OCDA - DOUG O’NEAL

DOUG O’NEAL, PRESIDENT

When the “official” end of summer was a cold and rainy Labor Day weekend, I thought back to how great the summer season actually was! In addition to being able to freely travel, we were able to gather again as colleagues for the OCDA Summer Conference. It was exciting to hear from Elaine Hagenberg, Jason Max Ferdinand and Lisa Wong as they provided insight and inspiration as well as to be with our colleagues again in person.

There are some changes coming for the 2023 OCDA conference! We are excited to announce that the conference will be held this summer at Capital University. The facility will offer incredible opportunities for us to expand the schedule with the flexible use of Mees Hall, Huntington Recital Hall, Trinity Lutheran Seminary and classrooms. A big thank you to Lynda Hasseler and Tom Zugger for welcoming us to the Conservatory.

While many events surrounding the conference are still in the works, we are excited to announce three of our headliners: Joe Miller, Stacey Gibbs and Jessica Nápoles as we “Tune Your Toolbox”.

A former middle school educator, Jessica Nápoles is Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of North Texas. In addition to conducting the Concert Choir, she mentors graduate students and teaches undergraduate coursework in choral methods. An assistant chair for the 2019 Kansas City ACDA Conference, Dr. Nápoles is “fabulous” to quote colleagues.

Now the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, Joe Miller has impressed the choral community for years through his work at Westminster Choir College. Joe also impressed Ohio in the past through his work as the 2013 Ohio AllState Choir Conductor.

Conductor and composer Stacey Gibbs will bring his exciting compositions and insight into performing spirituals as he joins us once again in Ohio. Known for bringing new excitement without sacrificing authenticity, he earned quite the acclaim from his last appearance at the OCDA Summer Conference.

However, let’s not jump to Summer 2023 too quickly! There is so much going on in Ohio this coming season! Allyson Bates will be working to bring back the Treble Choir Festival (formerly Elementary Choral Festival), there will be reading sessions and OCDA sponsored clinicians at the 2023 OMEA Conference, and other professional development webinars offered through our YouTube channel. Our OCDA website continues to be a great resource for the Ohio choral professional. Everything from former repertoire lists, archived news articles, jobs bulletin and the ability to notify about milestones or nominate a colleague for the Distinguished Service Award can be found at Ohiocda.org.

Probably the most exciting news is that the 2023 ACDA National Conference will be in Cincinnati from February 22-25, 2023. The conference planning committee has some new and exciting offerings planned and we know the performances will be outstanding!

It is an exciting year to be a choral musician in Ohio! We hope to see you at an OCDA event at OMEA, the ACDA National Conference or our 2023 Summer Conference at Capital University.

Doug O’Neal serves as Director of Choirs at Olentangy Liberty High School where he conducts four concert and two ACAPOP choirs. A former music minister and conductor of Illuminati from the Columbus Gay Men’s Chorus, Doug also enjoys performing musical theater. He has degrees from Bowling Green State University and University of Dayton and has served as Co-Chair of the OMEA All-State Choir.