the SWACDA Connection Vol. 1.7 Jan. 15

arkansas /colorado / kansas / missouri new mexico / oklahoma / texas

The January 15, 2025

Southwestern

connection

Vol. 1.12

SWACDA Board (2024-2026) Jonathan Owen, President Joshua Oppenheim, President-elect Jeffrey Murdock, Past President Jeff Wall, Treasurer Margie Camp, Conference Chair

From the President’s Pen Past President’s Corner Be Our Guest R&R Time Capsule

Children’s and Community Youth - Nathan Wubbena Junior High/Middle School - Cristi Miller Senior High School - Spencer Wiley 4-Year College and University - Rayvon TJ Moore 2-Year College and University - Tatiana Taylor Student Activity - Jennifer Sengin Community Choirs - Andy Waggoner Music in Worship - Bryan Taylor Vocal Jazz - Beth Enloe Fritz Contemporary A Cappella - Leia Browning Show Choir - Michael Shimp World Music & Cultures - Eduardo Garcia-Novelli Tenor/Bass Choirs - Reginal Wright Soprano/Alto Choirs - Tanner Oglesby

From the President’s Pen Greetings, Happy New Year to all!!

I recently saw a Facebook post that said something about January being the trial month for 2025 and that the new year will actually begin in February. It made me smile a little.

It hit me more seriously when I stopped to think about what people are going through. Just last year there were the hurricanes on the east coast and in Florida. Devastation. Now there are the horrific fires in California with people losing everything. Destruction. This month has also seen frigid temperatures across the country with ice, sleet, snow, power outages, and horrible road conditions. Difficulties.

I usually try to write something for the President’s Pen that is positive, uplifting or news-worthy.

The previous paragraph is anything but. I wanted to remind each of you, as I remind myself also, of the importance of our relationships. I imagine that almost everyone who is reading this knows people affected by recent devastating events, or even other events or sicknesses that I didn’t mention.

I don’t usually do a “New Year’s Resolution” because I know myself well enough to know that I will drop the ball at some point and then feel guilty. You may have similar feelings or thoughts about it.

While a goal of mine in the Southwestern ACDA region is to bring more connection between the states and with other choral directors, maybe I can suggest a resolution for all of us. If the word “resolution” is too strong or brings up negative feelings, let’s just replace it. Let’s all plan, aim, decide, promise, pledge, choose, decree, aim, or propose, that we are going to connect better this year. Reach out to friends and family. If things are going great; reach out. If you’re personally going through a difficult time; reach out. If you hear of others going through heavy times; reach out. The words you say may not be as important as the action that you take. Connect. Care.

Whether you decide to begin 2025 in January or wait until February to decide, make this year a year that you make a difference.

Best,

Jonathan D. Owen SWACDA President

Past President’s Corner Mark Lawley

Conference Year - 2016 Location - Kansas City, MO Currently living in Nixa, MO

After 38 years of being a choral conductor at a school I now teach voice and piano lessons in my home! Lori and I have 5 Granddappers and 1 Granddollie.

I was walking down the street at National ACDA in 2023 in Cincinnati and a member came up and shook my hand and placed their other hand over mine. A small gesture - but that moment was profoundly moving. No matter the age, people want to know - do you see me, do you hear me, does my life make a difference? I'll never forget that moment.

Favorite Choral Pieces Song from the Road - Craig Hella Johnson SATB I Love You/What a Wonderful World arranged by Craig Hella Johnson SATB, TTBB, SSAA Have You Seen But a White Lily Grow - Ben Johnson arranged by Henry Leck Unison You Cannot Lose My Love - LaBarr 2-part The Snow - Elgar SSA Bring Him Home - arranged by John Leavitt TB Lost in the Night - Haugen SAB A Silence Haunts Me - Jake Runestad SATB View Me Lord a Work of Thine - Jackson Berkey

If you would like to contact Mark, he can be reached at mlddb1456@msn.com

Be Our Guest

Dr. Jeffery Wall Oklahoma SWACDA Treasurer

Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable In my experience directing choral ensembles of all types for over twenty-five years (and in many other areas of my life), I have found a universal truth and guiding principle: Discomfort is a friend.

Yes, directors should do everything possible to create a welcoming environment where singers feel a part of the social community within the ensemble. In the context of musical improvement and striving for choral excellence (whatever that means for the particular ensemble goals), however, no growth occurs without carefully managed struggle.

It is the responsibility of the director to put pressure on singers to bring out the best in them. In terms of achieving good group vocal technique, music literacy, or overcoming performance anxiety, the only tested and true method is through exposure in digestible bits. Of course, there is a point where singers might experience too much pressure and feel overwhelmed. It is the director’s job to assess the level of the ensemble and guide singers through the process towards success. Too much comfort creates complacency and boredom. Too much discomfort creates angst, stress, and frustration. Directors must find the balance to push the ensemble into challenging territory, while keeping it engaging and achievable over time.

I am currently rehearsing the Brahms Requiem with my University/Community Chorus. The chorus initially struggled with a couple of the choral fugues. I introduced these fugal sections by allowing the singers to attempt their entirety on solfége or neutral syllable. I call it “eating the whole onion.”

I tried not to stop on this first pass, allowing them to self-assess difficult passages and make markings as we went. They sang wrong notes and even dropped out as a section for a moment as they tried to find their way back into the polyphony. At the end, they clattered and clamored, looking wide-eyed with wonder as they voiced skepticism of their ability to sing it. Then, we started “peeling the onion” as we “cried” a little through the work. We isolated and all sang together the theme and counter-theme in each vocal line. We identified development, modulations and turns of phrase. We sectionalized and did small group work. After a time, we came back together and recontextualized the fugue as a full ensemble and it went remarkably better. Instead of dread, the singers’ faces were displaying a sense of accomplishment. While this is not an uncommon process, it highlights the fact that directors must not stop or change course at the first sign of ensemble discomfort. Otherwise, we risk missing wonderful musical moments like my chorus will soon experience in performing this great masterwork on stage. May I encourage you to lean in a little more on your ensembles and put some pressure on them to achieve really great things?

“Nothing is too difficult. You just haven’t done it enough.”

R&R Resource

Tatiana Taylor 2-Year College

Fostering Choral Excellence and Community Impact at Two-Year Colleges Two-year colleges are unique and face their own set of challenges. Our students are with us for a short amount of time and creating a dynamic choral culture can be challenging. I currently serve as the Director of Choirs and Vocal Music at a junior community college in the rural northeast corner of Oklahoma. The majority of my students are first generation college students and when they enter my rehearsal room, most of them have never been taught to read music and are non-music majors. This article will explore ideas of how to build a choral culture and utilize repertoire to create community outreach in an environment that has a fast turn-over rate.

Building a choral culture I found that in order to build a choral culture, I needed short-term and long-term goals and that is where having a vision and mission statement aided me tremendously. These two components focused my repertoire choices as well as the activities for my groups. Armed with these two statements I then carved time into choral retreats and/or rehearsals to discuss how the vision and mission statements would be explored through our repertoire and activities. This allowed for all of us to connect and work toward a common goal.

Choral culture is not just about the repertoire or accolades that a group or institutions accumulates. It is also about the singers having a place, a home on campus. Especially in the post-covid era, now more than ever, students are unsure of how to navigate social interactions. Depending on the size of the campus, they might feel lost and want to hide in the security of their dorm rooms, laptops, and phones. I realize that our jobs can be all-consuming at times. However, I have found that working with my choral officers to come up with monthly activities has been helpful to bring our ensemble together. These can be anything from having lunch together to participating in a school service project.

We have also worked together to create a physical space where anybody in our ensemble can come in and study or just hang out. In this space there are bean bags, small cubicles with blankets, outlets for their computers, tables, etc. Once the group begins to feel connected to each other, then they can work together to take that culture into the community.

Community outreach Working in a small town, it quickly became apparent how important it was to find ways to make college music education relevant and accessible to the local community. Choral concerts could be beneficial for all parties involved with just a little grunt work and creativity.

Repertoire is a powerful tool when building rapport in your local community. Outreach has many faces: it can look like choosing repertoire that audiences might not be exposed to regularly and incorporating it into your concert line up. It can also be choosing repertoire that highlights the musical traditions of the area. In this scenario it is also fun to incorporate members of the community to participate during the performance of these pieces.

2-year College Continued

Partnering with neighboring institutions whether it be local schools, churches or community choral groups and creating collaborative concerts is also another way to utilize repertoire as community outreach.

One of the projects we are working on is choosing one piece that we can send to all our area schools from elementary to high school, in which, students will be invited to participate in one of our upcoming concerts. Depending on your community and the type of students you have in that particular cycle, the outreach project will look different.

Conclusions Whether students are with us for a semester or four years, the impact we have on their lives can be unequivocal. Through building a choral culture and community ties I have found that students have not only gained connectivity with each other but they also have tools that they can carry with them when they transfer to other schools and into their working lives. Even though there are some baseline things that work each semester, I also have to continually assess what worked in each cycle and be willing to change accordingly. That is why I am so thankful for this community of fellow educators, conductors and visionaries who I am constantly watching, learning from, and reaching out to when I find myself out of ideas. Thank you for allowing me to serve and share just a few thoughts and I hope to see you at the national conference.

R&R Resource

Cristi Miller Jr. High /Middle School

Building Confidence in Your Middle School Singers One of the biggest challenges I face with my middle school singers is helping them overcome their anxiety about singing in front of others. While solo singing isn’t required in my class, I want students to feel confident if they ever have the chance to perform solo. I often wonder why they have no problem bouncing a basketball in front of others or reading a poem aloud but feel so nervous at the thought of singing alone.

I believe much of this anxiety comes from the fear of being judged by peers, teachers, or an audience.

Middle schoolers are very aware of how they are perceived, and performing can make them feel exposed and vulnerable. They may also feel pressure to meet high expectations, whether those come from themselves or others. Often, they compare themselves to classmates they see as more talented, which increases their anxiety.

Many of these students lack performance experience, which can make the idea of singing alone feel overwhelming. Some may struggle with handling mistakes or have perfectionist tendencies. Ultimately, I think the main reason for their hesitation is that singing is deeply personal, and sharing their voice can feel like revealing a part of their inner self.

I have developed several strategies to help students overcome their anxiety about singing in front of others. Many of these have proven effective. Here are a few suggestions for your classroom, though I’m sure you may already use many of them.

I focus on creating a safe and supportive environment where students feel comfortable. Building a sense of team spirit within the choir is essential. When students feel part of a supportive group, they are less likely to feel self-conscious. I emphasize positive reinforcement, not only for achieving perfection but also for effort and growth. Additionally, I make sure to avoid putting students on the spot without warning.

Another effective approach is starting with small group singing activities before moving to solo performances. Simple call-and-response exercises help ease students into singing alone. I also encourage sections to sing independently, gradually reducing the group size to build confidence.

Pairing students with partners is another strategy that helps hesitant singers transition to solo performances. Singing with someone they trust and feel comfortable with allows them to practice and gain confidence over time.

Providing karaoke opportunities has also helped reduce the fear of singing alone. Students often feel more at ease singing familiar songs, especially when paired with a classmate. Using a microphone can also make the experience feel more exciting and less intimidating, helping students focus on the fun rather than their nerves.

Jr. High / Middle School continued

Simple singing games sometimes help students practice singing alone or in small groups. Here are a few I have found: Pass the Phrase: Sit in a circle and "pass" a melody. Each student sings a short phrase, adding their spin, but the next student picks up from where they left off. This creates a playful, no-pressure setting.

Freeze and Sing: Play music from a song they are learning (or a song they know) and have students move around the room. When the music stops, they "freeze" and sing the next part of the song to the person nearest them.

Sing the Emoji: Use emoji flashcards to represent emotions (e.g., happy, sad, silly). Students sing a song in the style of the chosen emotion, making the activity light hearted and fun. (I give students the option of bowing out of their turn but many times they will participate because the focus is not on them as much as it is on the emoji they are representing.)

Sing the Answer: Divide the class into teams. Instruct the students they may only answer questions by singing the answer. They may respond by improvising the answer using any melody they choose (or you can give them a familiar melody they already know, and they respond with the answer using that melody.) Ask music questions or questions about a song they are performing. Give points for correct answers. This seems to work because the focus is not on voice quality but on the creative responses many will give.

Finish the Phrase. Split the class into two teams. Begin with Team A, singing the first part of a line from a well-known song. Any member of the team can reply with the second half. If they get it right, they earn a point. Often, singers who don’t normally solo will jump in without realizing they’re singing alone, more focused on earning the point than the solo aspect.

Encore: This game is widely known and effective for encouraging students to sing solo. Split the class into teams. Start with Team A and give them a word. They have 30 seconds to sing a line from a song that includes that word, either as a group or individually. If they succeed, Team B gets a chance to Rind another song with that word. The game alternates between teams until one team fails to come up with a song using the given word. The main rule is that all answers must be sung.

Sound Charades: I found this game online that uses general clues like "truck driver" or "washing machine." The presenter must place their hands behind their back and make sounds that represent the clue on the card. You can play the game as it is or adapt it to the classroom by creating a set of music signs and symbols. The key rule is that they can’t use words, only sounds.

Singing solo helps students overcome the fear of being heard on their own, which boosts overall selfassurance, both in singing and in other areas of life. Confidence gained from solo practice translates into more dynamic and assertive ensemble participation. This independence makes them more reliable contributors to group performances.

R&R Resource

Tanner Oglesby SSAA Choirs

Choosing Literature for Treble Ensembles January has always been a complicated month for me. As an individual, I find January to be an exciting time, imagining new goals, starting fresh, and cleaning the slate. As a choral director, I find January to be the “lull” in the middle. Still exhausted from the busy month of December, we have to find the energy to chart a productive, growth-oriented path forward for our ensembles while not completely starting over. I’ve never subscribed to the “new year, new me” ideology; I believe that positive change is something that should never wait for a new year. Let’s face it… we’re in the middle of the curriculum, and it’s the same old us! I believe that true success lies at the intersection of “fresh perspective” and that “same old us.” So where do we begin?

When I find myself uncertain for any reason, I turn to the anchor of everything we do: literature. The benefits of thoughtful, ensemble-focused literature selection cannot be overstated. Specifically, for treble groups, I find the amount of literature to sort through exhaustive. Therefore, I’ve written this article to help guide directors—novice and seasoned alike—through the literature selection process. While this article is specifically for directors choosing literature for treble choirs, I hope that the proposed considerations will be helpful to all directors going through the process of selecting literature for the new semester.

Ensemble Identity

Unlike SATB or tenor/bass choirs, treble choirs range from elementary to university level. While this means that there is a wealth of options available, finding the right literature for your group can be time consuming and sometimes overwhelming. For this reason, understanding the identity of your treble ensemble is a vital first step in the process. Not every 2-part song is meant for beginning level singers, and not every 4-part song is challenging enough for advanced singers. You might find a piece that’s wonderful for teaching beginning concepts to a beginning-level high school treble group, but the text may be too juvenile. You may also have a treble ensemble that is not solely female-identifying, which would be important to consider when considering text for a piece of music.

Difficulty Level

Having judged various choral assessments, I can confidently say that choosing literature with appropriate voicing and/or difficulty level is the aspect most often overlooked when selecting repertoire for a group.

When considering a piece of music, I try to visualize the end, middle, and beginning of the process in that order. First, what do I want the students to achieve as the final product of the piece? If I want them to sing the notes and rhythms accurately, there’s not much they couldn’t accomplish. However, if my goal is for them to sing with unified vowels, energized consonants, dynamic contrast, articulation, and breathsupported tone within a specific timeframe for learning the piece, my options naturally become more limited. As the director, it is our responsibility to start with the desired final product—hopefully a musically elevated one—and work backward to develop the rehearsal plan. This isn’t to say that choirs shouldn’t be given music that challenges them; it entirely depends on the outcome you’re aiming for, and remember that the desired outcome doesn’t always have to be a performance!

SSAA Choirs Continued

As we work backward, let’s consider the “middle” (the bulk of the rehearsal process). Where are we in our literacy sequence, and how can we choose literature that will benefit the learning process? This is where I can truly discern whether the difficulty level of the piece is appropriate. For instance, if I’m reviewing relative major and minor keys, it would be helpful to program a piece that begins in either major or minor and modulates to the relative minor or major key. This approach could also be great for teaching musical form. When considering literature as a vessel for literacy, it makes the task of teaching literacy much less daunting.

Voicing

Considering the beginning of the process, I focus on more fundamental aspects of the piece, such as voicing. WARNING: Do not take things at face value when it comes to voicing! A song could be listed as SSA, yet the soprano 2 part might double the alto part for most of the song. Conversely, it could be listed as SSA and split into five or more parts at cadence points. This will inevitably affect how you divide students among each part and, therefore, the difficulty level of the piece.

For developing treble choirs, I recommend searching for music with accessible ranges for each voice part.

As we know, an alto part in an SSA setting is very different from an alto part in an SATB setting. From my personal experience, it can be challenging for altos and tenors to transition from treble and tenor/bass settings to SATB settings when they have limited experience singing inner voice parts. While this is not always the case, it’s something I wish I had been more aware of earlier in my career.

Programming

Though our lives would be much easier if we could simply find individual pieces of music that check all the boxes we’re looking for, we must consider how well the pieces pair together. Does the performance we’re preparing for have a theme, and does the piece I’m reviewing fit within that theme? Beyond a potential theme, does the piece I’m considering share many of the same features as the other chosen pieces? Am I actively seeking music of varying styles written by composers from diverse backgrounds?

These are just a couple of questions worth asking before giving music the green light for our ensemble.

One thing I wish I had paid more attention to when selecting literature for a program is key relationships!

During my first year of teaching, I programmed three songs for a freshman treble group and realized early on that all three songs were in the same key. Even though the style of each piece was different, it sounded more like a medley than anything cohesive. Thankfully, I caught this quickly and was able to replace one of the pieces. I’ve also found myself in a situation where I programmed two a cappella songs, distributed the music, and later realized that I had programmed them in keys that were only a half step apart. While it’s not the end of the world, I certainly wished I had noticed this before selecting the songs and placing them back-to-back in the program. Additionally, aside from avoiding poor key relationships, you can also plan intentional, positive key relationships that mirror your theme or contribute to the overall story you’re telling.

SSAA Choirs Continued

Language & Voice

In my opinion, language is singularly the most impactful part of choral music; therefore, it cannot be ignored when selecting literature! I was a band kid growing up and was fortunate enough to have a band director who was also a vocalist, encouraging us to sing our parts. One day, the trombone quartet I was playing in decided to sing our music on a neutral syllable to save our chops from another run-through. The choir director walked into the hallway where we were playing and asked if any of us wanted to join choir.

Long story short, I joined choir my senior year of high school and immediately fell in love. I had loved music before, but there was something raw and emotional about creating music with text. (Thanks, Mrs. White!) The human voice is an instrument that is personal like no other. Any instrumentalist will tell you that the instrument you play matters, but the voice cannot be replaced. While I loved my trombone in high school, I would have upgraded to a better one without much thought if I had the money. The trombone was an instrument I selected from several options, making it a personal choice rather than a core aspect of my identity. My voice, however, was and always will be an integral part of who I am.

The text for every song doesn’t have to be profound or transformative, but it should be selected with intention. First, consider patterns in your previous selections. Do you tend to gravitate toward a specific language when picking foreign language pieces? Has the group you’re working with not performed many foreign language pieces recently? Is there a current event to which a song could provide a reassuring or comforting response? The answers to these questions will be helpful as you consider the message of each piece and whether or not you would like to program it. For me, music is performed best when students have bought into it. Though it’s not the only factor to consider, text is a great place to start when it comes to selling a piece of literature.

Diverse Literature

There are three specific concepts that come to mind when I think of diverse literature: 1) Diverse in Style, 2) Diverse in Perspective, and 3) Diverse in Pedagogical Approach. The first concept is easy to grasp. Of course, we want our ensembles to perform a variety of literature well. In order to achieve this, we must do the necessary work, which is where diverse perspectives and pedagogical approaches come into play.

Choosing literature from diverse perspectives means being intentional about selecting music (and text) written by composers with a variety of lived experiences. This paragraph alone could encompass an entire article, but I’ll do my best to be concise. First, the power of representation is crucial. Every student should have the opportunity to learn literature written by a composer who shares some of their lived experiences.

I mentioned this at a presentation a couple of years ago, and someone asked, “What do I do if my choir is not diverse?” My answer was simple: “You choose literature from diverse perspectives.” Diverse perspectives are the catalyst for empathy, and there is not a person in the world who couldn’t benefit from empathy.

SSAA Choirs Continued

If we choose music from a variety of styles, we should also consider a diverse approach to teaching the music. If you have almost exclusively learned music through the lens of sight-reading with solfege, there’s no need to worry! Solfege is an incredible tool, and I use it most often in my class, but I also find it appropriate to teach music by rote depending on the style of music I’m teaching. I’ve used rote teaching for music written in a gospel style and to emphasize form. Both approaches are valid and helpful tools in our toolbox. In addition to sight-reading, learning by rote, singing on a neutral syllable, chanting text, etc., I do not always utilize the same pedagogical approach for an entire piece of music, and I don’t always sequence my approach in the same way. A diverse pedagogical approach improves engagement, builds musicianship, and is often more authentic to a given style of music.

Literature selection is a complex and vital aspect of the work we do. I find the process to be timeconsuming because I want to get it right. However, it helps to know that the time spent is a worthwhile investment in the success of our ensembles. More time spent on the front end will save so much time down the road. Stay the course, and best wishes for a productive semester ahead! As always, please reach out to me if you have any questions or need a resource.

State of the State TEXAS

Leigh Ann McClure, President

Greetings from Texas!

Planning for the Texas Choral Directors Association’s 70th Annual Clinic/Convention is in high gear and we are already excited about the knowledgeable clinicians who will present informative sessions as well as the exciting performances that will be happening.

We are currently accepting applications for our Elementary Honor and Middle School/Junior High All-State Choirs. These fortunate ensemble members will be under the skillful direction of Fred Meads (Los Angeles Children’s Chorus) and B. E. Boykin (Georgia Tech). Our concerts will feature three Texas ensembles, Un/Heard under the direction of Carlos Cordero, Voices of Houston under the direction of Christopher Carter, and Alegría, under the direction of Jo Scurlock-Dillard. We are also excited to welcome Amanda Quist back to the state for three informative headliner sessions, including “Women in Musical Leadership”, “Voicing and Seating the Choir”, and “Building the Choir, Sound and Spirit”. Submissions are also currently being accepted for the Emily Crocker Emerging Composer Competition. Our new and easier to navigate website, www.tcda.org, features information about all these opportunities. We are excited to celebrate our history while we also lay the groundwork for a bright future for choral directors across our state. With so much to offer, we hope SWACDA friends will join us July 24-26 in San Antonio.

Our organization will lose a treasure when our Executive Director, Sharon Lott, retires early in 2025. We are currently in the interview process and hope to be able to announce the name of our new leadership in the next few weeks.

Finally, we look forward to hosting the national conference in our state in March. We are incredibly proud that so many Texas ensembles will be featured, especially our Texas Music Educators Association All-State Mixed Choir. Dallas boasts many outstanding performance venues and we are excited that choral directors across the globe will be able to experience them.

We hope many of you will be able to attend and will experience true Texas hospitality.