CCDA Cantate (Fall 2024) by cantate.editor

The Shirt says it all:Vote,and remind your eligible colleagues and singers to vote! In the meantime, check out more ECCO photos BEGINNING on page 27.

CANTATE

Volume 37, 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.

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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: The CSU Fullerton University Singers visit a women’s yarn co-op collective in Ruhengeri, Rwanda, on their summer tour. Photo courtesy Christopher Peterson.

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.

CCDAisa501(c)3 non-profit,tax-exempt corporation and an affiliate of the American Choral Directors Association.

UPCOMING EVENTS

CaSMeC January 15-19, 2025 SaCra Mento

aCDa national ConFerenCe MarCh 18-22, 2025 DallaS, texaS

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

From The president’s pen: inspiration and evolution

Likesome of you, I remember writing letters by hand on special paper called onion skin. The paper was blueish, textured, and slightly transparent. This lightweight but sturdy paper was used to send mail nationally and internationally by air.

Maybe I’m at an age where I may look through rose-colored glasses at the past, even if it’s often to the amusement of my younger peers. It is funny to be nostalgic about things that have become antiquated: There was a time when it took only 7 numbers on a circular dial to reach someone by phone. During the call I was physically restricted to the radius the spiral cord would extend from the phone itself.

How amazing is it that today I send e-mails around the world that my recipients read nearly instantly? How wonderful that my handheld phone stores exponentially more information than a phone book, and, more astoundingly, that I can just tell my phone to call someone and see their face while we talk?

Nostalgia can also blur the less-than-ideal aspects of how we did things in the past. Communicating by Air Mail was tenuous, tedious, and sometimes inefficient. Planning an international tour, for instance, often meant years of correspondence, plenty of misunderstandings, and some leaps of faith.

I recently came across a tiny leatherbound book in a keepsake box. The paper is lined, with alphabetical tabs at the long edges. It had been a gift, and I could see while skimming the pages where I had carefully entered the names and phone numbers of various friends and contacts. I could tell which entries were transferred from a previous book: my handwriting wasn’t rushed, and I used the same pencil. Also wedged in the little book are business cards from contacts that I didn’t bother to enter on the pretty pages, but still wanted to keep. I have so many better ways to reach friends and find contacts now that it isn’t really functional to use. Yes, I’m proud that I can still remember phone numbers from my childhood, but that skill doesn’t bring a

lot of value to the life I live now. My world is much bigger, and I’ve embraced other options.

Our choral world continues to become both more expansive and more connected, too. We continue to have more opportunities to hear more choirs, to see and hear new music, and to find new ways to share this incredible human-generated artform.

ACDA has existed for 65 years, and it too has expanded and grown. A couple of years ago I read Excellence in Choral Music: A History of the American Choral Directors Association by Marvin E. Latimer, Jr. Among some of the complex parts of our past, I have been inspired in the last few years by ACDA’s intentional efforts to evolve to better serve our members and the current choral world. Many of you know of the important recent developments that ACDA has implemented at the national level. Even our California state chapter of ACDA expanded to the point that in 2017 we became our own 501c3.

Gaining our independence as the California Choral Directors Association gave us the opportunity to create our very own mission statement: CCDA empowers choral directors to create transformative experiences for California’s diverse communities. CCDA’s job now is to serve Californians through that mission, and we’ve heard from many of you about the ways you hope to see CCDA working for you.

In the past year, our board reviewed our bylaws and proposed some major shifts based on feedback from you and within our affiliation with ACDA national and Western Region. At the last meeting of the Board of Directors in July, the board reviewed and tweaked the bylaws to create a structure that I feel serves us even better. We’ve outlined these changes in [the article] on pages 22-25.

Please take some time to read through it. I hope you will find some of the same vision and integrity I see in our leadership. It is my privilege to lead these efforts to try to make CCDA work better for all of us. 

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 five dogs. she’s passionate about vegan thai food, photography, and the st louis cardinals and st louis blues

letter from the editor: LESSONS FROM A DOG

Weadopted a new dog. We didn’t mean to, because we already had plenty. Four was a nice manageable number—as many dogs as hands to walk them—but math and anatomy were no match for the little stray spaniel/ Aussie/honey badger mix who stepped out of her kennel at a crowded San Bernardino animal shelter and climbed into my lap a few months ago. She was stinky and overwhelmed, with no knowledge of leashwalking, house-training, or even the word “sit” in any language we tried.

But she was cute as heck, and our other dogs decided she was the best new toy imaginable, so she stayed. Her name is Lindy Flocket (do not ask why), and she’s a snuggly, rowdy, remorseless little friend who nibbles gently on your arms when she’s contented and sleeps with her tongue out. She’s also fast and physically fearless, so we’ve been training together to compete in dog agility, the sport in which dogs navigate courses of obstacles that include tunnels and jumps and teeter-totters.

Build strong foundations. It’s fun to do impressive tricks, and tempting to skip over tedious building blocks to get to more exciting things, but if the dog or the chorus doesn’t know basic skills, we can bet that the curtain will get pulled back sooner or later.

Take it slowly. Learning happens incrementally; we all know that, but we get impatient to see progress. We can’t skip steps, however tempted we might be.

Always think a step ahead. In dog agility, if you’re thinking about the jump your dog is currently leaping over, you’re already too late to direct her to the next obstacle. Same goes for the measures and phrases of a musical score.

The only other dog I’ve trained for agility (you might remember reading about him in these pages a couple years ago, as I conquered my fears of making a fool of myself in the sport) is soft, spotted, cooperative Russell, whose gentle, ambling compliance is the polar opposite of Flocket’s headlong recklessness. Russell is poky and accurate. Flocket is swift and, well, working on her finesse.

Starting a new dog in a new sport is always a reality check and a good reminder of the fundamentals....which, as it turns out, apply to choral directing as well as agility. Just to name a few:

What we show is more important than what we say. If I say “teeter” but point to the tunnel, 95% of dogs are going to head for the tunnel. If I say “don’t breathe” but show a break in the line, 95% of my chorus is going to breathe, and that’ll be my fault, not theirs.

Know when to take a break. One of my greater sins, in dog training and rehearsing alike, is the compulsion to do it just one more time when I’d be better off giving the dog or the chorus a mental and physical rest or change of pace. Move on. It’ll be there tomorrow.

Remember why we do it. This stuff is fun, dammit. There’s plenty of deep meaning, and certainly deep satisfaction, to be gained from working with animals and working with choruses. But in the end, we do it because we like it—because working together to create something brings us joy. When the frustrations begin to crowd out the pleasures, it’s time to step away, reset our priorities, and remember how far we’ve already come and how much we’ve already accomplished. Just ask Lindy Flocket, if you can catch her. 

BREA BURN

By Amber

My senses hum. planks support beaded on my chest. the air with heat space where boomboxes, sea. My eyes are makeshift cajon explore community ritual Time. Safety. fly home to North self-care is not the ones, hobbies, or tion respect you classroom. Self-care largely systemic encourage you to individual, philosophical, advocacy for your

BREAKING THE BURNOUT CYCLE

Amber Sazama

hum. The faint smell of smoke, pine, sweat, and loamy earth greet me. Smooth support my body. Steam fills my nostrils, assaults my cheeks, meets the sweat chest. The hiss of löyly on the rocks interrupts the gentle stillness, once again filling and steam. I sit next to strangers, bare cheek to bare cheek, in this beautiful boomboxes, phones, alcohol, and parties are not allowed. My hair smells of the Baltic are closed. My head rests on rough-hewn birch behind me. An old piano, guitar, and explore unity outside in the hands of friends and strangers. I am experiencing a of sauna.

Connection. Support. Contentment. These are the words I am left with as I North Dakota from a family trip to Finland. Yes, a key point of this article is that the cure for burnout. That is still true. No amount of bubble baths, time with loved or vacations will ensure that you are fairly compensated, make your administraas the professional that you are, or assure you that you are safe in your own Self-care is an individual practice, while the elements contributing to burnout are in nature. My purpose in writing this article is to define professional burnout; to to prioritize your health; to prompt you to sort through the boundaries between philosophical, and systemic problems in music education; and to fan the flame of your needs in the field.

What is professional burnout?

Professional burnout has been defined as a syndrome of emotional exhaustion and cynicism, and is conceptualized as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed (World Health Organization, 2023). Maslach and Jackson (1981) associated it with those who do “people-work” of some kind (p. 99). Stamm (2010) defined it in the Professional Quality of Life survey (ProQOL) as including symptoms of “exhaustion, feelings of being overwhelmed, bogged down, being ‘out of touch’ with the person [they] want to be, while having no sustaining beliefs” (p. 21). The symptoms are emotional exhaustion, unhappiness, insomnia, marital or family problems, hopelessness, negative attitude, personal distress, increased use of drugs and alcohol, depersonalization or feeling dehumanized, subtle changes, and cynicism (Asquith, 2022; Schepers, 2017; Stamm, 2010).

Self-care is not the cure for burnout

Although research has shown that engagement in self-care practices has been proven to be helpful in addressing the development and symptoms of professional burnout, this knowledge does not always translate to lived personal experience. As evidence, the act of intentionally working to increase one’s self-care practices has been shown to have a negative correlation to more time spent in these practices (Resley, 2020). In fact, creating this additional task may have been more stressful for educators who already had high workloads and responsibilities (Rankin, 2023; Setree, 2023).

Self-care practices are useful in living a vibrant life, but touting them as the cure for burnout is like placing a bandaid on a festering wound without treating the underlying infection. Ultimately, touting this “cure” shifts the heavy burden of the problem onto the very shoulders of those who are struggling. It is as if educators are being told they are not strong enough, not organized enough, not able to connect enough with students, not kind enough, and not talented enough, and that is why they are struggling.

Sorting among the individual, the philosophical, and the systemic problems

The field of education champions individual growth, with relicensure requirements orbiting around continuing education, and rightly so. Continuing to learn, grow, and improve is an exciting aspect to the field of music education. However, the bulk of the literature in the realm of educator burnout focuses on how to improve educators’ attitudes and capabilities, with an implication that an intrinsic personality deficiency has led them

to burnout (Campbell, 1983; Sefton, 2022). This is rather than taking an honest and responsible view of the environments and pressures pushing these individuals down this path.

Educators are compassionate people who recognize that in modern education, forming close and caring relationships with students is a part of the job, just as providing academic instruction is (Rankin, 2023). This beautiful, yet potentially narrow, focus of education trains up professionals who are not in the habit of advocating for themselves and their needs (Kilgore-Cameron, 2023). As Meyer (2023) expressed:

Teachers show up for their students each day and are silently expected to hide any emotion that comes from an outside source. We are expected to be at our best even when feeling drained or have other personal issues going on behind the scenes. Educators put their students first and schools focus on the mental health of students more often than their teachers. (p. 3)

As an educator stated in Asquith’s 2022 study, “The impact of secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and burnout on public K–12 teachers”: “The idea of taking care of oneself first is a notion that continues to be difficult for many educators to accept, because conceptually the thought is that educators must meet students’ basic needs in order to raise them up.” Educators strive to give the best care and instruction to their students.

Administrators are tasked with the enormous responsibility of not only running the school and district, but also of supporting and protecting the educators in their care. Responsible supervision, within which workers feel safe to express fears, concerns, and inadequacies, is proven to be an effective approach to mitigating the symptoms of professional burnout (Monahan, 2022). However, once in the schools, many educators find that responsible supervision is often volatile (Sazama, 2024). An educator interviewed by Schepers in 2017 said it succinctly: “You know, unfortunately, the mental health of adults is not the business of education....which sucks.”

Begin to sort through your own web of experience in music education. Draw boundaries to distinguish which pieces are individual responsibility; which are larger philosophical discussions; and which are perpetuated by the current social, political, and educational systems in place. Beginning to separate yourself from the responsibilities that are not intrinsic to you will help to protect you from the damaging impact of shouldering a burden that is not yours.

Prioritize your health

Your experience with burnout, anxiety, depression, anger, apathy, or cynicism has nothing to do with your worth as a person. It is not an indicator of your strength,

aptitude, emotional intelligence, or intellectual ability. I faced burnout myself and I can relate to how frustrating and frightening it was. As I have been exploring this area of research, I continue to ask what causes a passionate, intelligent, and well-trained professional who has access to continuing education and self-care practices to become cynical, apathetic, demoralized, and even physically ill?

When the combination of search terms “self care + teachers” is entered into Google Scholar, about 279,000 results appear. Even though there is a mountain of literature promoting self-care, the current state of wellbeing of educators seems dire. In fact, K–12 teachers are some of the most burnt-out professionals in the United States (Advisor Magazine, 2024). In August of 2023, a survey of more than 1,300 K–12 schools found that 86% of public schools said they faced difficulties hiring teachers going into the 2023–2024 school year (Peck, 2024).

While self-care is not a cure for burnout, the act of knowing yourself in your strengths, points of growth, passions, and aversions; having an open and attuned ear to your system; and loving yourself in your past, present, and future states may lead to actions honoring what your system needs. Your beautiful coordinating system carries you through each day. The interconnected web of emotions, sensation, and will that is you is brilliantly built for survival. The many responses of your system, beyond those of fight or flight, give helpful information for thriving in our world. As educators, the problems that we face may put our systems into a perpetual state of fight or flight. Examples of these may be that a parent is upset regarding a decision that you made, and is struggling to remain civil. There may be a student in your classroom who a few days ago made a violent threat against the school. The attitudes toward education and the arts in your community may leave you feeling as if you are in an endless fight to advocate for your own job.

When faced with threats to safety and wellbeing, our systems need to be able to flee or fight. To flee the lion; to fight back and win against something threatening (Brown, 2020; E. Nagoski & A. Nagoski 2020). However, there usually is not the space or opportunity to safely resolve these threats as an educator. The expectations of our society and profession, warranted or otherwise, prevent us from doing so. We may be able to escape the threats for a few weeks, but they often are waiting for us when we return.

When it comes to self-care, do it, love it, and prioritize it. Consider what threats to your safety and

wellbeing you may be facing, and if there are actions that you can take to resolve and prevent these threats. Include protecting your health and time in this practice. Allow yourself to talk and process through a journey of what, if any, changes you may need to make.

Learning to practice wise and compassionate self-care is not about reducing stress—it is about increasing your body’s ability to manage stress, as well as about creating more room for your nervous system to find coherence and flow (Levine, 1997; Menakem, 2017). Explore and open yourself up to greater personal awareness to give yourself the tools to know, love, and honor yourself. This will empower you to be able to make more choices that safeguard your wellness.

Advocacy

Envision music education as a space that could be

At right: Gentle Stone (1992) by Olavi Lanu, Lahti, Finland. Previous spread: Sibelius Monument (1967) by Eila Hiltunen, Helsinki, Finland. Photos by the author.

sustainable; fulfilling; and filled with joy, respect, and balance. Make your voice heard so that those who fund and structure the field of education recognize that educators regularly provide services to trauma victims; and force these leaders to recognize their practical and ethical responsibility of addressing the risks of professional burnout. Vote in and become the leaders of education locally, state-wide, and nationally. Require responsible supervision that works to create a space in which staff feel safe in expressing fears, concerns, and inadequacies.

The exhale

As I continue to craft this article, I am 38,000 feet about the Arctic Ocean. My mother and I are returning from a trip to Finland where we explored our family heritage. While in the country, I had the opportunity to speak with several educators regarding their experiences. They included a Sibelius Academy professor, a middle school special education teacher, a kindergarten teacher, and an elementary immigrant classroom teacher.

I heard familiar stories of students recording others without their permission. There were stories of students throwing objects across the room while dysregulated and struggling to cope. Outside of the classroom environment, I witnessed a boy, about nine years old, climb a fire observation tower by himself and spit mouthfuls of water at people below. We had teenage cousins we had never met before, surprised by an unexpected video call that we were a part of, flip us “the bird” in surprise and angst. I have learned during my travels around the country and around the world that people are people, wherever you go. I have sat in a Tibetan Buddhist temple in the mountains of Nepal and watched robed boys slyly draw on the back of the necks of their peers during teachings, poking and prodding their friends as they squirmed under the eye of their teacher.

I learned on this trip to Finland that teachers are facing burnout there as well. Kids are kids, no matter where you go. While there are some marked differences, backed by empirical evidence, as to the effectiveness of the Finnish education system and the fruitfulness of strong and accountable social programs, there are similar struggles to relate to and study.

Educators deserve a career field that is sustainable and life-giving. Students deserve to have teachers who are supported and thriving. We, the educators, are the only ones who can effectively advocate for, and make change happen. You decide what your part is. Become a more active presence in your local, state, or national union. Cheer on your students as they prioritize and love themselves, encouraging the next generation to pursue change with us. Conduct quality research that

contributes to the conversation, as you are the expert doing the job everyday and you hold the solutions in your experiences. Set boundaries to safeguard your wellness, and protect those boundaries. Prioritize and seek time, safety, connection, support, and contentment. Choose to walk towards wholeness and health; choose to know, love, and honor yourself.

I would like to leave you with a practice that has brought me much help and healing over the years:

here I am, as I am in the world, as it is supported by the planet, of the planet in the flow of time, floating in the multiverse awake to … whoooosssshhhhhh

By B. Lightener, 2023. Reprinted with permission. 

AMBER SAZAMA is pursuing a Master’s degree in Music Education in addition to a certificate in Teaching World Music from the University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul, minnesota. she recently completed her thesis, “A Narrative Study of Burnout in K–12 Music Educators.” She spent the first eight years of her teaching career in rural K–12 public schools. Currently living in Fargo, North Dakota, she works as an adult and children’s church choir director, private school teacher and administrator, assistant to a non-profit CEO, and voice teacher. Feel free to reach out for conversation, with questions or comments, and/or to collaborate: ambersazama@gmail.com.

Asquith, M. S. (2022). The impact of secondary traumatic stress, compassion fatigue, compassion satisfaction and burnout on public K–12 teachers (Publication No. 29254845) [Doctoral dissertation, William Woods University]. ProQuest LLC.

Brown, B. (Host). Nagoski, E. & Nagoski, A. (Interviewees). (2020, October). Brené with Emily and Amelia Nagoski on Burnout and How to Complete the Stress Cycle [Audio podcast episode]. In Unlocking Us with Brené Brown. https://www.burnoutbook.net/media-1

Campbell, L. P. (1983). Teacher burnout: Description and prescription. The Clearing House, 57(3), 111–113.

Career burnout: Financial services ranks among most stressful jobs. (2024, September 20). Advisor Magazine. Retrieved September 20, 2024, from https://www.lifehealth.com/career-burnout-financial-services-ranks-amongmost-stressful-jobs/#:~:text=Education%20is%20the%20most%20 burnt,from%20experts%20at%20PsychologyJobs.com

Kilgore-Cameron, J. M. (2023). Secondary trauma and compassion fatigue in middle school educators. (Publication No. 30692785) [Doctoral dissertation, Lincoln Memorial University]. ProQuest LLC.

Levine, P. (with Frederick, A.). (1997). Waking the tiger: Healing trauma.

North Atlantic Books.

Lightener, B. (2023). Remembering our wholeness. Unpublished manuscript.

Lightener, B. (2024). Wholeness in motion. Wim.life

Lightener, B. (2007). Here I am, as I am [drawing].

Lightener, B. (2007). Here I am, as I am [quote].

Maslach, C., & Jackson, S. E. (1981). The measurement of experienced burnout. Journal of Occupational Behavior, 2(2), 99–113. https://doi. org/10.1002/job.4030020205

Menakem, R. (2017). My grandmother’s hands: Racialized trauma and the pathway to mending our hearts and bodies. Central Recovery Press.

Meyer, L. (2023). In what ways are schools, districts and states proactively supporting the mental health of their teachers to reduce teacher turnover and burnout? [Master’s thesis, Hamline University]. DigitalCommons@Hamline. https://digitalcommons.hamline.edu/cgi/viewcontent. cgi?article=1989&context=hse_cp

Monahan, K. L. (2022). An investigation of personal and professional secondary traumatic stress predictors in urban school personnel (Publication No. 29325679) [Doctoral dissertation, The University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee]. ProQuest LLC.

Nagoski, E. & Nagoski, A. (2020). Burnout: the secret to unlocking the stress cycle. Ballantine Books.

Peck, D. (2024, June 29). 15 teacher shortage statistics (2024). Devlin Peck. https://www.devlinpeck.com/content/teacher-shortage-

statistics#:~:text=86%25%20of%2

Rankin, B. A. (2021). Secondary traumatic stress. The Phi Delta Kappan, 102(4), 58–59.

Resley, R. C. (2020). How Do Daily Self-Care Activities Affect Teachers’ Overall Feelings of Burnout and Wellbeing During the Academic Year? [Unpublished Master’s of Science Degree in Education]. Southwest Minnesota State University.

Sazama, A. (2024). A narrative study of burnout in k–12 music educators [Unpublished master’s thesis]. University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul.

Schepers, O. (2017). A teacher at risk: Giving voice to teacher secondary traumatic stress (IRB Protocol #16-0027) [Doctoral dissertation, University of Colorado at Boulder].

Sefton, M. (2022). Back from burnout: An educator’s journey toward attitude adjustment. Journal of Christian Nursing, 41(1), 28–31. https:// doi.org/10.1097/CNJ.0000000000001035

Setree, A. A. (2023). The impact of holistic health practices on educator stress and burnout in a post-COVID-19 era (Publication No. 30640737) [Doctoral dissertation, Point Park University]. ProQuest LLC.

Stamm, B. H. (2010). The concise ProQOL manual, (2nd ed.). https:// proqol.org

World Health Organization (2019, May 28). Burn-out an “occupational phenomenon”: International classification of diseases. https://www.who. int/news/item/28-05-2019-burn-out-an-occupational-phenomenon-international-classification-of-diseases

CSULB Choral Studies congratulates two extraordinary alumni from our graduate Choral Conducting program. Bravo to Dr. Matthew Lyon Hazzard (MM 2019) on his appointment as Director of Choral Activities and Vocal Studies at Mt. San Antonio College and to Darita Seth (MM 2023) on his appointment as Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Santa Rosa Community College.

The Beach Family is proud of you both.

Are you ready for the next step in your career? For more information about CSULB’s graduate program in choral conducting, please visit csulb.edu/music or contact Dr. Jonathan Talberg at jonathan.talberg@csulb.edu

Matthew Lyon Hazzard

Darita Seth

IN MEMORIAM

GeorGe Heussenstamm received all his musical training in the Southern California area. Winner of numerous national and international composition competitions, he was a member of ASCAP, Sigma Alpha Iota, American Society of University Composers (now called SCI), and the International Society for Contemporary Music. He was a member of NACUSA (National Association of Composers, USA), which he served as Vice-President for many years. In 1976 and 1981 he was the recipient of Fellowship Grants from the National Endowment for the Arts. From 1971 to 1984 he was manager of the Coleman Chamber Music Association, the oldest continuing chamber music series in the country.

Since 1976, Heussenstamm taught at Cal State Dominguez Hills, Cal State Los Angeles, Ambassador College, and steadily for seventeen years at California State University, Northridge, prior to his retirement in June of 2000.

Composer of more than 85 published works, he was the author of The Norton Manual of Music Notation (W.W. Norton and Co., 1987), which established Heussenstamm as one of the leading authorities in this field and remains a mainstay in the literature. He also wrote a two-volume textbook on tonal harmony, Handbook of Harmony, which was the required harmony textbook at CSUN for many years. It is now published in two volumes by Hal Leonard Corp. under the title Hal Leonard Theory and Harmony and is available at bookstores everywhere. His Handbook of Tonal Counterpoint is written in a style geared for maximum comprehension by college-level students.

In 2016, George became the benefactor of a choral music contest through California Choral Directors Association (then California ACDA). George funded the CCDA/Heussenstamm Choral Composition Competition for a total of ten years, and it continues to this day. Thanks to his generous

donations, California composers have been able to attend the CCDA Summer Conference at ECCO for free, have the chance to have their winning piece sung by the entire conference, and earn a $500 cash prize. George loved and valued this competition. It has been a great way to inspire composers to create new and exciting choral music for our profession.

George was my teacher, and he was my friend. It was an honor to learn from him, and to spend many hours in his company. It is my joy to continue to promote his legacy. I miss him and I value his love, generosity, and musical passion. Thank you, George, for your service to CCDA and to the larger musical world. You will be greatly missed. 

David Montoya

JosepH Béla Huszti, internationally renowned choral conductor and beloved father, teacher, and friend, died peacefully at his home in Irvine, California, on June 7, 2024, after a brief illness.

Joe began his tenure at Bakersfield Junior College in 1959, and in 1965, his Bakersfield College Choir became the first American ensemble to win first prize in the International Musical Eisteddfod in Llangollen, Wales—an achievement that earned them nationwide headlines and audiences with President Lyndon Johnson and Pope Paul VI.

He held positions at the University of Delaware, Boston University, and the Tanglewood Summer Institute, before moving to UC Irvine in 1977; he remained there until his retirement in 2016. He made 30 international choir tours with the UCI choirs and won dozens of major prizes, and in 1979, he and his wife, Melinda, joined forces to begin UCI’s annual Madrigal Dinner tradition. In 1997, Joe formed Men in Blaque, a select male-voice ensemble composed of UCI alums and other talented singers. Joe continued to conduct Men in Blaque until months before his passing.

CCDA awarded Joe its highest honor, the Howard Swan Award (named for one of Joe’s own most influential mentors), in July 2020. In March of 2024, the Western Region of the American Choral Directors’ Association named him as the honoree of its biannual conference.

Joe’s prizes and laurels, however, meant less to him than his six decades of students—their professional successes (in and out of the choral world), their personal

integrity, and the multi-generational extended family they formed by virtue of having sung, sometime and somewhere, in one of his choirs. Neither he nor Melinda ever forgot the name of (or the anecdotes associated with) a former singer, and their partnership and mutual devotion made them surrogate parents for hundreds of students over the years. UCI choir alums gathered regularly for concerts, reunions, or meals at the Huszti home, and they gathered to celebrate and remember Melinda, his partner in life and music-making, after her death in December 2021.

Joe was a man of boundless curiosity, endless questions, head-spinning creativity, dizzying passions, and profound, sensitive, inspired artistry. He was a natural teacher delighted in improving people’s knowledge and skills on seemingly any topic. He expostulated from time to time in Hungarian, made singers throw imaginary frisbees or pretend to be giant kelp, and referred regularly to his beloved Cleveland sports teams in his choral rehearsals. (He participated several times in Cleveland Guardians Fantasy Camp, where he was proud to have gotten a hit off Hall of Famer Bob Feller.) He spent many summers on the family farm in Ohio enjoying his great nieces and nephews, perfecting his garden, picking blackberries, and giving tours of the elk farm.

Joe cheerfully welcomed “outsiders” to his musical table; he was proud to keep “shaking up” the choral world well into his 80s; and his artistic to-do list never ran out of items. As one former-student-turned-friend said after a visit during the last week of Joe’s life, “We all wanted to talk to him about the past. He was still talking about the future.”  Heather Huszti and Eliza Rubenstein

CCDA is honored to introduce the Joseph and Melinda Huszti Choral Conducting Prize. This $10,000 prize was proposed by Joseph Huszti before his passing and is supported through a generous gift from his estate through the cooperation of Joe and Melinda’s daughter, Heather. We will include more information on this prize, as well as further recollections of Joseph Huszti, in our next issue of Cantate

Organizational Application Deadline: December 23, 2024

(5 th-12 th School Grade SATB)

Individual Audition Video Submission Deadline: March 15, 2025

CCDA PRESIDENT-ELECT CANDIDATES watch your e-mail for your ballot!

CARI EARNHART

MOLLY PETERS

As a passionate advocate for choral music and education, I am honored to be selected as a candidate for President of the California Choral Directors Association. Since arriving in California over 8 years ago, I have witnessed firsthand the transformative power of choral music in our communities throughout our state.

My vision for CCDA centers on fostering greater inclusivity, collaboration, and innovation. I aim to continue creating more opportunities for diverse voices to be heard within our organization, ensuring that choral education reflects the rich cultural mosaic of California. By continuing to expand professional development and mentorship programs, I hope to empower both new and experienced directors to continually grow in their craft. I also believe in the importance of building stronger connections between educators, students, and the wider community.

As President, I will lead with transparency, openness, and a deep commitment to advancing the mission of CCDA to “empower choral musicians to create transformative experiences for California’s diverse communities.” Together, we can elevate the power of choral music and make a lasting impact on our profession and the next generation of choral leaders.

My name is Molly Peters, and I would be honored to serve as your President. I have been a member of the CCDA board since 2012, serving in various capacities. I’ve run our All-State Honor Choirs and served on the CASMEC board, I worked with a team to develop and build our very first Junior High All State Choir in 2016, and currently, I am working to engage, inspire, and grow our members as the CCDA Membership Chair. I have experience teaching high school, junior high school, and most recently, upper elementary music classes.

I cannot express how much this organization means to me on both personal and professional levels. I believe in the value of belonging to an organization that provides opportunities for students, professional development for teachers and choir directors, and the opportunity to make lifelong connections and friendships. CCDA provides all of this and so much more. I want to spread our message to every choral director and music teacher in the state!

CCDA is filled with energetic, gifted, passionate choral directors and educators. I cannot wait to see how we continue to grow and adapt to the ever-changing needs of choir directors in California. It would be an honor to be the President of this incredible organization and continue the amazing, progressive work that has shaped our mission and our role in choral music.

HONOR CHOIR UPDATES by JENNI GADERLUND AND SUSANNA PEEPLES

After two days of in-person auditions at sites around the state, our High School Regional Honor Choirs will take place Thursday-Saturday, November 7-9.

Coastal Region Honor Choirs, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara: Dr. Jeffrey Benson, SATB; Dr. Buddy James, TTBB; Dr. Iris Levine, SSAA

Central Region Honor Choirs, Clovis North High School, Clovis: Dr. Nicolás Dosman, TTBB; Dr. Fernando Malvar Ruiz, SSAA; Dr. Jennifer Heder, SATB

Southern California Region (SCVA) Honor Choirs, University of Redlands, Redlands: Dr. Lynn Gackle, SSAA; Dr. Jonathan Talberg, SATB; Mr. Angel Vázquez-Ramos, TTBB

Thank you to Kira Dixon, Marc McGhee, Kristen Walton, and Miranda Ford for chairing these events! Students who participated in the Regional Honor Choirs who are interested in moving on to the All-State Honor

Choirs will be notified of acceptance by November 15. Registration for All-State will be due by December 4. Please see the CCDA website for the most up-to-date audition information (calcda.org/all-state).

The All-State Honor Choirs will take place at CASMEC in Sacramento from January 16-18, 2025, with guest directors Dr. Edryn J. Coleman (high school TTBB), Dr. Kimberly Dunn Adams (high school SSAA), Ms. Maria Ellis (junior high SATB), Dr. Marcela Molina (junior high SSAA), and Dr. A. Jan Taylor (high school 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 and other volunteers for the All-State Choirs; please watch for e-mails with details on how to volunteer! Chaperones receive free conference registration, free lodging (double occupancy), and a small stipend.

CASMEC/All-State 2026 will take place in Sacramento from January 14-18, 2026. Please contacting us at honorchoir.allstate.ca@gmail.com with any questions! 

CCDA BOARD RESTRUCTURING

by Arlie Langager

During the CCDA Board of Directors and Advisory Council meetings in July, our leadership spent a great deal of time thoughtfully examining and assessing how we are carrying out our mission, and whether we are serving our membership to the best of our ability. We reviewed our leadership structure, our organizational needs, and our obligations to our members, and challenged ourselves to consider new solutions.

Revised Board Structure

These were not entirely new reflections; our leadership teams have worked diligently for years before eventually writing our bylaws to become the California Choral Directors Association in 2017.

Over the past few years, especially most recently under the leadership of ACDA Executive Director Robyn Hilger, CCDA has been following the positive changes ACDA has been making in our national leadership structure, while also adapting to meet CCDA’s responsibilities as an independent nonprofit organization.

At the CCDA leadership meetings in July, the Board of Directors and Advisory Council voted to adopt and implement a revised leadership structure to better serve our membership and their current needs. Read more here and turn the page for a chart showing our new board structure!

R&R Areas Working Together

California’s previous board structure was built on a longstanding framework like many other ACDA state chapters. In years past, we relied on Repertoire and Standards Chairs to serve our membership. Some years ago, national ACDA moved away from the tricky concept of “Standards” in favor of the more accurate, “Resources.” Today, the Repertoire and Resources (R&R) areas have expanded to represent broader ensembles and repertoire.

At the national and regional levels, these R&R Chairs are further grouped together by four R&R Coordinators: Youth Choirs, Collegiate Choirs, Lifelong Choirs, and Repertoire Specific. Ideally, almost all our membership can identify with at least one of these groups. The national ACDA bylaws (revised November 2023) ask states to also appoint R&R Coordinators for those categories. At the national and regional level, these R&R coordinators are advisory and do not vote. However, CCDA needs a Board of Directors to run our 501(c)3, so one of the changes this summer was to add these positions to the Board of Directors as voting Directors.

Working Groups

With the goal of serving our members more effectively, and

to better represent our membership, the CCDA board used the national/regional model of R&R coordinators to create our Working Groups under the following umbrellas:

Youth Choirs Coordinator  K-12 School Programs Director

Collegiate Coordinator  Education and Student Outreach Director

Lifelong Coordinator  Community Choirs Director

Repertoire Specific  Advisory Council

New Positions on the Board of Directors

The board approved several new portfolios on the Board of Directors:

Education and Student Outreach: So many of you are passionate about doing more work to support our new and emerging conductors, and about fostering potential future conductors. It’s also important to serve our members who took a non-traditional path to conducting, conducts part-time, or as a volunteer. Our former board structure didn’t offer as much opportunity to bring those ideas to fruition.

The Education and Student Outreach working group focuses on pathways for future conductors (students and early-career), education and enrichment for current conductors, and serves post-secondary conductors, post-secondary students, student activities, conductors of all types of ensembles (including part-time), emerging/ new conductors, volunteer conductors, and interested high school students.

Advisory Council leadership may include representatives from four-year colleges and universities, community colleges; undergraduate and graduate student programs, ACDA Student Chapters, and Choral Leadership Academy programs.

Community Choirs: I remember being surprised to discover that more CCDA members attended the national conference in Cincinnati in 2023 than attended any of our state conferences. A quick glance the list of our CCDA attendees highlighted that there were many who did not work with K-12 choirs. It wasn’t only college professors making up that list. It included CCDA members who were working with community choirs, churches and synagogues, and children’s choir organizations. In the last couple of years, the CCDA board has made efforts to be more intentional in planning

ways to include and serve these members.

The Community Choirs Working Group focuses on meeting needs of members who direct ensembles from various communities, including volunteer and auditioned choirs, offers resources that serve full-time and part-time conductors, and serves faith-based ensembles, adult community choruses, community and church children’s choirs, GALA choruses, professional choruses, adult and children’s treble and TB ensembles, and Chorus America members in CCDA.

Advisory Council could include representatives from Music in Worship, Community Choirs, Professional Choirs, Community Youth Choirs, GALA choruses; SSAA, TTBB, and Choral Composition.

K-12 School Programs: For years, our most significant CCDA programs have been our honor choirs! Our teams of volunteers are exceptional at making these major events happen, and we’ve grown to now offer five all-state honor choirs, reaching teachers and their students from all over the state (including SCVA). This is our largest budget area by far, but even beyond the financial aspect, it’s one of the main ways we meet CCDA’s mission.

The K-12 School Programs Working Group focuses on meeting needs of high school, middle/junior high school, and elementary programs, and connecting and supporting members through events, programs, resources, repertoire, and building community. It serves high school teachers (large and small schools; urban and rural), middle school/ junior high school teachers, regional and all-state honor choirs, elementary choral and classroom music teachers.

Advisory Council may include representatives from high school, middle/junior high school, and elementary teachers, event chairs for all-state and regional honor choirs, and liaisons to CASMEC, SCVA, CMEA, OAKE, etc.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, and Belonging (DEIAB): Both our National ACDA and Western Region ACDA boards have established leadership positions related to DEIAB (National Diversity Initiatives and DEI Initiatives Chair, respectively). CCDA is pleased to follow and expand our leadership to include perspectives from more of our diverse members and their singers.

The DEIAB Team focuses on fostering a more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming choral community throughout California, helping our programs, practices, and initiatives align with our core values of diversity, equity, inclusion, access, and belonging, and collaborating with ACDA’s national and regional organizations to promote inclusivity and provide valuable resources that support both choral directors and their singers.

Who are the Board of Directors and Advisory Council?

You can see our leadership on the last page of this Cantate. CCDA has still largely kept the same positions, and many of the same people, too! The Board of Directors are voting members and the Advisory Council plan programs, events, and represents their constituent areas in other CCDA matters.

What Happened to the Regional Reps?

The short answer is that those six regions (and more!) are still being represented on our Membership Committee! The longer answer is that it became clear that asking a board member job to be responsible for overseeing budget and strategic planning, while also doing all the outreach to membership in their area, then restricting those positions to specific zip codes, was onerous and challenging. In our big state, with our populations not equally dispersed, CCDA moved toward more effectively representing our members from various interests with a vote, rather than by geography.

Bylaw revisions and new board

During this bylaw review, the Board and Advisory Council looked at various timelines to implement this new structure. After weighing whether we adopt this structure in steps over the course of a year or two, the board voted overwhelmingly to adopt the structure immediately.

This also meant that the elected positions of regional representatives were no longer part of the Board of Directors according to the adopted bylaws. Each regional representative was actively part of the discussions in the months (and years) leading up to this decision, and they each voted to adopt the new structure, knowing that it would terminate their former position.

It’s exciting to step into a new structure, but there are still a few things we need to review. For example, we need to look again at our process of nominations and appointments for service on the board and advisory council (last approved in 2019). The ACDA bylaws only obligate states to hold member elections for the position of President-Elect. Looking forward, we have created an ad hoc committee to review part of our larger nominations procedures over the next few months.

Major changes such as these can only happen with a huge team of people working together. We are all especially grateful to Kristina Nakagawa, who chaired the ad hoc Bylaws Revision Committee this past spring, and, along with her committee, painstakingly reviewed and proposed detailed changes to the board this past July.

I am deeply grateful to the many members of the previous and current Board of Directors and Advisory Council who were part of the process toward this important vote. Your faith in our mission and your commitment to the work is inspiring, and it is my privilege to serve with you. 

President’s Council

Officers

Treasurer

Financial reporting; budgeting; Cantate ads; event registration

Directors

Board of Directors &

President • Past President

Executive Committee - elected

Membership

Facilitates engagement with all levels of membership; leads committee of member representatives

• Voting members; oversee, serve, and represent working groups

K-12 School Programs

Education & Student Outreach

Serving conductors based ensembles; adult choirs; community church children’s GALA choirs; professional; adult and children’s and TB ensembles; America members (ACDA Lifelong Community Music in Worship Serving High school teachers (large and small schools; urban and rural); middle school/junior high school teachers, auditions for regional and all-state honor choirs; elementary choral and classroom music; (ACDA Youth Choirs)

Advisory Council

Serving post-secondary conductors; post-secondary students; conductors of all types of ensembles including parttime, emerging/new conductors, volunteer conductors; interested high school students; student activities (ACDA Collegiate Choirs)

• Chairs & Subcommittees

K-12 School Programs

Chairs and Committees

High School, Middle/Junior High School; honor choirs, CASMEC, Honor Choir scholarships, Elementary; SSAA; TTBB; vocal jazz, showchoir, a cappella repertoire; SCVA, CMEA, OAKE liaisons (ACDA and Western Region R&Rs)

Education & Student Outreach Chairs

University; Community College; Music Education; Undergrad and Graduate Student Programs; ACDA Student Chapters; Choral Leadership Academy programs; NCCO liaisons (ACDA and Western Region R&Rs)

Community Committees include Worship; Community Community Youth GALA choruses; Choral Composition; Professional Choirs; America liaisons Western Region

& Advisory Council

President • President-Elect

elected positions

Development Fundraising; manage professional development grants; honor choir scholarships; Vision for the Future

Choirs & Worship

conductors of faithensembles; community community and children’s choirs; professional; children’s treble ensembles; Chorus members in CCDA Lifelong Choirs)

Directors at Large

Secretary

Choirs Chairs

include Music in Community Choirs; Youth Choirs; choruses; SSAA; TTBB; Composition; Choirs; Chorus liaisons (ACDA and Region R&Rs)

The duties may be adapted and their activity portfolio may represent the following areas: Professional Development and Conferences; Retired Members; Pedagogy and Practice; Volunteer Activities; History, Archives, and Institutional Memory; Communications, Marketing, and/or Public Relations

Communications Committee

Committee includes Cantate Editor, Website Editors, Social Media Manager; Email Management; eNewsletter; Communications Strategist membership;

Executive Administrator (ex officio)

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Access, & Belonging (DEIAB)

Fosters a more inclusive, equitable, and welcoming choral community throughout California; helps CCDA’s programs, practices, and initiatives align with our core DEIAB values; collaborates with national and regional ACDA to promote inclusivity; provides resources that support both choral directors and their singers

Events & Programs Chairs

Summer Conference at ECCO; All-State Honor Choirs; Regional Honor Choirs; CASMEC Coordinator; Choral Leadership Academy; Region Conferences and Workshops; ACDA Western Region and national conference reps

You dream up the fun stuff

• Individualized approach to the planning of each domestic or international concert tour. Programs are fully customized to fulfill the dreams and visions of each choir.

• One-on-one consulting by PI/PA’s Artistic Director of Choirs about concert venue and repertoire as desired.

• Creative tour planning using the PI/PA team’s combined 100+ years of travel industry experience. PI/PA has produced concert tours throughout Africa, Asia, Australia/Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.

• Best-in-class tour managers accompanying the ensemble from arrival until departure. International tour managers are fluent in English and the local language.

• Concert production in venues of your choice –from churches to concert halls.

• Planning of collaborative concerts with local ensembles.

• Clinics with composers and conductors in most countries.

• Access to PI/PA leadership team throughout the tour planning, contracting, and tour execution process.

We handle the details

• Managing all logistical tasks to facilitate a seamless operational process from contract signing to the execution of the program.

• Managing all interaction with institutional procurement and legal departments during contract negotiations.

• State-of-the art online tour signup and payment management software including access for ensemble leadership to monitor the most up-to-date data.

• Management of the payment process –either group payments, payments from each individual singer, or a combination of both.

• Concert venue booking, marketing and audience development support for formal concerts; On-spot concert logistics staff for most formal performances.

• Group airfare bookings utilizing PI/PA’s letters of credit with most airlines to reduce and mostly eliminate mandatory deposits.

• Contracting of hotels, restaurants, transportation (coach and rail), attractions, local guides, and other special services.

• Support staff in most countries to manage unexpected and/or last-minute issues.

• $5 million professional liability insurance.

For more information, contact Gene Peterson at gpeterson@perform-international.com | www.perform-international.com | www.perform-america.com

eCCO 2024

Skills, songs, sports, and...sumo?

Yep, we had them all at this year’s CCDA Summer Conference at ECCO, headlined by Anthony Trecek-King (with an assist from his awesome wife, Melanie TrecekKing!). We celebrated Kathryn Smith as this year’s Howard Swan Award winner, we learned new repertoire and new rehearsal techniques to take home with us, and we wrapped up the event with a sports-themed party that everybody deemed a home run. (That’s a baseball reference.) Turn the page for more photos and exciting news about ECCO 2025!

The 2025 Summer Music Conference is July 27-Aug 1.

SMC is grounded in decades-long traditions of sacred music festivals held at Zephyr Point The Conference aims to bring all people closer in community through music

The SDSU Experience

Chamber Choir, Treble Choir, University Chorus Opera Workshop, Fully-Staged Operas

Undergraduate: BM Music Education, BM Vocal Performance Graduate: MM Choral Conducting, MM Vocal Performance, Graduate Artist Diploma

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

Dr Ramon Cardenas, Choral Music Education racardenas@sdsu.edu

seen & H e A r D

Left: members of the Orange County Women’s Chorus visit Plitvice Lakes National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Croatia; right: CCDA board members meet in San Jose; below: Ragazzi Boys’ Chorus gathers at The Edge in Melbourne, Australia (photo by Finley Heinzen, courtesy Kent Jue).

Send your photos to cantate.editor gmail.com for a future issue!

Above: members of the Sacramento Master Singers share a retreat at Camp Winthers; right: Cari Earnhart and colleagues in the Fresno State music department volunteer at the Amendola Family Student Cupboard, the campus’s resource for students in need of food or hygiene items; below: Ryan Yoder shows off how many risers it takes to fit Bonita High School’s five choirs as they rehearse for their fall concert.

Above: the Ensemble Choir of the Peninsula Girls Chorus breathes some fresh air during their fall retreat among the redwoods at Camp Campbell in Boulder Creek (photo courtesy Karyn Silva); right: CSULB’s 24th annual back-to-school barbecue included food, fun, and choir members in kayaks (photo courtesy Jonathan Talberg)! Send your photos to cantate.editor@gmail. com for a future issue!

Vision for the Future

DONATIONS TO CCDA

This list includes donations made between august 15, 2023, and september 15, 2024. 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)

Resounding Achord

David Masone and William Hall Legacy Giving, in honor of Dr. Gene Peterson, Dr. Jonathan Talberg, and Dr. Joseph Modica

President’s Circle Platinum ($500-$999)

Dr. Daniel Afonso Jr,*, in honor of Bill Hatcher

Semele Heller

Dr. Arlie Langager*, in memory of Lynn Bielefelt

Duane and Linda Lovaas*

Lori Marie Rios and Bryan D. Walker*, in honor of Shirley Nute, Don Brinegar, and Bruce Mayhall-Rastrelli

Dr. Jo-Michael and Mary Scheibe

President’s Circle Gold ($300-$499)

Florence Agcawili

Pamela Bertin

Mike and Julie Dana*, in celebration of ECCO conference

Diane Guyett, in memory of dear friend

William Hall

Oscar Luna II

Susanna Peeples*, in memory of Germán Aguilar

Dr. Jonathan Talberg*, in honor of Dr. William Hall

Phil Wyatt, in memory of Alan Caddick

President’s Circle Silver ($100-$299)

Pamela Bertin

Patrick Burzlaff

Dr. Cari Earnhart

Tania Fleischer and Larry Berliner, in memory of the great Bill Hall

Maggie Goodrich Gutierrez

Mary Hamilton

Dr. Scot Hanna-Weir

Kent Jue and Steven Kirk

Anbinh Kao

Albert Mabeza

MaryClare Martin*, in honor of Lena and Art Babin, and Signe Boyer

Susie Martone

Haruna Shiokawa

Dr. Ángel M. Vázquez-Ramos and Jody R. Vázquez*

Sponsor ($50-$99)

Felicia Bessent

Heather Bishop

Ruth Charloff

Allison Crose

Srinu Dongole

Jennifer Gaderlund

Jason Gallardo

Robert Hepple

Stacey Y. Kikkawa

Desiree LaVertu, in appreciation for the work and dedication of Lori Marie Rios

Robert MacNeil

Yardley McNeill

Kristina and Ryan Nakagawa*, in memory of Lois Carah and Joe Huszti

Molly Peters, in honor of Lori Marie Rios

Dr. Zanaida Robles

Laryssa Sadoway

David García Saldaña

Vincie Sasiadek Family, in loving memory of William Hall

Heidi Vance

Amber Welsh

Supporter (up to $50)

Srijoy Aditya

Stephanie Alvarez

Yasmin Angeles

Sindhuja Balasubramanian

Pritom Baruah

Heather Bennett

Andrew Berg

Florence Bray

Bella Cahn

Christopher Chappell

Tingting Chen

Stephen Commisso

Keith Conley

Ann Day

Trang Do

William Eisenstein

Lafica Fernandes

Catherine Stoltz Hammon, in honor of Bill Hall

Beth Holton

Julianna Jerome-Drerup, in honor of Dr. William D. Hall

Tracey Jue

Swarajya Kalapatapu

Dr. Ron Kean*, in memory of Dr. Lynn Bielefelt

Drew Lander

Daniel Lim

Hyobin Lim

Sara Ludlow

Veena Mahadevan

Oanh Mandal

Kyle McClintock

Marc McGhee

Erin Moore

Patricia Moore

Dennis Nasitka, in honor of Bill Hall

Katharine Nelson

Samantha T. Nickel

Erica Orcharton

Issac Pereschica

Patricia Prunty, in honor of Dr. William Hall

Patchareeya Pumpuang

Eliza Rubenstein*

Katie Schramm

Aaron Schultz

Heena Shah

Aparna K Shankar

Pressley Slattery

Jennifer Sumant

Genevieve Tep*

Randeep Toor

Muthuswamy Venktaramani

Sricharan Vinnakota

Xiaopeng Wang

* Founder’s Circle

News and notes from around the state

BAY AREA

The Bay Area CCDA members had two energizing kick-offs in August. Thanks to long-time members Magen Solomon (Oakland) and Lou De La Rosa (San Jose) for hosting us in your homes and kicking the fall off in fashion. We enjoyed good food, new faces, and catch-ups with our choir family.

There are so many neat commissions going on supporting our local composers! For example, the Peninsula Women’s Chorus’s holiday show will feature a commissioned arrangement by SoCal-based Filipino composer Saunder Choi in December.

There was so much community choir singing going on this summer. A shout out to Buddy James and Schola Cantorum’s longstanding Summer Sings that bring singers from multiple hours away from the Bay to join in the fun. A first-time event with SJSU and Resounding Achord was a mini-lecture on Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 by Dr. Erica Buurman, and a performance of Liszt’s two-piano arrangement of the work, conducted by Jeffrey Benson

Congratulations to Kent Jue’s Ragazzi, who will be representing us at National ACDA in Dallas!

CENTRAL COAST REGION

The choirs of Cal Poly San Luis Obispo will present their annual Holiday Kaleidoscope concert on December 6 at 7:30 p.m. The four choral ensembles will perform, as will a cappella groups and members

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

of the Cal Poly Symphony. Concert highlights will include traditional favorites, new works and portions of J.S. Bach’s Magnificat. The concert will also include choirs from Paso Robles High School and Cabrillo High School.

Canzona Women’s Ensemble will present “Songs of the Americas” on Sunday November 3, 2024. This concert, featuring central coast local jazz singer Inga Swearingen, will travel a musical journey from the vibrant rhythms of Latin America to the serene melodies of Canada. The concert will also feature Paso Robles High School under the direction of Gaylene Ewing.

Cuesta College will hold its annual Vocal Jazz festival on November 8 and 9. Guest clinicians will include Christine Guter, Curtis Gaesser, and Jeremy Fox. The festival will also include a Friday-evening performance by CSU Long Beach’s award-winning vocal jazz ensemble Pacific Standard Time.

CENTRAL REGION

Ryan Clippinger has been named the new Performing Arts Academic Coach for Bakersfield City School District. Congratulations also to Aaron Mosley who will be moving to Ridgeview High School.

Members of the Fresno State Choirs traveled to New York City to join 160 singers at Carnegie Hall in April, singing under the direction of Julie Yu and Cari Earnhart.

With the advent of Prop 28 funds this year, we are excited to announce two new choral positions in Modesto

high schools. Katie Steffanic Carbajal will revive the once thriving vocal music programs at both Beyer and Enochs High Schools, and Katie Winkler will take the choral post at Thomas Downey High School, which for several years has had one choir conducted by its band director. We are delighted that Jennifer Perier Sifers serves as Choral Music Coordinator for Modesto City Schools.

In May, Meridian Voices, under the direction of Dr. Ángel VázquezRamos, presented their anniversary concert “Five Years of Excellence.”

On July 1, Julie Dana stepped into her role as Western ACDA Region President. Congratulations, Julie!

Dr. Jennifer Garrett led a group of Bakersfield and Los Angeles area singers for the LA Youth Philharmonic Chorus Summer program. Their performance took place on July 13 at Walt Disney Concert Hall.

Congratulations to Jennifer Heder and the Fresno City College City Singers on being selected to perform at CASMEC in Sacramento in January.

Polly Vasché will serve as music director for All Is Calm: The Christmas Truce of 1914, a musical based on a true story from the battlefields of WWI. Performances are set for December at Modesto’s Gallo Center for the Performing Arts.

Dr. Daniel Afonso (CSU Stanislaus) initiated a series of Summer Sings in June for the Modesto Symphony Orchestra

Chorus as well as community members. The event averaged 90 singers for each of three Monday evenings.

SOUTHERN REGION

Congratulations to Brian You, a recent SJSU and CSUN graduate who started his first teaching job at Vista Heights Middle School in Moreno Valley. Additionally, Kris Ornelas became the new choral director at Rancho Pico Junior High School and West Ranch High School in Santa Clarita.

Past CCDA President Lori Marie Rios was the headliner for the SCVA fall in-service at St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Newport Beach.

Saunder Choi was awarded the Brock Prize for Professional Composers for his work “Lakbay ng Aglia” (“Eagle’s Flight”). The piece will be performed at the National ACDA conference in Dallas in 2025.

The Cal State Fullerton choral department, under the direction of Rob Istad and Chris Peterson, took a trip to Rwanda and South Africa this summer. The choir made many connections through community experiences and performances— a life-changing experience for all.

FAR SOUTH REGION

In June, the third annual Palomar Choral Academy, led by John Russell, had over sixty participants this year, ranging from incoming high school singers to adult community members. The week-long event featured daily voice-building sessions, choral rehearsals, private voice lessons, special guest presentations, and socializing. It culminated in a public performance in Palomar College’s Howard Brubeck Theatre on Saturday, June 15. The next academy will take place from June 16-21, 2025.

The Choral Consortium of San Diego presented its annual Summer Chorus program on July 26, directed by Ibis Laurel of Tijuana, BC, Mexico. The program featured music from countries across Latin America, the highlight of which was Ariel Ramírez’s Misa Criolla.

NORTHERN REGION

Brett Judson hosted the Northern Region Summer Meet-up at his home on Saturday, August 3. A dozen members enjoyed some social time and got to know one another. We discussed ways to coordinate and collaborate through the leadership of Sacramento State and UC Davis to come up with meaningful events for our area’s choral ensembles.

COME TO THE FEAST! BAY AREA CCDA MEMBERS ENJOYED A COLORFUL FALL KICK-OFF AT THE OAKLAND HOME OF Dr. MAgEN SOLOMON.

The CCDA Far South region is delighted to welcome Ramon Cardenas, Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at San Diego State University, and Zach Manlapid at Mt. Carmel High School. We’re excited to have such gifted individuals become part of our musical community.

The San Diego Children’s Choir (Ruthie Millgard, director) hosted the Inaugural San Diego Youth Choral Festival with eight youth choirs from around the country. Over 210 young singers participated in a week-long festival and premiered a piece by acclaimed Mexican composer Maria Granillo.

The Bay-Northern Fall Conference was held at Sacramento City College on Saturday, September 28th and was hosted by Daniel Paulson. Magen Solomon discussed using the music of J.S. Bach across grade levels. Nicolas Dosmán presented his new book, Growing Your Choral Program. Bill Zinn gave information regarding the implementation of California’s Proposition 28 funding, the opportunities it offers, and some pitfalls to watch for. Reading sessions by Tina Harris (SSAA) and Kate Huizinga (SAB/SATB) gave attendees new resources in their search for quality music for their ensembles. 

Thanks to our Regional Representatives for sharing news from their areas, and to Molly Peters for filling in!

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 dr. LeVine is facuLty emerita at caLifornia 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

repertoire and resources: SSAA CHOIRS

This past year, I had the honor of presenting a concert and, with my colleague Dr. Cari Earnhart, a presentation entitled “Mosaics from the Middle East.” The concert, planned far before the current events in the Middle East, was intended to honor Arab and Jewish cultures and their diasporas in the West. It was an enlightening experience for me and for our singers and audience to engage with this repertoire and find much in common between Jewish and Arabic music. I offer the following easy, medium, and advanced repertoire from these two cultures for you to consider.

aBdel Hamid Hamam

Badru Tam (easy)

SA, piano

Dozan World

“Badru Tam” (“The Full Moon”) is a meditation on the beauty of natural landscapes. It is a muwashah, which is both a poetic and a musical form, featuring a strophic structure with a rhyming refrain. Its three verses describe a landscape brought to life by the moon, the sun, and the musky scent of blossoms. The refrain consists of ornamented repetitions of “ya layl” (“O night”), a common phrase in Arabic song.

emanuel amiran-puG asHov, arr. valerie sHields

Mayim, Mayim (easy)

SA with piano and optional C instruments Earthsongs

This selection is one of the best-known tunes by Amiran-Pugashov (1909-1993), a prolific Israeli composer and music teacher of Russian descent. It celebrates the life-giving miracle of water. Shields wrote this arrangement in 1996, during her tenure as the assistant director of the Northwest Girlchoir.

duraid laHHam, arr. sHireen aBu-KHader

Yamo (medium)

SSAA, piano, percussion (optional)

Dozan World

“Yamo: A Syrian Tribute to All Mothers” is a song based on an Armenian melody. This version preserves the simplicity of the original folk melody. Shireen Abu-Khader writes, “Not only does Yamo carry the beautiful meaning of

motherhood, but it also holds depth in the verses that move from the physical to the spiritual.”

srul irvinG GlicK

Mizmor Shir (medium)

SA (optional soli) with piano or strings Earthsongs

“Mizmor Shir” is the first work in Psalm Trilogy, Glick’s setting of three psalms commissioned by the Toronto Children’s Chorus in 1998. Since Psalm 92 celebrates the Sabbath day, “Mizmor Shir” begins with an optional solo by seven sopranos symbolizing the seventh day of creation. The work alternates between Hebrew and English in peaceful, prayerful homophony.

trad., arr. sHireen aBu-KHader

Lamma Bada Yatathanna (advanced)

SSAA a cappella

Dozan World

“Lamma Bada Yatathanna” (“As She Swayed”) is a setting of one of the most famous Arabic muwashahat of the last thousand years. Abu-Khader writes, “The muwashah is written as per special rhymes and rhythms and incorporates both colloquial and classical Arabic.” As in “Badru Tam,” each couplet ends with ornamented repetitions of “ya layl.”

nurit HirsH, arr. JosHua JacoBson

Oseh Shalom (advanced)

SSAA (solo) with clarinet and piano

Self-published (zamir@comcast.net)

“Oseh Shalom” (God Who Makes Peace) is one of the most well-known prayers in Jewish liturgy. The text expresses the belief that God will bring peace to Israel and all the world. It is often performed with a joyful, up-tempo melody.

Arabic and Jewish music are prime for teaching history, storytelling, and musical modes and languages that may not be familiar to singers. Finally, please consider that Jewish music belongs in the repertoire beyond the representation of Chanukah on our winter concerts. Just like other world cultures, both Arabic and Jewish music has a repertoire of sacred and secular music, folk and concert music. Dig in and I promise you will find a world of music that will be profound and meaningful. 

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 ca J. 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

repertoire and resources: VOCAL JAZZ & POP A CAPPELLA

The first three selections of the following suggestions are vocal jazz arrangements that I programmed this past year. My students loved them all despite, or maybe because of, the fact that some of them were rather challenging. The last two suggestions in the category of Pop A Cappella are courtesy of my dear friend and former colleague, Bradley Hampton, who directs the choral and vocal program at Cypress College and is a bird and fruit aficionado.

Jennifer Barnes

Bourbon Street Blues

SATB or SAA with rhythm section; level 3 www.jenniferbarnesmusic.com

This is a fun wordless swing tune based on minor blues. The melody is an instant earworm, the chord progression is very welcoming to scat improvisation no matter what the skill level, and the form is simple. It’s a quick learn and an opportunity to really dig into swing feel and work out the nuances of phrasing.

arr. micHele Weir

If It Could Be

SATB a cappella; level 3+ www.michmusic.com/product-category/ arrangements-satb

A gorgeous a cappella ballad, this gem of a song by Cathy Segal-Garcia features rubato sections, a tenor solo, and a dreamy middle section with optional (vocal) percussion. The romantic text calls for expressive choices and grand contrasts. Harmonically challenging, this chart shows Michele’s full arranging palette.

arr. darmon meader

Open Your Eyes, You Can Fly

SATB with rhythm section; level 4 www.newyorkvoices.com

This piece, written by Chick Corea with lyrics by Neville Porter, was first released as an instrumental funk tune by vibraphonist Gary

Burton. Darmon’s arrangement places the verse cleverly over a “Birdland”-style groove in 7/4 with the chorus turning into a floating and encouraging rock groove in 4/4. As usual in Darmon’s charts, every single voice part flows organically and is a joy to sing. The 7/4 time signature may bear its challenges at first; however, once the groove is established, it is impressive how little counting is necessary to stay on track. This arrangement is featured on New York Voices’ most current album, “Reminiscing in Tempo.”

arr. roB dietz

Dance the Night

SSATTB a cappella www.alfred.com

Dua Lipa’s hit song from last year’s Barbie movie is as current as it gets. This upbeat and fun tune features opportunities for vocal percussion and solo singing. While it’s not overly difficult, arranger Rob Dietz added some a cappella “tricks” like cascading bell-tones and an abrupt stop to keep the listeners (and the singers) on their toes.

arr. audrey snyder

A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes SATB a cappella www.halleonard.com

A classic movie song masterfully set as an a cappella ballad, this arrangement manages to uphold the sparkle of early Disney animation while infusing it with the right amount of lush jazz harmony. This may feel a tad too square at times to be considered jazz or pop, but it is perfect for the educator who is seeking an accessible chart to steer their traditional choir toward these genres. 

Ron Kean is Emeritus Professor of Music at Bakersfield College. His compositions and arrangements are widely performed throughout the world. A Christmas Carol Poem won the 2023 George Huessenstamm Choral Composition Contest for the CCDA’s summer conference.