Issuu

2 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

IN THIS ISSUE 5 | SEE IT TO DREAM IT from the president’s pen · by arlie langager 6 | JUST A KID

letter from the editor · by eliza rubenstein

28 | CCDA 2022-23 FINANCIAL SNAPSHOT 29 | VISION FOR THE FUTURE scholarship fund donors

30 | R&R: HIGH SCHOOL by susanna peeples

31 | R&R: TTBB CHOIRS by albee mabeza

32 | R&R: COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY by scot hanna-weir 34 | R&R: CHORAL COMPOSITION by zanaida robles

SHOW 2024 WHO’s the boss! Allen Simon conducts Soli Deo Gloria’s holiday concert in Alameda (photo by Aurelia Santos, courtesy of Jennifer O’Donnell). More photos begin on Page 20!

38 | CCDA DIRECTORY

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 3

CANTATE

Volume 36, Number 2

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: Genevieve Tep leads the choral ensembles of Carlmont High School (Belmont) in a holiday performance. Photo by Robyn Peters.

4 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

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:

SEE IT TO DREAM IT planning on being a conductor Iclasswasn’t when I enrolled in my first conducting at university.

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 best dog, Nakiska, live in Carlsbad.

Leading the Way

On the first day, our professor asked us to introduce ourselves and explain our reasons for taking this course. Most students were music education majors who were preparing for their future jobs as band, choir, and orchestra directors. I was a busy voice and oboe major, so I said that the gestures that I saw from my orchestra, band, and choir conductors seemed mysterious to me. My conductors had not explained their gestures or patterns and what they meant, and conducting class seemed like the best place to unlock the code. At the time, I didn’t imagine a career in conducting. I had great conductors, but I certainly didn’t see myself in them. The female professor who conducted our university wind ensemble was a strong, precise conductor, and dressed for rehearsals in what was considered a masculine style. Her strategy was a good one; I had read an article during my undergraduate degree that advised female conductors to wear a turtleneck sweater and a sport coat. Apparently, that was the key to success at the podium! That’s a generation ago, and it sounds ridiculous now, but maybe we were encouraged to look more “manly” because at that time the greatest successes in the field were by male conductors. Perhaps the rationale was that if you looked like the part, success would be more likely. I didn’t really see myself in her, either. In high school, two of my honor choir conductors were women, and I saw exceptional music-making in a way I hadn’t seen before. Some years after that first conducting class, I was completing coursework for my Master of Music degree in voice and asked the department chair, Lois Choksy (the Kodaly scholar and author), for advice. She heard that I was passionate about working with choirs and that path was obvious to her. She asked, “Why aren’t you doing your graduate degree in choral conducting?” Her question changed the trajectory of my career.

After all my background, I still needed someone to nudge me and to help me think, “that could be me!” Years ago at a conference, a small group of some of my female-identifying colleagues were lamenting the scarcity of women conducting the choirs that particular year. We wondered why that was, and as our conversation continued, we found ourselves sharing our own reasons for not applying to present or perform. For some of us, our choirs didn’t fit the assessment rubrics. Others weren’t particularly motivated by that kind of experience. Or the timing was bad for non-career reasons. For some, it was a far too expensive proposition given the time and financial resources needed. These are all valid reasons, but I think we were surprised to see in a new way that if we wanted to see ourselves better represented, it would take intentional work. For us, there were some active steps we could take to ensure it. We agreed that we would either a) intentionally seek out those people we weren’t seeing and encourage them, or b) contribute ourselves. The key for us was to actively give support to the voices we hadn’t been hearing.

his message is a nudge for you, too. Maybe you have things you can share through performance, presentations, or volunteer leadership in CCDA. In the broader community, who can you intentionally encourage? Look for new faces who have some unique or clever ideas for working with their unconventional ensembles. Make the effort to suggest they consider sharing their work with us. Help point them toward making that happen. Seek out those choral musicians who are not wearing a turtleneck and help highlight them in our field. Maybe that’s you. Need some ideas, guidance, or support? Reach out to your R&R committee chair, or your regional rep, or me. Our contact information is inside the back cover of Cantate. We’re here to empower choral musicians and help grow a bigger community for the future.  Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 5

letter from the editor:

JUST A KID

n the following pages, as we recall O the long and brilliant life and career of Dr. William Hall, you’ll read the kinds

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.

of memorials we know we’ll probably have to write for our teachers-turned-friends someday: beautiful, grateful recollections of mentors whose lights shone before us and whose arcs have at last reached their end. This page? This page is different. I lost a teacher too—hundreds of us in the Southern California choral world did—but he was my student, and he was only 30 years old, and he should still be here. His name was Keith Morton, and I met him in 2011 when he enrolled at Orange Coast College after graduating from Mater Dei High School. His voice and his demeanor were equally sweet, and I was glad to place him into our top chorus, but I couldn’t have predicted how gigantic a spot he’d come to occupy in my heart. A near-fatal infection when Keith was nine months old had cost him parts of all four of his limbs. It cost him virtually none of his goals, though: He graduated from OCC and later CSU Fullerton, became an elementary music teacher, and lived a frankly far more adventurous life than mine. Don’t call him “brave” or “inspirational,” though; what Keith wanted everyone to know about people with disabilities was that they’re people first, not fragile flowers or odd curiosities or motivational memes. He knew, of course, that people would have questions about his body and his life. He spent the first day of each school year encouraging his new students to ask questions about his arms and legs. One of his COVID projects was to create a series of wonderful videos to tell stories about living with a disability, and to demonstrate how he carried out everyday tasks and activities—like playing the piano, driving a

6 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

car, baking a cake, or wrapping Christmas presents—that able-bodied people might be surprised to learn he could accomplish. (Check out “Sir Legless Lad” on YouTube and see them for yourself.) He sang in choruses, starred in local theater productions ranging from The Pirates of Penzance to The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and worked as a professional caroler, a church musician, an Olive Garden server, and more before he became a teacher. In every role he met new kindred spirits; he had, by my conservative estimate, one billion friends, and it was a running joke that introducing Keith to anybody was practically impossible, because he already knew everyone. And oh, he was funny. His humor wasn’t prop-reliant, but he wasn’t averse to using his detachable legs for a laugh, either. Their dramatic removal in his video reinterpretation (in collaboration with a classmate) of the “Sacrificial Dance” from Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring nearly caused a historically accurate riot in my music history class, among other vignettes. (I’m told, however, that his idea of leaving a leg on the dashboard of his car one day when he’d forgotten his handicapped parking placard was unsuccessful in avoiding a ticket.) bring myself, not yet anyway, to find Ilosscan’t silver linings in the sudden and mysterious of someone so young, so gifted, so

good. I can only be grateful that he knew he was loved, that he achieved so many of his dreams, and that he left us all with so many hugs and so much gentle, warm wisdom. In a “ConducTED” talk he gave at a regional conference a few years ago, Keith said, “The thing to remember about kids witih disabilities is....they’re kids.” Keith was one of my “kids.” I miss him.  California Choral Directors Association

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 7

Reme Rem embering

William

Hall 1934-2023

8 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 9

Michael Short e have lost a giant in American choral music: Dr. William D. Hall (1934-2023), amazing W musician, mentor, educator, and person. He was at

Chapman College/University for more than 50 years as choral director, music department chair, and creator of the MUSCO Performing Arts Center, and he was the founding director of the William Hall Chorale. He toured all over the world with his choirs. He was an inspiration to several generations of choral musicians. There are people you meet who change the trajectory of your life. Dr. William Hall was one of those people. As a student at Chapman College, I studied with Dr. Hall, and he taught us how to achieve our goals—not just the musical aspects, but all the other parts of being a choral director, educator, and mentor. I respected Dr. Hall! I loved Dr. Hall! ....I was terrified of Dr. Hall. (I could never call him Bill.) He taught us all how to be successful in choral music and in life. He gave us a musical standard that was always extremely high. Failure was never an option. He taught us how to take what we had and to turn it into what we wanted. He taught us to take a chance and work hard to make it successful. The talent he produced and mentored changed the face of choral music in southern California, America, and the world. Dr. Hall, you will live on through the influence that you have had on so many of us. We will miss you, your booming bass voice, and your love of choral music— and the way you helped us to love choral music, too. Thank you! Rest in peace.  Stacey Kikkawa ack in April 2023, I felt a strong need to handwrite Dr. Hall a letter. This is an excerpt that B I am comfortable sharing with the rest of our choral

community. “...This season with Pacific Chorale, Dr. Istad programmed the Durufle Requiem. This was the last major work that you and I conducted together at Chapman in the second year of conducting class. It brought back so many memories of how you prepared that work, and it was the first major work where I discovered I could be a conductor. I am a product of your musicality, your musical vision, and the community that you developed while at Chapman University. I cannot thank you enough for the lessons that you have taught me—how to interpret music, how to be a performer on the podium, how to have high expectations of myself and work towards those performance expectations, and how to program for an audience. Even the spontaneity of being thrown into any rehearsal or performance was on-the-job training that helped me gain skills on how to survive in

10 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

several different rehearsal circumstances. “You took a chance on me and allowed me into your conducting program. I hope I have made you proud with the music I’ve performed, and the singers I’ve taught. I hope I have done well in continuing your musical legacy through my own choirs, and service to the craft. “I just wanted to say thank you for starting it all.”  Keith Hancock e didn’t teach me how to sing. He didn’t teach me how to play the piano. He taught me how to H be a musician. He taught me how to shape music. He

taught me how to listen. He taught me how to pick good repertoire. He taught me how to use my hands to bring out the best in singers. I was mentally committed to a different university until the first moment I heard the Chapman University Choir sing Rachmaninov at a preview day. I knew in an instant that this was where I wanted to study. I’ll never forget the first couple weeks in University Singers and University Choir, knowing that I was a part of something so special and so excellent because of his direction. He gave me an unforgettable choral music experience, including choir tours around the world, major choral-orchestral works, ACDA conferences, and four days each week for four years surrounded by talented musicians reaching an insanely high level of artistry under his direction. He gave us undergraduate conductors tons of podium time with the advanced choirs, establishing a conducting program that was second to none, as evidenced by the number of talented conductors who came out of Chapman during his leadership. These experiences gave me some of my best friends to this day, and provided the atmosphere for God to bring my wife Carly and me together and give us great memories. He was incredibly hard on us conductors as undergraduates, and he terrified most, if not all, of us. I’ll never forget him taking me out to coffee my senior year, harshly correcting me when I wasn’t working as hard as I should and holding me to a standard he knew I was capable of reaching. I will always be grateful for that tough love. Yet after my graduation, he was warm and gracious as we became colleagues at Chapman. I still have an encouraging note he wrote to me after Tesoro won the Golden State Competition, which he helped start many years earlier. I will always remember him working with my choir before our performance at ACDA 2012, which would not have happened without his influence. He was as sharp as ever, and gave us brilliant recommendations to improve our performance. In addition to spending probably 2,000 hours in choir rehearsals, performances and conducting classes with him, I spent my last semester in private lessons with him, prepping my recital repertoire, studying California Choral Directors Association

ornamentation in Handel’s Messiah, and learning from his decades of experience in our field. He was arguably one of the top ten giants in the choral music world in the last half of the 20th century, and I will never take for granted the time my friends and I had making music together. He tranformed not only the Conservatory at Chapman, but the university as a whole. If you are or have been my student, just know that Dr. Hall’s influence has been a part of every piece we have sung, as well as how I’ve led each rehearsal. I am so thankful for all of the music, the stories, and the time spent surrounded by this giant of a man. He could hold court like the best of them, and I was just happy to be part of it all. He is a father and grandfather of music to thousands upon thousands of singers around the world, and I’m honored to have had a front row seat for four of the best years of my life.  Jonathan Talberg ithout question, the most important teacher in my life was Dr. William Hall. Probably the W most charismatic person I’ve ever known, Bill had

an unbelievable sense of humor, great comic timing, a lifetime of fantastic stories, and the ability to teach, entertain, and motivate an ensemble of professionals, college students, or amateurs. He knew all the standard repertoire, and he was a wonderful musician—conductor, pianist, arranger, and scholar—but what he loved the most was making music in the moment. We never sang a phrase the same way twice. Never. In his rehearsals, arsis and thesis were elevated to the same importance as intonation and pulse. Rehearsal was an exploration of vocal color—and freedom. Maybe most importantly (at least in terms of what I stole from him), he always programmed contrasting music. Tempi, keys, languages, style periods, and genre were carefully considered to make for a great, varied, interesting concert. “There’s nothing as boring as a choral concert. Nothing,” this famous choral director would preach in choral repertoire class. “It’s your job to make it interesting.” Bill taught me to conduct. He taught me how to study scores—not just Beethoven and Bruckner, but Sweet Charity and Hair. His office hours were “whenever you need me.” He gave me many opportunities to conduct— on tour, in rehearsals, and in my own undergraduate choral conducting recital. He was stern, and incredibly demanding, but he made me believe I had what it took to be successful. For three years, I tried my best to make him proud; I grew up in the process. We became friends and colleagues for over two decades, and we took some great vacations together. (The most valuable lesson from those was “Always check how much fuel is in the boat before setting off for Mexico.” But that’s a different story....)

Leading the Way

In my first year of teaching high school, I ran into him at the Chapman library (we still had to go there in person to look up translations in those days). He asked me, “How’s it going, Jon? How do you like teaching?” I responded with a litany of all the things that weren’t going well at high school: I was exhausted. The kids couldn’t read a quarter note from a half note. I had no budget. There was no accompanist. We had no venue with a decent acoustic. My principal was a serious douchebag (I used a different word). The parents were totally absent and I felt utterly alone. He put his hand on my shoulder, looked down at me from his significant height and said, “You have two choices—and they’ll be the same two choices for every job you ever have: Work harder. Or quit.” To this day, when I think I don’t want to go to work, or I don’t want to practice, or I’m avoiding a meeting, colleague, or student, I think “Work harder. Or quit.” It’s extraordinarily freeing. Thus far, I’ve always chosen to work harder. And I don’t think I’ll quit until the day I lock my office door for the last time. I love my work, and my work is my life. I have both because he both believed in me and taught me—to the best of his ability—every day. “Work harder. Or quit.” It’s really that simple. 

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Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 11

Meeting Pope John Paul II during a choir trip to the Vatican

Planting the Chapman Flag on the Great Wall of China

Surrounded by former students to receive the 2011 Howard Swan award

12 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

Sales

Live Events

Audio

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Serving Nationwide: Schools, Churches, Offices, Radio Stations, Stadiums, Commercial Buildings

sales@mountaintopmedia.org (559) 658-6867 Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 13

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Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 15

HONOR CHOIR UPDATES by Angelina Fitzhugh and Susie Martone he 2023 Central, Coastal, and Southern Region High School Honor Choirs were held November T 16-18 at University of the Pacific (Stockton), Chabot

College (Hayward), and University of Redlands. Event chairs Kira Dixon, Bethany Encina, Susanna Peeples, Kristen Walton and their teams did an amazing job organizing all the details—we appreciate you! The 2024 All-State Honor Choirs will be held at CASMEC in Sacramento from February 1-3, with guest directors Ms. Mary Biddlecombe (Junior High School SATB), Dr. Elisa Macedo Dekaney (High School SSAA), Dr. Julie Yu Oppenheim (High School SATB), Dr. Troy Robertson (High School TTBB), and Dr. Brandon Williams (Junior High School SSAA). Rosters and registration information were emailed to auditionees and directors in November/December, and students should now be busy learning their music for a successful honor choir experience. We are thrilled to introduce the first All-State Junior High/9th Grade Treble Choir this year, and to hold rehearsals on the campus of Sacramento State University. Rehearsals are open for observation by conference attendees, so we hope you will visit for some inspiration

16 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

from our wonderful guest conductors. We also hope you can attend the honor choir concerts on Saturday afternoon, February 3, at the historic Sacramento Memorial Auditorium. Thanks to everyone who has donated to the CCDA Honor Choir Scholarship fund and the generosity of Resounding Achord, CCDA was able to provide financial assistance to 60 Regional and 70 All-State honor choir students. You can donate at any time; find the donation button on the All-State Honor Choir website (www.calcda.org/all-state)! CASMEC/All-State 2025 will take place in Sacramento from January 16-18, 2025. Stay tuned this spring for more details about the timing of auditions and regional events in the fall because of this shift to an earlier CASMEC. We welcome Jennifer Gaderlund and Susanna Peeples, CCDA’s new All-State Co-Chairs! Jenni and Sus will take the reins this summer for All-State 2025. Please watch your e-mail and the All-State Honor Choir website for the most up-to-date information. We’re looking forward to another amazing year of All-State Choirs at CASMEC! 

California Choral Directors Association

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 17

Summer Concert

Youth Symphony Orchestra | Band | Choir Summer Music Festival at Walt Disney Concert Hall

SUMMER SEASON A U D I T I O N

Summer Season Youth Orchestra Summer Season Youth Band Summer SATB Chamber Singers

(5th-12th school grade)

For more information, visit www.layouthphilharmonic.com 18 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

SAVE THE DATES

CCDA Summer Conference At Ecco

y l u J 4 2 21 24 20

Headliner

Dr. Anthony Trecek-King Type to enter text

Registration Opens Early April

Visit CalCDA.Org for the latest updates! Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 19

SEEN & HEARD Right: Younger members of San Jose’s Vivace Youth Chorus perform their Winter Wonders concert (photo courtesy Kristina Nakagawa); below: the singers of A Company of Voices (Stacy Young and Dr. Elizabeth Harrington, co-directors) sing from the canopy of Eureka’s famous Redwood Skywalk as part of the community’s Zoo Lights Festival (photo by Julie Benson). Send your photos to cantate.editor@ gmail.com for a future issue!

20 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

Above: the ACDA Western Region team is hard at work planning an amazing conference in Pasadena this March; below: Jared Pugh leads an audience sing-along at San Dimas High School and Lone Hill Middle School’s Winterfest Concert (photo by Phoenix Neri).

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Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 21

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California Choral Directors Association

Clockwise from left: Susanna Peeples shares a smile with the Central Region Honor Choir participants from Granite Bay High School; the Orange Coast College Chamber Singers (Eliza Rubenstein, director) perform El Mesías, a new Spanish edition of Handel’s Messiah (photo by Hank Schellingerhout); and the choirs of Gilroy and Christopher High Schools carol at Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill (photo by Megan Duenas, courtesy of Jonathan Souza).

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Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 23

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

24 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

FRESNO STATE DISCOVERY. DIVERSITY. DISTINCTION.

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MASTER OF ARTS Choral Conducting Music Education Performance

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Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 25

News and notes

from around the state FAR SOUTH REGION The San Diego choral community welcomes Brooke Yang. She is a new director for the Poway Community Choir, succeeding the esteemed Nancy Gray in her well-deserved retirement. Saints Choir, under the direction of Erin Gray, delighted audiences with a festive concert featuring Grammynominated violinist Jenny Oaks Baker and the accomplished Family Four musical group, spotlighting Irish soprano Alex Sharpe, formerly of Celtic Woman. The Choral Consortium of San Diego was pleased to be a partner on the KPBS Holiday Special, which aired throughout the holiday season featuring seven choirs (Encore Vocal Ensemble, SACRA/PROFANA, San Diego Children’s Choir, San Diego Chorus, San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir, San Diego Master Chorale, and Promotora de las Bellas Artes). Preparations are underway for the next Beer Choir San Diego event (February 10, led by John Russell and singers of the San Diego Master Chorale) and for San Diego Sings! on April 6.

Byun (Director of Choral/Vocal Studies at Riverside Community College), and Dr. Tim Keeler (Music Director of Chanticleer). Next year’s festival dates and adjudicator panel will be announced soon! For more information, contact Dr. Jenny Bent (bentje@sonoma.edu). Nicolás Alberto Dosman has joined the UC-Davis Department of Music as director of choirs. He will lead the Concert Choir, a large mixed ensemble, and the Chamber Singers, a select ensemble of 16 to 24 students.Most recently, Dosman was the director of choral studies at the University of Southern Maine’s Osher School of Music. During his time there, the USM Chamber Singers performed at the ACDA Eastern Region Conference, and the Osher Choral Union made its Carnegie Hall debut. The son of Panamanian immigrants, he grew up in Brooklyn, New York, and Dover, Delaware. Nicolás is Panamanian-American and growing up his home was filled with the sounds of Panama, which includes a variety of musical styles: salsa, merengue, soca, calypso, reggae, bachata, mento and many other Caribbean and Latino genres. Nicolás looks forward to getting to know his colleagues on the west coast!

NORTHERN REGION On October 24-25, Sonoma State University’s Department of Music hosted their annual Sonoma Invitational Choral Festival, an affiliate of the Music for All National Festival. Choirs received comments and clinics from Dr. Andrea Ramsey (composer and conductor ), Dr. Marques L.A. Garrett (Associate Professor of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas), John

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

BAY AREA The Bay Area had a great Fall Choral Kickoff at Carlmont High School, with over 55 attendees. Thanks to Genevieve Tep for hosting us! Keep your eyes peeled for our next fall event. Don’t forget to support our Bay Area colleagues at their Western ACDA performances in Pasadena. We’re so proud of the Crystal Children’s Choir in Cupertino under the direction of

26 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

Dr. Karl Chang, as well as Kent Jue with Ragazzi Boys Chorus, and Kristina Nakagawa with Resounding Achord. Congratulations again on your acceptance, colleagues! Congratulations to Lauren Diez who won Outstanding Choral Music Educator for Bay Section Music Awards with CMEA and who has served CCDA for many years, as well as Katie Gilchrist who won the Gilbert T. Freitas Award for teaching Less than Seven Years. The Cantare Symphonic Chorale and Children’s Choir from Oakland under the baton of Artistic Director David Morales held two packed concerts this December in the East Bay, even performing a debut composition written by the students from Cantare’s top Children’s Choir. Peninsula Cantare, under Jeffrey Benson’s baton, performed Bach’s Magnificat to a sold out house as well in December. These were two of so many incredible performances this Fall; we in the Bay truly are prolific in the amount of culture and incredible choral artistry we produce. Congratulations to all for a spectacular 2023!

CENTRAL COAST REGION The Canzona Women’s Ensemble of San Luis Obispo, under the direction of Cricket Handler and Jill Anderson, will present a program called “Weaving Women’s Voices” on March 10 at 3:00 p.m., featuring a new setting by Meredith Brammeier of the poem “Beautiful Proud Sea” by Sara Teasdale. They are also presenting a premiere of the “Sing for Ukraine” co-commissioned piece “The Song” by esteemed composer Iryna Aleksiychuk. Canzona is

California Choral Directors Association

preparing to go on tour to Ottawa and Montreal in June of 2024 to join with Cantiamo Women’s Choir and Chorale du Gesú in two concerts. The Cabrillo High School Madrigal Singers in Lompoc will present their 28th Annual Auction Dinner and Show under the direction of Jennifer Peterson. This gala night features a catered BBQ dinner from Bad Back BBQ, a Broadway themed show by the Madrigal Singers, and over 150 silent and live auction items. The group hopes to raise $7,000 to pay for the remainder of their spring performance tour to Disneyland in April 2024. Our area hosts the CCS Honor Choirs (a CMEA event) from January 25 - 27th in Pacific Grove. Nearly 200 middle and high school singers from Monterey, Santa Cruz, and San Benito are participating. Paso Robles High School Forte performed “Lift Every Voice & Sing” at Paso Robles’ City-Wide MLK celebration in the downtown park on January 15. Additionally. They will also hold their annual “Sing-A-Gram” fundraiser on Valentine’s Day. Last year, small groups of singers delivered over 400 songs throughout the day. The group is led by Gaylene Ewing. The San Luis Obispo Master Chorale, under the direction of Tom Davies, performs Sergei Rachmaninoff ’s All-Night Vigil (Vespers) on Sunday, April 21, at 3:00 p.m. The 100-voice choir performs at the San Luis Obispo Performing Arts Center on the Cal Poly campus.

In November, around 300 singers from throughout the Central Region participated in the 2023 CCDA Central Region Honor Choir held in Stockton! Guest conductors for the three ensembles included: Dr. Jonathan Talberg (SATB); Dr. Corie Brown (TTBB), and Dr. Cari Earnhart (SSAA). Congratulations to all of these students and many thanks to their teachers for their encouragement and support! The Fresno Master Chorale, directed by Dr. Anna Hamre, presented a concert called “Illumination and Imagination,” intertwining musical and poetic threads and featuring works by Ola Gjeilo, Tarik O’Regan, and Morten Lauridsen. The Visalia Community Chorus, under the direction of John Sorber, performed Haydn’s Lord Nelson Mass, featuring the College of the Sequoias choirs and Voces Lumine. Meridian Voices of Bakersfield presented “A Seasonal Celebration” in December under the direction of Dr. Ángel M. Vasquez-Ramos.

SOUTHERN REGION

THE Mission Peak Chamber Singers and People’s Choir do some holiday caroling in Fremont

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Cantabile, under the direction of Scott Glysson, will perform in the morning concert session on Friday, March 8, at the Western Region ACDA conference in Pasadena.

CENTRAL REGION Welcome to Dr. Duana Demus Leslie, the new choral director at Modesto Junior College! In November, the US Sea Chanters, conducted by Dr. Diana Saez, performed two Brazilian pieces arranged by Dr. Daniel Afonso (CSU-Stanislaus) for the Summit

Leading the Way

for Diversity at Morgan State University in Baltimore. Members of the Bakersfield College Choir participated in the MACCC Conference Intercollegiate Honor Choir in Berkeley, conducted by Dr. Scott Glysson of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

The Orange Coast College Chamber Singers performed a Spanish-language version of Handel’s Messiah (El Mesias) this past December. The performance caught the attention of such news organizations as the LA Times and the OC Register. We are fortunate to have such wonderful work happening in the south. Bravo, Eliza Rubenstein!

Dr. Kellori Dower, Dean of Visual and Performing Arts at Cypress College, just completed a successful conference at Morehouse College in Atlanta as president of the National Collegiate Choral Organization. This was the first time the conference was held at an HBCU (Historically Black College/University) and Dr. Dower is the first Black president of the organization. 

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 Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 27

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California Choral Directors Association

Vision for the

Future

Scholarship Fund Donors This list includes donations made between October 15, 2022, and November 15, 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)

Glenn Carlos Gene Peterson Katheryn Bravante Lauren Diez Dr. Christopher and Tina Peterson Alvin and Juanita Brightbill Deborah Divine Patricia Prunty, in honor of Dr. Patrick Burzlaff Lori Marie Rios and Bryan D. Walker*, Anastasia Legatos, in honor William Hall Kathryn J. Carpenter, in honor of in honor of Shirley Nute, Don Brinegar, of Ginger Colla Jackie Reeff Maestro Dr. William Hall and Bruce Mayhall-Rastrelli Kim Nason*, in honor of Rob Istad and Sara McGah and Ken Roehrs, in Jane Carter Chris Peterson thanks for 40+ years of Laura Holmes Cea President’s Circle choral excellence with the William Molly Peters, in honor Michael DiGiacinto Platinum ($500-$999) of Lori Marie Rios Hall Chorale Erin Ellis Family, in honor of father Dr. Daniel Afonso, Jr.*, in honor David García Saldaña Vincie Sasiadek Family, in loving and papa, William Hall of Bill Hatcher Jennifer Tibben and Sharon Hickox Tania Fleischer and Larry Berliner, memory of William Hall Duane and Linda Lovaas* Dr. Ángel M. Vázquez-Ramos and Jody in memory of the great Bill Hall Dr. Jonathan Talberg, in honor of Dr. The Sorber Family*, in honor of R. Vázquez* William Hall Hutton Parker Foundation Dr. Anna Hamre Anna Thoreson Mrs. Maggie Goodrich Gutierrez Burt and Polly Vasche* Supporter (up to $50) Burt and Polly Vasche Dr. William D. Hall, in thanks to my Royce and Darlene Wise students and friends for the many years Anthony and Cassie Arnold President’s Circle William Zinn of music and memories Andrew Ball* Gold ($300-$499) Christopher Hall Family, in honor of Rhonda Lynn and Brian D. Bauer Honor Choir Scholarships father and papa, William Hall Mike and Julie Dana*, in honor of my Jeffrey Benson* Mary Hamilton students, now colleagues Corie Brown Resounding Achord Catherine Stoltz Hammon, in honor Lou De La Rosa*, in memory Brandon Elliott Mrs. Heather Bishop of Bill Hall of Jim Heiner Alan Garcia Bella Cahn Andrew Hathaway Stacey Y. Kikkawa Scott Glysson Cory and Kathy Caouette Julianna Jerome-Drerup, in honor of Yewon and Dan Lee Jennifer Hansen Heder Christopher Chappell Dr. William D. Hall Susanna Peeples*, in memory Arlie Langager*, in memory Allison Crose Wendy Hauk Kaiser of Germán Aguilar of Lynn Bielefelt Dr. Cari Earnhart Dr. Ron Kean, in memory of Dr. Zanaida Robles La Nell Martin Lafica Fernandes Lynn Bielefelt Dr. Jonathan Talberg*, in honor of Emelynn Montoya Justin and Amie Fitzhugh Stacey Y. Kikkawa Dr. William Hall Kristina and Ryan Nakagawa*, in honor Venu Vollala and Srilatha Kalakuntla Prof. Desiree LaVertu, in of Lois Caran, Joe Huszti, Prof. Desiree LaVertu, in appreciation for the work and President’s Circle and Charlene Archibeque appreciation for the work and dedication of Lori Marie Rios Silver ($100-$299) Samantha T. Nickel dedication of Lori Marie Rios! Yewon and Dan Lee Joshua Palkki Duane and Linda Lovaas Jenny Bent Robert MacNeil Jason Pano, in honor of Lou De La Susanna Peeples, in memory of Mrs. Heather Bishop Susie Martone Rosa, Robert Istad, Christopher Peterson David Masone, in honor of husband, Germán Aguilar Dr. Cari Earnhart Anabel Pauline Susan Pierce Mary Hamilton Dr. William Hall ECCO Scholarship Andreas Preponis Eliza Rubenstein Dr. Scot Hanna-Weir Gregg and Sandra Laughlin, in Christiane Rohayem Marcell Bergmann and Jamie Shpall Brandon Harris memory of Monica Lehman Eliza Rubenstein* Pressley Slattery Dr. Ron Kean*, in memory of Patricia Moore Laryssa Sadoway Jennifer and Marshall Smith Dr. Lynn Bielefelt Jeff Morton Albert Mabeza Dennis Nasitka, in honor of Bill Hall Dr. William Hall ECCO MaryClare Martin*, in honor of Lena Melanie Nelson, Dr. William Hall Scholarship and Art Babin and Signe Boyer ECCO Scholarship Antone Rodich* Gregory Norton, in honor of Dr. Anonymous William Hall Florence Agcawili Sponsor ($50-$99) Molly Peters, in honor of Jenny Bent * Founder’s Circle Lori Marie Rios Pamela Bertin Dana Alexander Alissa Aune

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 29

repertoire and resources:

HIGH SCHOOL CHOIRS H Susanna Peeples is in her twelfth year of teaching and sixth as

Vocal Music Director at Granite Bay High

School. She teaches four choirs, co-directs musical theatre, is piloting IB Music, and is the Performing Arts

Department Chair. She is currently finishing her term as the CCDA

Central Region Honor Choir Chair.

ello. I’m Susanna Peeples, and I hate picking repertoire. That’s probably ironic coming from the Repertoire and Resources Chair, but it’s true! I’ve spent hours upon hours painstakingly trying to find the perfect piece—challenging enough for my advanced students yet accessible for developing students, engaging for the students and audience alike, and pedagogically appropriate. After years of hunting, I’ve figured out that that piece…doesn’t exist. In my first year teaching, I was floored watching the incredible choirs and presenters at the National ACDA Conference in Dallas. Every single day couldn’t be that…shiny. At conferences, all we see is the shiny: perfect programming, perfect classroom management, perfect stage presence, perfect intonation. I have to remind myself this is the 1% of choirs on their best day. What about the 99%? My first “perfect” program scored well at festivals, dressed nicely, sang in tune, and at times felt shiny. But, behind the scenes it ran on coffee, exhaustion, and karaoke a few times a semester. My advice would be to let go of perfection in exchange for purpose. We are not shiny all the time! Create community, sing good music, but don’t be beholden to the shiny. I always found the old Top 5 Repertoire articles frustrating. Top 5 for whom? I’ve had choirs with 27 SAs and 3 TBs, some with stronger TBs, some that could only sing two parts and some that could easily sing eight. I am writing to give you (and myself) permission to let go of finding the perfect piece. What works for someone else won’t necessarily work for your program! But here are some resources I use in my classroom to strive for the shiny, and some that further my purpose to create community in the classroom. Choral chants Sometimes we have to trick our brains into loving what’s good for us—like broccoli, or, in the case of choral music, sight reading. Whenever we’re going to sight read in class, I shout, “It’s time for sightreading!” The students have to respond with, “Sightreading?!

30 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

I love sightreading, especially on ____day!” It at least makes them say something positive instead of groaning. Some of them are even telling the truth! In my first few years of teaching I observed Anne Marie Katemopolous and, with her permission, stole this class ending. I say to my students, “Have a nice day!” And they respond with, “Have a nice day, Ms. Peeps!” No matter what, it ends class on a positive note and the kids often spread that kindness by saying it to their other teachers on campus. Canva This has been revolutionary in designing programs, social media posts, t-shirt designs, and more! It also allows for collaboration, helping me connect with my students through their design choices. And oh, so many templates! Chaos circles I love to have my sections practice sections of their music a cappella in circles around the room. I can walk around to each section to assess and help without having to focus on only one section at a time. It’s the kind of cacophony that brings me joy. Hot Seat At the end of the week we’ll often do a “hot seat” or “opposite” hot seat. In “hot seat,” one student sits in front of the choir and answers random questions. I’ll usually have a limit of five. In “opposite hot seat,” the concept is the same, but the other students give them shout-outs, appreciations, or compliments. It definitely builds them up! Takadimi rhythm syllables When I began teaching I was desperate for new methods and techniques. Germán Aguilar, who was at the local community college, advised me to use Takadimi....and I haven’t looked back. Now my students like to read rhythms, even 16th notes in compound meter! It’s worth it to learn a new system. I promise! 

California Choral Directors Association

repertoire and resources:

TTBB CHOIRS “W Albee Mabeza is the Performing Arts

Department Chair and Director of Choirs at Woodside Priory

School in Portola Valley, where he conducts the Middle

School Choir, Chamber Singers, and Concert Choir. Albee recently founded the Pariter

Vocal Ensemble, a tenor-bass vocal ensemble based in

San Jose. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in

Music Education and Vocal Performance from San Jose State

University and is

ait, can we do another one, Mr. Mabeza?” I had to remind my high school chamber singers that we had a concert on Friday; they were an eager bunch that afternoon. “Well, can we at least record this one so that I can post it on TikTok later?” How can I say no to that? “All right, here’s the C, find your starting pitch.” My chamber singers are obsessed with singing barbershop tags. That feeling you get when you lock in and ring close harmony chords is a unique feeling. So how can we use that feeling to encourage choral singing? If you’ve ever listened to barbershop harmony, you know that the music is built upon flashy chords in tight harmony. The “tag” is the final destination of any great barbershop song—usually the last few measures of a song that lead to a huge major chord. In barbershop culture, these tags are the bread and butter of socialization. Usually, four people will gather and pick a part: Tenor, Lead, Baritone, or Bass. Sometimes all four singers will know the tag, or maybe one person is teaching the other three people their parts. They take what they’ve learned, sing the tag as if they were in a performance, then pick another one and do it all over. A local Bay Area barbershopper, Ethan Frahm, talks about how tags are “a fun and fairly easy way to train my ear; [singing tags] actively encourages listening and tuning to each other more than ever.” Donnie Rose, another barbershop musician and high school choral educator, explains how it starts off simply as “Here, sing this back to me,” and then you just add the other three parts.

The accessibility of teaching tags by rote also makes them a recruitment tool. Some tags, such as the example provided, only have one or two notes for one of the parts. Find a random student on campus and say, “Hey, sing with us real quick. It’s only two notes.” They sing it back, try it with an impromptu quartet, and suddenly hear “That was great! We do this in choir all the time; go talk to your counselor and get it added to your schedule.” Dominick Finetti, another barbershop musician and fellow SJSU grad, explains how this helps visitors or guests in a community choir feel more acquainted. “It’s a great way to break the ice with people who you don’t know…it’s unique. It’s almost like playing in a jam band with strangers.” Maybe your group has a guest who is intimidated because they can’t read music; learning a quick tag by rote might help them feel more welcome. The tag I’ve included in this article is a great example of one that can be memorized fairly quickly and offers instant gratification. Note that the “Tenor” and “Lead” lines are written an octave higher than actually sung, but should be easy for both a soprano and alto to sing. Your tenors sing the “Baritone” line and of course, the “Basses” can sing the bass line. One of the best databases for barbershop tags is www.barbershoptags.com. There are also two mobile apps, Tag Master and Goodtags, that are great resources to find tags you can learn and teach your choirs in minutes. So grab a pitch pipe, find three other singers and, as they say in the Barbershop Harmony Society, “Keep the Whole World Singing!” 

currently studying in the Three-Summer

Master’s Program in Music Education at SJSU.

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 31

repertoire and resources:

college and university P Scot Hanna-Weir is Director of Choral Activities and Chair of the Music Department at Santa Clara

University. He is also Artistic Director of the Santa Clara

Chorale, an auditioned community choir that just celebrated its 60th season. In addition to his conducting activities, Scot is an active composer and clinician.

lease accept my apologies for taking us back to thinking about the pandemic, though I’m sure most of us have not stopped thinking about it for quite some time. Last academic year, it seemed like all of the parkinggarage choirs and virtual projects were finally behind us and we were ready for a “normal” year back in the classroom. But it wasn’t a normal year at all, as most of us worked hard to rebuild and struggled to do some of the everyday activities in our choral classrooms that we were so eager to return to. So with the prospect of finally finding a new normal, how do we balance rebuilding what was lost with maintaining what was gained?

What we lost I’ve heard from many of my colleagues in music and other disciplines who lament the loss of skills from our students in so many ways. The challenges faced by middle school and high school programs are trickling up to our students at the collegiate level, and while some programs were able to remain relatively engaged and active during the pandemic, zoom choir certainly developed some skills better than others. For many of our more casual participants in choral music, the idea of recording themselves individually and sending in recordings for virtual projects was not particularly compelling, and we lost many of them from our programs. At our various institutions, we are seeing a variety of gaps in knowledge depending on the populations we draw from—but whether it is a lack of sight-reading experience, a lack of ensemble singing awareness, a lack of sense of community, or a hesitancy to engage fully and be vulnerable, there are fundamental skills that need rebuilding. What we gained Though we may see these deficiencies, both our students and our profession gained many things during the pandemic, and even during last year’s rebuilding efforts. First of all, if you’re still here in the profession, congratulations and thank you! That’s a tremendous amount of perseverance to continue

32 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

to contribute to this profession after such a challenging period. This once-in-a-generation global challenge certainly taught us about our own resilience and fortitude, and that’s something we can continue to rely upon in the challenges that we face ahead of us. The pandemic refocused many of us on an exploration of vitally important values for our programs and performances. Post-pandemic, many of our programs have focused on engaging with racial justice, creating more inclusive classrooms, and showing compassion while working with our singers. Rebuilding normal As we move through this “new normal” academic year, how do we rebuild the skills and accountability that our students may have lost while retaining the positive focus on important values for our programs and maintaining a compassionate approach to working with our singers? Primarily, reminding ourselves regularly that we are still rebuilding is a good start. There’s no post-pandemic switch to make everything go back to the way it was, and there shouldn’t be if we want to keep the positive aspects the pandemic taught us. Even if our program remained active and “successful” (however we define that), the rebuilding of a culture is a multi-year endeavor. Find opportunities to scaffold success in areas of accountability especially. We need to continue to give grace alongside the opportunity to learn that music and pencils should be brought to rehearsal. Helping our students regain their sense of personal accountability is also treating them with kindness—especially if we do this in a way that does not shame or unduly punish them for failing. We can also remind ourselves that the fundamental power of making music together is the community that it builds and the joy that we share in music-making. While we certainly can re-focus on some artistic goals that challenge us and make us better musicians, doing this in a way that continues to feed our own happiness and that of our students is more important now than ever. 

California Choral Directors Association

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

Leading the Way

Susan Montgomery

Rebecca Tomlinson

Krystle Menendez

Robert MacNeil

Kimberly Nason

James Martin Schaefer

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 33

REPERTOIRE AND RESOURCES:

Choral COmposition asked our California choral community Iexemplify for help assembling a list of works that their favorite compositional tools Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is an award-winning composer, vocalist, and teacher. She is in demand as a composer, vocalist, clinician and adjudicator for competitions, festivals, and conferences related to choral and solo vocal music.

and techniques. For example, one of my favorite tools is improvisation. My piece “No Fairytale Here” for treble choir, piano, and percussion exemplifies the use of this technique, in that I improvised singing the text in order to construct the melodic material. Another favorite tool of mine is non-western or altered scales. I love the Verdi “Ave Maria” for SATB choir a cappella, which is based on an enigmatic scale that appears in each voice part. It’s a beast to tune, but it’s an incredible study of tonal harmony at work using an unconventional scale. I was delighted that many people were inspired to share their favorite tools, techniques, and works. Although I couldn’t include every response I received, I learned about some amazing compositions and composers, and I’m deeply grateful to everyone who participated. Here are five compositional tools and techniques to explore. 1. Whole Tone Scale and Asymmetrical Meter Ko Matsushita Ave Verum Corpus 3’00” SATB a cappella Carus-Verlag Dr. Tram Sparks, Chair of the Department of Choral and Sacred Music at the USC Thornton School of Music, writes, “One composition we’re working on now in Chamber Singers is Ko Matsushita’s Ave Verum Corpus.’ His use of the whole-tone scale (with pivot pitches to whole-tone scales beginning on different pitches), use of

34 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

asymmetrical meters to highlight text stress, and large design (as a reflection of the text) are compelling.” 2. Mode Mixture and Chromaticism Ruth Gipps Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis 6’16” and 3’21” SSATB and organ Sam Fox Publishing Company, London I loved learning about Ruth Gipps and her work as a 20th-century English composer, oboist, pianist, conductor, and educator. Nathaniel Romero, a composer and graduate student at the University of Redlands, writes, “A good piece I usually go to for Mode Mixture and Chromaticism would be Ruth Gipps’s ‘Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis.’ Her music is usually overlooked in the western canon, and it would be amazing to include some of her choral pieces as examples for Cantate Magazine!” 3. Musical Quotes Marianna Forman The Gift To Sing 4’17” SATB or SSAA and piano Beckhorst Press Inc. San Diego-based composer and church musician Marianne Forman writes, “In my piece ‘The Gift To Sing,’ which received an honorable mention in the King’s Singers New Music Prize, I utilized the mixolydian mode right off the bat in the piano, and it reappears throughout the piece (though not exclusively). I also used borrowed material in the piano at the climax of the piece (measures 44-46), quoting the famed ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing’ by James Weldon Johnson. I

California Choral Directors Association

thought it a suitable tribute since he also penned the text for ‘The Gift To Sing,’ and thematically the texts are fitting.” Publisher Beckhorst Press describes Forman’s music as “sparkling….deeply encouraging and suitable for a variety of performance situations, especially as choirs work through the events of 2020.” 4. Pedal Tones Michael Kaulkin Are Friends Delight or Pain 2’15” SATB + SATB Swirly Music Oakland-based composer and teacher Michael Kaulkin writes, “I’d love for you to take a look at my ‘Are Friends Delight or Pain.’ It’s a short a cappella excerpt from my larger piece Cycle of Friends for soprano solo, chorus, and orchestra….What I’ve always thought was interesting about this one is that, for the entire duration, there is an E pedal. Harmonic variety, color, and a bit of word painting are brought about by constantly shifting modes, so the E pedal is always serving a different function—sometimes tonic,

sometimes a non-harmonic source of dissonance, etc.” 5. Aleatory Brian Sidders If You Listen 5’00” SATB divisi a cappella National Music Publishers Brian Sidders, a composer, lyricist, singer, and commercial composition major at Azusa Pacific University writes, “One of my favorite techniques to use in my own work is aleatory. An example of this would be in my recent piece ‘Hear My Voice’….The original text speaks of the struggle oppressed voices go through to finally be heard. We reach the aleatoric section at the end of the piece, when each musician performs the text ‘hear my voice’ in any language of their choosing, without strict rhythm. The score includes over 60 languages to use, taken from official translations of the Book of Psalms, and musicians are encouraged to use the language of their own culture, even if it is not included in the score examples. The voices come together and the music crescendos until this collection of oppressed voices can no longer be ignored.” 

Congratulations to Dr. Ron Kean, the winner of the 2023 George Heussenstamm Choral Composition Contest at ECCO! His winning composition “A Christmas Carol Poem” was warmly received by all who sang it at the CCDA summer conference at ECCO this past July. Dr. Kean is Emeritus Professor of Music from Bakersfield College, having directed the choirs and taught world music for twenty-five years. He taught choral music for seven years at Porterville College, and taught high school for four years in southern California. He considers the semester that he taught world music at Kern Valley State Prison, a maximum-security prison in Delano, to be the most rewarding of his teaching career. Choirs under his direction have performed at state, division, and national ACDA conferences. He is Past President of the Western Region of ACDA, following six years as Repertoire and Standards Chair for Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives at state, division, and national levels. He received the 2016 Howard Swan Lifetime Achievement Award from CCDA.

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 35

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

36 • Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

Leading the Way

Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 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 kristina.m.nakagawa@ gmail.com 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 Position open

Community College SSAA Choirs Karen Miskell Iris Levine karenmiskell@hotmail.com irislevine@mac.com College & University Scot Hanna-Weir scothw@gmail.com

TTBB Choirs Albee Mabeza amabeza@prioryca.org

Student Activities Alan Garcia garcia_al@auhsd.us

Vocal Jazz Andreas Preponis apreponis@

Choral Composition Zanaida Robles znrobles@gmail.com

laspositascollege.edu

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. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024

California Choral Directors Association

2023 - 2024

YOUR SOUND YOUR SCHOOL ON-CAMPUS AUDITION DATES November 4, 2023 January 27, 2024

February 17, 2024 March 2, 2024

DEGREE PROGRAMS:

CHECK US OUT

Bachelor of Music in Music Education (Pre-Certification) 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

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Cantate • Vol. 36, No. 2 • Winter 2024 • 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