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I have been a member of ACDA since my undergraduate studies, and I can say that ACDA has truly been a guiding force in my professional life. ACDA has provided instrumental opportunities to learn, network, and improve my craft. Through the various events, I have connected with professionals from diverse perspectives, and I have heard choirs that are some of the best representatives of our artform. In a profession where we are often isolated in our workplaces, ACDA has provided me with the vital resources and engagement outlets that are needed to grow professionally and build strong choral programs. “I am ACDA” represents a core element of what ACDA is all about, which is the fact that we could not exist without all of our members coming from all backgrounds and specialties. Each and every member brings a unique perspective that is necessary to foster a thriving and robust choral community. Together, we are ACDA. Something that is really exciting and inspiring in both my school and community choirs is the determination of the singers to continue participating in a high-quality choral experience. Though pummeled by the challenges of the past several years, our singers have remained committed to the beautiful art of choral music and have emerged from the pandemic with a renewed sense of purpose. 
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ACDA enhances my life in so many ways! Professionally, ACDA is my go-to for ideas, motivation, inspiration, and repertoire. It's this incredible network of the most helpful and giving people. Personally, ACDA has been the source of SO many friendships. As a bit of an "island" in my school, like many music teachers, it is essential I find people who speak my professional language, and that I feel I can connect with personally. I also stand by my conviction that no one has as much fun as choral directors at a conference. To me, "I am ACDA" means I'm a proud member of an organization that is truly working towards creating a better world. When people sing together, the world becomes a better place, and I get to contribute to that through my work and the collective social power of ACDA. Right now, my students are excited about pops concert music- and ANY chance they have to put in K-Pop dance moves, they take advantage of it. It's super fun! Also- non-music related- I have a group of choir students who discovered how to bake cookies in the toaster-oven in the student lounge at school, so now they share recipes with each other and bring warm cookies to class to share. It's pretty awesome.  It is wonderful to be a part of a family of like minded musicians who understand what it takes to create and maintain a safe space for musicians of all backgrounds and experiences. I’ve always wanted to be a part of an organization that values magnifying, protecting, and respecting marginalized voices and encourages access to music for everyone at every level. Music making saves lives. To be a part of an organization that is actively seeking to effect positive change and ultimately save lives; what more could I ask for. To me, "I am ACDA" means that my contribution matters. The way I make music matters. My song has a place. My story deserves to be told. I am you. You are me. GMCLA is partnering with “Disney '' to perform a “Disney Pride Concert” this summer. As a part of our Alive Music Project, we will have the opportunity to take a free preview concert series into schools this spring and perform the music of Disney with a motivational message of hope, community building, and anti bullying. I am excited for lgbtqia+ youth to see themselves represented on stage. What a blessing it is to get to provide representation for my community that looks and sounds like “joy.”  Being a member of ACDA gives me a community to be a part of. I have people to go to with my questions, share my highs and lows in teaching and I have people to make music with. To me, "I am ACDA" means that the community is as great as the individuals in it. What each person brings to ACDA is unique, special and everyone has something to give and receive from all the members involved. One of the best things that I've experienced in the classroom recently is that my students got to vote on a combined song for the concert finale and they are PUMPED to sing a catchy pop song with all the grades together. It's pretty cute to watch them all vibe as they're singing a song that most of them know already.  As a professional, being a member of ACDA allows me to keep in touch with my peers, by which I means other composers, it allows me to meet more people in the choral world and allows me to learn what is going on in that world. It also allows me to see the viewpoint of choral directors and understand how to better fit in their activities. Personally, it has opened the door to friendships and to integrate myself in a community of like-minded people. To me, "I am ACDA" means “I belong with choirs." Currently, the San Fernando Valley Master Chorale is rehearsing a new work I wrote that is an hour long called The Nightmare and the Dream which tells the story of the Jewish people from the Middle Ages to 1948. It is inspiring and dramatic and it is a very special journey to share with a choir, taking notes that have only been on paper and bringing them to life for the first time. It is akin to being an explorer or an adventurer going after a new frontier.  Being a member of the ACDA has allowed me the chance for professional development which not only betters myself but the lives of my students. The events organized by ACDA allow for something precious-a chance to spend meaningful time with my fellow musical peers; during this time, we try out new teaching methods, learn from each other’s mistakes and successes and of course, my favorite part, we sing together. All the collaboration, lessons and time spent with my peers only serve to better myself and the teaching experience that I bring to my students. Each summer retreat offers the opportunity for rejuvenation and inspiration before the new school year; time spent with my colleagues’ leaves me with new music to try with my choirs, new ways of being inclusive so that every student who walks in my door knows that music will always have place for them to belong. If it weren’t for the welcoming and supporting community of the ACDA, I wouldn’t be the director that I am today. I am ACDA means that I am a lifelong choral music professional that advocates for my art, my colleagues and the importance of music in educating "the whole student." Currently my choirs are very excited about performing at the Arts in Action event at Folsom High School Back for the first time since the lockdown. VAPA students perform at a one hour assembly, two days in a row for their peers as well as school and district personnel. My choir will be opening the show with The Storm is Passing Over, arranged by Barbara W. Baker. My High School choirs were also very proud to have two singers selected for All State Choir in February.  ACDA has always been a great source of camaraderie, resources, repertoire, and inspiration. Having the opportunity to connect directly with other directors and composers has lead to incredible opportunities for my students. When I was a student in high school, I never thought of composers as actual humans - they were just these ephemeral creatures that bestowed music upon the world that the rest of us never really interacted with. I’m happy to say my students now have had the chance to work with many of the composers whose music they are now performing! I am always telling people that anybody who has a voice should be using it to sing. ACDA is an organization that believes exactly that, and who works together towards that very goal. I am proud to be part of a community who are passionate about the power that music can have to change people’s lives.  I have been a member of ACDA for most of my 34 years as a choral educator in both the public school system and as a children’s and youth church choir director. I served several years on the WA ACDA board as the R and S chair for Children’s and Community Youth Choirs when I lived in Washington State. I loved the opportunity to mentor new choral directors, write for online publications, conduct honor choirs, and be a presenter on the state and divisional level. Through those ACDA activities, I have grown in my own understanding as a choral director and enjoy the opportunity to pass on what others have so graciously passed on to me. Going to conferences is a time to recharge, reconnect, and make new connections and create community. I am always amazed at how much there is to learn in this field and how many of us have our own niche or ideas that we never even dreamed of in our programs. Being a part of ACDA means I am part of something really big that changes the lives of other people. I am grateful every day that I get to make music with brilliant children and youth. I recently graduated with my masters in choral conducting and what I learned in that program has completely changed my approach to rehearsals, to the tone of my choir, and their understanding of the choral art. The amount of music that these choirs present during worship is beyond impressive. We recently enjoyed singing Eric Whitacre’s “Glow” with string quartet and Morten Lauridsen’s “O Magnum Mysterium” during the season of Avent. O Magnum was done by our treble choir. We used Lauridsen’s solo version of the well-known anthem and it made the sound of my treble choir mature overnight. It was quite magical and the composer enjoyed the recording. We also use gesture a lot while we sing and having them connect that gesture to their singing and understanding of the music has also helped them to grow as choral singers.  I became involved in ACDA right out of college, my dear mentor and friend Germán Aguilar got me involved. I was blown away by the vast wealth of knowledge I learned in my first conferences. I felt like I got so much information I wasn’t ready to implement until I was running my own choral program, and that many college programs can’t possibly be expected to cover. In my first year teaching I met many incredible teachers who took me under their wings from established college directors to other first year teachers. Ten plus years later, I have become a much better teacher by being a member of ACDA, but more than that I’ve met a community of people who would love mountains to help me and I would for them, too! To me “I am ACDA” means to continually grow in my own teaching, all while trying to lift others up by sharing in fellowship and best practices. (Wow that sounds really ed-speak but I mean it!). What I am excited about right now is my choir has saved and fundraised for the last few years, and we are so excited to be participating in the Pacific Basin Music Festival in Honolulu this coming March after our first out of state choir tour was cancelled in April of 2020!  Kaytie Holt - Saugus High School Choir Director and Music Industry teacher, Santa Clarita, Ca5/4/2023 Being in ACDA brings me close to my community of choir teachers, which is so important in this field. It is an incredible resource and network that both supports and inspires me!" "I am ACDA" means that ACDA is a diverse community, made up of every single member of a variety of backgrounds, ages, and skill levels, with each member just as important as the next. Right now my students are really enjoying creating a variety of music. I have so many students in multiple choirs; Show Choir, Concert Choir, and Jazz Choir. I even have students who also take Music Industry, where they learn how to produce and create original music in different DAWs (digital audio workstations). I think this is so cool and important because it is crucial to be a well rounded musician and singer in this industry, so having students singing classical, jazz, and contemporary music broadens their horizons and only enhances they choirs, as there is something to be learned in every genre.  |
Molly PetersChoral Director, Rancho Pico Junior High & West Ranch High School Archives
November 2023
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