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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. 
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Margaret Starr - Director of Vocal Music at Marin School of the Arts (MSA) at Novato High School12/6/2022 The best thing about returning to in-person instruction has been being able to HARMONIZE again!!! One of the challenges of this year has been rebuilding classroom norms and community expectations for how we work together as a team in choir. We have continued to use Sight Reading Factory in class as a group activity and my students love it! We often divide into sections and compete against each other 😊  My favorite thing about returning to in-person instruction is realizing that there is something intangibly wonderful about singing together in the same space. The musical electricity in the air when a choir sings a locked-in chord or the power of a group collectively being moved by a meaningful text is something that I’ll appreciate every time I step in front of a group of singers. My high school women’s choir is singing “Bright Morning Stars are Rising”, arr. by Jay Althouse. The music is an American folk tune that is very singable and was easily learned by the choir. Since they didn’t have to concentrate so much on learning their parts, they’ve been able to sing this with expression and musicality early on. This is my reminder as a conductor to be sure to program some music that is easily learned—sometimes simple pieces are the most effective—and some days students just need to make effortless, beautiful music together.  21V is a new professional ensemble of sopraon and alto voices of all genders and gender identities, founded in the Bay Area during the Covid-19 pandemic. With its focus on 21st Century music of the Americas, 21V aims to serve as a beacon for a new generation of treble music lovers, and embraces an expansive view of inclusivity that inspires awareness and advocacy for underrepresented America Continent compositional voices and perspectives.  Hi! My name is Andrew Hathaway, and I teach choir at Castillero Middle School and Simonds Elementary School in San Jose. We’ve been teaching in person this entire year, and my favorite thing so far is all the spontaneous music, laughter, and conversations that happen from day to day. With virtual teaching, I felt like there was a lot of radio silence and not a lot of room for sudden fun things to happen in each class, and I have seen the absolutely opposite this year. I’m learning to embrace the unpredictability, and it’s given me some of my favorite teaching memories.  Q: What has been your favorite thing about returning to in-person instruction/rehearsal? A: My favorite thing has been seeing the students gradually come out of their shells and interact with each other as they used to. A challenge has been modifying rehearsals for outdoor rehearsals. We did this for about a month at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters.  |
Molly PetersChoral Director, Rancho Pico Junior High & West Ranch High School Archives
November 2023
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