Western illinois University
"It is music's lofty mission to shed light on the depths of the human heart."
-Robert Schumann
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Founded in 2003, Western Illinois University’s chapter of ACDA is a student-led organization that has been serving by preparing choral conductors, educators, and enthusiasts for what to expect when teaching in a choral setting. With monthly presentations, students have the opportunity to learn from various professionals of important aspects of choral education which is not presented in their collegiate coursework. In addition to the monthly choral education sessions, members also have the opportunity to travel to workshops, conferences, and performances throughout the area. The ACDA student chapter is active in our community working with high school students, presenting music to local businesses, and hosting civil service events.
Upcoming ACDA Sponsored Events...
2014 WIU ACDA Presentations... September 2nd – Dr. James Stegall: What are they saying about you?: Asking for Letters of Recommendation For our opening meeting of the semester, Dr. James Stegall, Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at WIU, gave an opening presentation regarding professional letters of recommendation. He explained the process of how to professionally ask references for letters, how to execute this process in an timely manner, who to ask for recommendation letters, and how to know if you are being given a good recommendation. September 9th – Dr. Brad Pierson: From the Radio to the Classroom: Contemporary a cappella in the High School Setting During WIU’s ACDA September meeting, the Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education, Dr. Brad Pierson, gave a presentation geared toward commercial a cappella music. This presentation included resources to begin a commercial a cappella ensemble, to create and/or access sheet music, and different aspects relating to the maintenance of the group. Some of these different aspects included vocal percussion, technology equipment, and performance opportunities. October 7th – Mr. Terry Chasteen: Solo Literature for the High School Singer During WIU’s ACDA October meeting, the Associate Professor of Musical Theatre and Voice, Mr. Terry Chasteen, presented our chapter with information and advice on selecting solo repertoire for the high school singer. During this presentation, Chasteen elaborated on the ideas of singing parts versus choral parts, how to obtain repertoire, different useful repertoire sources, considerations that an educator must take when coaching a student on a piece of music, the idea of classical music versus musical theatre, performance anxiety, and efficient practicing. November 4th – Dr. Minjung Seo: I have an accompanist: Now What!? Western Illinois University's accompanist coordinator, Dr. Minjung Seo, presented at WIU ACDA's November meeting on proper accompanist etiquette. This presentation elaborated on the do's and dont's of working with an accompanist for both the solo and choral ensemble setting. Dr. Seo's presentation include volunteers who helped simulate the examples of a good and bad soloist and conductor. December 2nd - Holiday Music Reading Session For the December WIU ACDA meeting, we looked at different holiday-based repertoire with a choral reading session lead by our WIU ACDA's chapter officers. The difficulty of the repertoire we previewed ranged from the junior high level to the collegiate level, and will give future choral conductors the opportunity to experience new repertoire which could be utilized in their futures as part of a themed holiday program. February 3rd - Melanie Butcher: 6-12th Grade Music Classroom For our opening meeting for the Spring Semester, local high school music educator, Melanie Butcher, gave a professional presentation to our chapter about how to successfully run a 6th-12th grade music classroom. Subjects that were elaborated on this presentation included repertoire, rehearsal techniques, and valuable resources for the high school educator. March 3rd - National Convention Recap WIU ACDA members Alissa Plewa and Benjamin Rogers attended the ACDA National Conference in Salt Lake City, UT, the last weekend of February on scholarship by IL-ACDA. They presented a power point presentation regarding the sessions they participated in, the concerts they viewed, the musicians they met, and the great experiences they had while attending the National Conference. April 15 - Elections: We Want YOU! For our April WIU ACDA meeting, we held a potluck election meeting. Members of our 2014 - 2015 executive board treated the student members of WIU ACDA with buffalo chicken dip, cookies, and pop as we held elections for the upcoming school year. Below are officers for the upcoming year: President: Benjamin Rogers Vice President: Kaselyn Hart Secretary/Historian: Julie Winter Treasure: TBD May 3rd - Tres de Mayo: Multicultural Reading Session Due to the date of WIU ACDA Spring 2015 closing meeting landing during Western's dead week, we relocated our Cinco de Mayo meeting to May 3rd. Member Jose Clavell presented and led the chapter through thirteen pieces of multicultural repertoire. Following our meeting, the members of our chapter celebrated a great year with a meal at a local restaurant and then supporting fellow members James Flaherty and Hannah Porter as they performed their combined recital that evening. | ||
