasia Legatos, Mary Hamilton Alan Garcia in honor of Ginger Colla Catherine Stoltz Hammon Scott Glysson Albert Mabeza Andrew Hathaway President’s Circle Dr. Scot Hanna-Weir Robert MacNeil Julianna Jerome-Drerup Platinum ($500-$999) Prof. Desiree LaVertu, Susie Martone Wendy Hauk Kaiser Dr. Daniel Afonso Jr.*, in appreciation for the work and Gregg and Sandra Laughlin, Dr. Ron Kean in honor of Bill Hatcher dedication of Lori Marie Rios! in memory of Monica Lehman Stacey Y. Kikkawa Alvin and Juanita Brightbill La Nell Martin Jeff Morton Prof. Desiree LaVertu Yewon and Dan Lee Emelynn Montoya Kim Nason*, Yewon and Dan Lee Gregory Norton, Kristina and Ryan Nakagawa*, in honor of Dr. William Hall in honor of Rob Istad and Chris Peterson in honor of Lois Caran, Joe Huszti, Robert MacNeil Gene Peterson Molly Peters, Susie Martone and Charlene Archibeque Zanaida Robles in honor of Lori Marie Rios David Masone Dennis Nasitka, Jennifer Tibben and Sharon Hickox Gregg and Sandra Laughlin in honor of Bill Hall President’s Circle Royce and Darlene Wise, Jeff Morton Samantha T. Nickel Gold ($300-$499) in honor of Dr. William Hall Dennis Nasitka Joshua Palkki Jenny Bent William Zinn* Melanie Nelson Jason Pano, Pamela Bertin Gregory Norton in honor of Lou De La Rosa, Robert Kathryn J. Carpenter, Sponsor ($50-$99) Molly Peters Istad, Christopher Peterson honoring Maestro Dr. William Hall Dana Alexander Gene Peterson Anabel Pauline Mike and Julie Dana*, Alissa Aune Dr. Christopher and Tina Peterson Andreas Preponis in honor of my students, now colleagues Glenn Carlos Patricia Prunty Patricia Prunty, Lou De La Rosa*, Jane Carter Jackie Reeff in honor of Dr. William Hall in memory of Jim Heiner Catherine Stoltz Hammon, Sara McGah and Ken Roehrs Jackie Reeff Dr. Iris S. Levine* in honor of Bill Hall Dr. Jonathan Talberg Christiane Rohayem Duane and Linda Lovaas* Jennifer Hansen Heder Anna Thoreson Eliza Rubenstein* MaryClare Martin*, Julianna Jerome-Drerup, Burt and Polly Vasche Joshua W. Small and in honor of Lena and Art Babin, Gerardo D. Ramirez in honor of Dr. William D. Hall Royce and Darlene Wise and Signe Boyer Carolyn Teraoka-Brady* Arlie Langager*, William Zinn Susanna Peeples*, Anna Thoreson in memory of Lynn Bielefelt in memory of Germán Aguilar David Vanderbout Laryssa Sadoway * Founder’s Circle Dr. Christopher and Tina Peterson* Antone Rodich*

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 31

repertoire and resources:

VOCAL JAZZ H

ere are five Vocal Jazz Festivals you may want to consider attending with your ensembles:

Andreas Preponis is the director of choral and vocal music at

Las Positas College in Livermore. Born and raised in Germany, he holds a bachelor and master’s degree in Music

Education from the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik Trossingen as well as a master’s degree in choral conducting from CSULA. He currently serves on the boards of CCDA and

CAJ. Before joining the faculty at LPC, Andreas taught at five colleges in Southern California, directing the vocal jazz ensembles at Pasadena

City College and Santa Monica College, and the award-winning

Fullerton Jazz Singers at CSU Fullerton.

Cuesta College Vocal Jazz Festival in San Luis Obispo is the only major festival in the fall and a great motivator to get your group ready early in the academic year. This non-competitive festival features a top-notch headliner and fabulous clinicians, and it’s generally a great “hang” on the beautiful central coast. Performing ensembles receive recorded clinician feedback as well as an in-person clinic. The festival is taking place on November 3-4, 2023. It might be too late to register for this year’s event, but keep it in mind for 2024. Information and registration at vocaljazzfestival.com. Santa Cruz Jazz Festival is an instrumental and vocal jazz festival hosted at Cabrillo College. Full disclosure: I personally have not attended it yet, but I hope to remedy this in the near future. The festival features two days of performances, clinics, and a Friday-night concert of featured instrumental and vocal artists. Performing groups receive ratings, recorded clinician feedback, and an in-person clinic. This festival happens March 15-16, 2024. Information and registration at santacruzjazzfestival.org. Oceanside Jazz Festival at MiraCosta College is the festival I have taken my groups to the most. This event kicks off on Thursday night with a casual sharing of performances and feedback by the headlining artists, followed by a student jam session. The festival sports two days of performances, clinics, master classes, and headliner concerts. It is non-competitive and uses a “flight” model in which three ensembles perform back-to-back every hour, ensuring that there is an audience listening even at an 8:00 a.m. performance. Ensembles receive recorded clinician feedback as well as an in-person clinic. The dates for

32 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023

the vocal jazz festival are April 4-6, 2024; the instrumental portion of the festival happens in May. Information and registration at oceansidejazzfestival.com. Fullerton Jazz Festival is a two-day event with one day dedicated to vocal jazz and the other to instrumental ensembles. The vocal day features performances in separate rooms for beginning/intermediate and advanced ensembles, master classes, and an evening concert/awards ceremony. A special feature of this festival is a room for solo performances. This festival is competitive for Middle and High School performers. College groups simply receive the recorded clinician feedback. The vocal day of this festival is on April 19, 2024. Information and registration at jazzfestival.fullcoll.edu. California Jazz Championships is the newest competitive jazz festival in the state, filling the void left by the Reno Jazz Festival, which became a non-competitive event after the pandemic. It is hosted by the Live Performing Arts Academy in Folsom and features performances by vocal and instrumental groups, master classes, a Friday-night headliner concert, and Saturday-night award performances. Ensembles receive recorded clinician feedback. This festival is scheduled on April 26-27, 2024. Information and registration at liveperformingartsacademy.com. For a comprehensive list of out-of-state festivals, check out anchormusic.com/jazzfestivals/. 

California Choral Directors Association

repertoire and resources:

SSAA CHOIRS

Iris S. Levine is founder and artistic director of VOX Femina Los

Angeles, L.A.’s premier women’s chorus. VOX has made numerous appearances at ACDA conventions, Chorus

America conferences, and more. VOX

Femina Los Angeles has commissioned more than 50 new works for women’s voices.

am pleased to return to the CCDA Board representing SSAA choirs! This “Top 5” list consists of useful resources and repertoire that friends have shared with me and that help to create community. I look forward to being in touch with SSAA directors, for I take my responsibilities of serving you very seriously! I hope you enjoy these gems:

It encourages us to join in friendship and forgive. The melodic line is easy to navigate and the piano accompaniment is easy as well, especially if you have a student who might be playing for you. It is appropriate for all ensembles from the junior high level through adult and it has become one of my singers’ favorite pieces.

A book: Sharon J. Paul Art and Science in the Choral Rehearsal This book is one of the finest resources available to our profession. Sharon draws from a range of scientific studies to suggest and encourage effective, evidence-based techniques for effective rehearsals. She is inspirational and funny in the story telling of her experiences and she promotes new approaches to teaching. Her strategies serve to encourage singers’ active participation in rehearsals, with the goal of motivating memorable experiences and extraordinary performances. This is an outstanding resource that we should all have in our library.

A medium-difficulty repertoire selection: Abby Gostein Da L’Cha SSA with piano accompaniment Self-published: abby.gostein@gmail.com Sung in both Hebrew and English, the pastoral imagery in the words speaks of the beauty and significance of everything in our world, reminding us that we all have our own song to sing and that when we hear one another, we find the wisdom borne from community. Gostein illustrates this concept by layering voices in a constantly shifting musical texture—solo, duet, and trio introducing the melody, which reaches fulfillment in a communal statement by all the voices in the chorus.

Dr. Levine is faculty

A website: Elektra Women’s Chorus’s treble

emerita at California

elektra.ca/repertoire/

State Polytechnic University, Pomona where she served as

Director of Choral Activities, Dean, Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs. She is an active member of ACDA, with former leadership roles as state, regional, and national R&S chair for

Women’s Choruses.

Leading the Way

repertoire site

Elektra women’s choir inspires and leads in the choral art form through excellence in performance and the creation, exploration, and celebration of treble repertoire. Their website includes a repertoire listing that is exhaustive, including composer links, texts, translations, recordings, and conductor notes. The repertoire ranges from easy to difficult pieces and Morna Edmundson, the Artistic Director, writes beautiful descriptions of the pieces. An easy repertoire selection: Scott Henderson Under the Holly Bough Unison with piano accompaniment Yelton Rhodes Music This simple and beautiful Christmas piece speaks to the need of gathering all, including the scorned or injured, under the holly bough.

An advanced repertoire selection: Zanaida Robles Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing SSAA, Soloist, Piano accompaniment Self-published: znrobles@gmail.com Also known as the Black national anthem, “Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing” was written by James Weldon Johnson in 1900 and set to music by J. Rosamond Johnson in 1905 as a hymnsong of thanksgiving and an expression of faith and freedom. Zanaida Robles’s arrangement builds in forces and strength as it goes: it starts with a gentle soloist, and then the choir picks up her melody first in unison and then in harmony as tension builds in the piano. The tension breaks in a cry against injustice, voices reaching a point of disunity that still retains hope for unification as they echo one another. The soloist leads the group into a final statement of truth, freedom, and belonging for all to partake: “Lift ev’ry voice!” 

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 33

repertoire and resources:

STUDENT ACTIVITIES I Alan Garcia is in his eighth year of teaching at Magnolia High

School in Anaheim, California, where he teaches courses in choir and AP Music Theory.

He also serves as the Repertoire and Resources Chair for CCDA in Student Activities and the VP of Festival

Adjudication for the Southern California Vocal Association.

n my eight years of teaching, I have been very fortunate to have many passionate students who are pursuing music education in college. One of the most common questions I receive from these students is “what tips can you give me as a music education major?” It’s a simple question, but difficult to answer succinctly. My mentor, Dr. Chris Peterson at CSU Fullerton, says that “everything relates to everything,” and I am reminded of this when I reflect upon my time as an undergraduate. So many lessons, teachers, and experiences manifest themselves in my daily teaching that it is difficult to list them without stating the obvious or sounding redundant. But there are a few key experiences that come to mind: 1. Musicianship is the key to everything. I cannot reiterate enough how our own personal musicianship will come into play around almost every corner of our music making process with our students. It is tempting to see musicianship as a means to earning a spot in your college’s flagship choral ensemble. However, musicianship also manifests in our score study, in our piano playing, in our scaffolding, and in the adaptations we make in real time as teachers. It is important to not only assess our level of musicianship, but to also actively train our areas of need. The more time we spend improving our skills and keeping ourselves accountable in our training, the better and more confident we will be as teachers. 2. Join your ACDA Student Chapter. ACDA Student Chapters create an environment in which you can feel supported and connected with the choral profession. After all, the members of your student chapter are your future colleagues! It also provides you with opportunities to attend events with people who are also passionate about music education. And the great thing is that many universities and college already have one. If your university does not have one, please reach out to me and to your choir director to start one!

Conference in Dallas. I met lifelong friends and colleagues, bridged connections, attended a wide variety of sessions, and took advantage of the $1 perusal octavos (which, for a broke college student, was amazing!) One quick tip: collect as many two-part, SAB, and three-part mixed octavos as you can. It never hurts to build your library with accessible repertoire for choirs that we will most likely teach in some capacity. There are also other choral organizations that offer their own in-services and workshops—many of them free for students! 4. Keep an immaculate calendar. This is perhaps the most transferrable skill there is in life. As you become a professional, it becomes more difficult to balance commitments and responsibilities. Developing the skill of keeping a clean, specific, and accurate calendar will not only make your collegiate experience better, but also make a smoother transition into professional life. 5. Create opportunities for yourself to grow as a leader. If there is ever a time to grow as a professional, it is during college. Whether it’s creating a choir for you and others to practice conducting or putting on a concert to raise money for music education scholarships, any opportunity where you can plan, engage, and receive feedback will directly benefit the skills you’ll have to develop as an educator. Even with the utmost preparation, much of our teaching career is a never-ending game of adjusting. Our future jobs will require flexibility and growth, so it is important to remember that regardless of our experience level, we are lifelong learners. With this mindset, and with our incredible choral community, the growth we can experience is limitless. 

3. Attend conferences and in-services. They are transformative experiences. My first conference was the 2013 ACDA National

34 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023

California Choral Directors Association

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Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 35

CAL POLY MUSIC BACHELOR OF ARTS IN MUSIC MINOR IN MUSIC

The Cal Poly Choral Program has four choirs: PolyPhonics, University Singers, Chamber Choir and Cantabile. The choirs tour nationally and internationally and have a choral exchange program with Kenya. There are opportunities in classical, jazz, opera and more! Scott Glysson / sglysson@calpoly.edu Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies

MUSIC MAJOR FOCUS AREAS • Music Education • Composition • Music History • Ethnomusicology • Music Technology • Jazz • Performance

CAL POLY Cal Poly is located in San Luis Obispo, on California’s beautiful Central Coast. Cal Poly is accredited by the National Association of Music (NASM).

I’VE FOUND A SECOND HOME IN THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT — Music Major Studying Voice

THE FACULTY GUIDED ME THROUGH MY UNDERGRADUATE EXPERIENCE AND INTO LIFE AFTER COLLEGE — Music Department Graduate

Come see us perform at ACDA Western Region Conference in Pasadena in March!

CALIFORNIA POLY TECHNIC STATE UNIVERSIT Y / SAN LUIS OBISPO / CA / 93407 MUSIC DEPARTMENT / 805-756-2406 / MUSIC.CALPOLY.EDU

facebook.com/cpmusic @calpolymusic, @calpolychoirs

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California Choral Directors Association

REPERTOIRE AND RESOURCES:

JR. HIGH/MIDDLE SCHOOL reetings and salutations, colleagues, from your new Junior High/Middle School G representative! Since I am so used to giving

Anthony E. Arnold has been teaching music for 28 years. He started his teaching career in Elmhurst,

Illinois at Timothy Christian Schools from 1995-1997 after graduating cum laude with a degree in music education from Azusa

Pacific University. Two years later, he settled in San Jose, where he taught five years at Valley Christian

Schools. His choirs at Miller Middle School in the Cupertino Union

School District have performed for the ACDA

National Conference, the ACDA Western

Regional Conference, CCDA State Conference, Davis Symphony Hall, the World Choir Games in Cincinnati, OH, and

Carnegie Hall, twice.

Leading the Way

you my top five choices for all things ethnic and multi-cultural, I wanted to try something different this time. Since the days of COVID and distance learning, I have tried to block out seven to ten minutes of classroom instruction to have a little fun with my students through each period. I name each school day and try to incorporate some type of ritual that the students eventually look forward to each day of the week. Feel free to use these examples of books and games exactly, or adapt them for your own community. Lastly, don’t be afraid to try something new with your students even if you’re already two months into the school year. Trial and error can produce some amazing inventions and memories!

Marvelous Moon-days: H. Jackson Brown Jr. The Complete Life’s Little Instruction Book 1,500 timeless words of wisdom to share with your students! I have two game show buzzers in my classroom. When I’m done reading some words of wisdom (I read one page a week), I will push the “correct” buzzer if I agree or the “incorrect” buzzer if I disagree. I do pause to talk about each word of advice to add my own personal understanding of the wisdom given. Some of the words of wisdom I omit altogether, so please use your own discretion as to what you feel most comfortable sharing and not sharing. Terrific Tuesday: Willow Creek Press: Pun Intended Let’s face it, Dad jokes have really never lost their cool! The last two years I have gotten the desktop calendar entitled “Pun Intended” for a pun a day. I usually read up to five jokes per week. Kids really get into this and will start telling you their own Dad jokes. So that you honor that joke, stop your student from sharing and ask them to e-mail or write down

the joke. Make sure to share with the class the following week. Wonderful Wednesday: The Practice of Mindfulness We need to be intentional about slowing down and smelling the roses. The definition I use for mindfulness with the students is learning to quiet your mind. When we get angry, frustrated, annoyed, we need to learn how to slow down our breathing and focus on being still in the moment. I allot three minutes for this practice and try to start as soon as students are settled in their seats from the passing period. Work hard to breathe and be still in the moment, and this practice will become an extremely useful tool you and your students can and should use in high-pressure situations. Tremendous Thursday: Hygge Games: Things They Don’t Teach You in School A fun game to play with students on “Friday Junior.” The game comes equipped with playing cards containing three to four questions. (Teacher discretion is advised to make sure the questions asked are ageappropriate.) I love baseball, so I use baseball rules for each question: “Three strikes and you’re out”—meaning if three students answer the question incorrectly, I reveal the answer before going onto the next question. Happiest Friday: Ginger Fox Games: 10 Clues Usually every one’s favorite game to end the week. Students have 10 clues to guess some type of famous person, place, or thing. Students have 30 seconds in between each clue. Students raise their hand to guess; however, if a student raises their hand who hasn’t guessed along with some one who has already taken a guess, the new guesser has the advantage to take their first guess. Try to use a tabata timer on YouTube so students see a timer and feel the pressure. 

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 37

CCDA BOARD Directory BOARD OF DIRECTORS

REPERTOIRE & RESOURCES

President Arlie Langager (858) 774-0412 alangager@miracosta.edu

Children’s & Community Youth Kent Jue kjue@ragazzi.org

President-Elect Kristina Nakagawa (408) 205-6050 artistic@

resoundingachord.org

Vice President Chris Peterson (562) 453-9851 cpeterson@fullerton.edu

Executive Administrator Kathleen Preston 921 N. Harbor Blvd., #412 La Habra, CA 90631-3103 exec_admin@calcda.org

REGIONAL REPS Bay Area Corie Brown (541) 743-6335 corie.brown@sjsu.edu Central Cari Earnhart cearnhart@csufresno.edu

Development & VFTF Daniel Afonso dafonso@csustan.edu

Central Coast Scott Glysson sglysson@calpoly.edu

Treasurer Genevieve Tep gtep@seq.org

Far South Yewon Lee yewonlee98@gmail.com

Membership Molly Peters (213) 880-7597 mepeters79@gmail.com

Northern William Zinn wzinn6023@gmail.com Southern Kellori Dower drkellori@gmail.com

EVENT CHAIRS Summer Conference at ECCO Jeffe Huls jeffe.huls@gmail.com CCDA State Conference at CASMEC Angel Vázquez-Ramos avazquezramos@csub.edu

Junior High & Middle School Anthony Arnold stephcry@gmail.com Senior High School Susanna Peeples speeples@rjuhsd.us

Community & Professional Choirs Buddy James buddy.james@ csueastbay.edu DEI Guidance Stevie Hirner stevie@

transitioningvoices.org

Music in Worship Tim Mascarinas timothy.mascarinas@ uconn.edu

Community College Karen Miskell karenmiskell@hotmail.com SSAA Choirs Iris Levine College & University irislevine@mac.com Scot Hanna-Weir scothw@gmail.com TTBB Choirs Albee Mabeza Student Activities amabeza@prioryca.org Alan Garcia garcia_al@auhsd.us Vocal Jazz Andreas Preponis Choral Composition apreponis@fullerton.edu Zanaida Robles znrobles@gmail.com

COMMUNICATIONS All-State Honor Choirs Angelina Fitzhugh (650) 387-6730 afitzhugh@pausd.org Susie Martone (415) 735-0910 susie.martone@gmail.com

Cantate magazine editor Eliza Rubenstein cantate.editor@gmail.com

Social Media Coordinator Position open

Webmaster Position open

CLA Coordinator Lori Marie Rios lmrdiva1@gmail.com

38 • Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023

California Choral Directors Association

YOUR FUTURE BEGINS HERE 2023-2024 AUDITION DATES November 4, 2023 January 27, 2024 February 17, 2024 March 2, 2024

Leading the Way

DEGREE PROGRAMS Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Choral, Instrumental, and Jazz tracks) Bachelor of Music in Performance Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies Bachelor of Music in Composition Bachelor of Arts in Music Minor in Music Liberal Arts Minor in Music Jazz Studies

Cantate • Vol. 35, No. 3 • Spring/Summer 2023 • 39

California Choral Directors Association 921 N. Harbor Blvd., #412 La Habra, CA 90631-3103

2023-2024 Concert Dates Dancing Day | Dec. 16 & 17 Arms | Mar. 23 & 24 Wings | Jun. 1 & 2 Huntington Beach, CA