Interest Sessions

Interest sessions are an important way of sharing some of the most recent and expert work in various fields of the choral art. Colleagues from across all areas of ACDA will have the opportunity to learn with and from each other through the Interest Session process.

 2022 Raleigh Conference Interest Sessions (listed alphabetically)*

Bradley Almquist  Quarter Notes, Eighth Notes, and Dendrites! How Brain Research Can Make Your Rehearsals More Effective
Andy Beck Meet Me in the Middle: Choral Music for Middle School Voices
Garrett Breeze Anyone Can Arrange Music! (And Everyone Should)
Melodie Galloway Breaking Barriers – Blurring Lines: genre-homogenous choral music of resilience-works by Ellington, Williams, Brubeck, Bonds
Matthew Garrett & Joshua Palkki Honoring Trans and Gender-Expansive Singers
Holly Grefe & Victoria Atkins Begin with the End in Mind – One Warm-Up at a Time!
Kent Hatteberg Running an efficient rehearsal: Rehearsal techniques to improve rhythm, intonation, and diction
Ryan Kelly & Felicia Mulé Improving the Sectional Rehearsal: Steps to Productivity, Musicality, and Unity
Pamela McDermott Show Me the Rhythm!
Erynn Millard, Amy Kotsonis, & Lesley Maxwell Mann A Choral Tune-Up: Time Savers and Stress Relievers
Paul Neal & Gary Packwood Repairing the Racial Divide – ways to promote a more inclusive choral world
Aaron Peisner Conducting Outside the Box: Creative Approaches to Practicing Conducting
Erin Plisco Looking for Treble in Old and New Places: Historical Repertoire for Treble Voices
Darden Purcell Shaping the Sound: Attaining Artistic Authenticity in your Jazz and Pop Vocal Ensemble
Lauren Whitham Raynaud Creative Classroom Management: Stop Disciplining and Start Teaching
CJ Redden-Liotta More than a “Treat” – Making Broadway, Pop, and Jazz a Part of Your Curriculum
Kym Scott Australian choral repertoire for all age levels
Pingyi Song A New Approach to Mandarin-Chinese Lyric Diction in Choral Music
Peter Steenblik Time for a Tune-up: Efficient Strategies to Manage Symptoms of Artistic Burnout
McKenna Stenson Fixer Upper: Transforming Choral Communities Post-Pandemic
Alan Stevens Will I Ever Be Good Enough?: Finding Our Worth as Conductors  
Wes Stoner & Jami Lercher Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them: Navigating the Quest for Repertoire that Affirms All Our Singers
Trevor Tran Growth Mindset: Striving for Improvement in Your Choir and Yourself
Christina Vehar, Maria Ellis, Jasmine Fripp, Kanisha Howard, Chantae Pittman, Emily Williams Burch “What Would You Do?”: An Interactive Panel Discussion on Real-World Classroom Scenarios