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Awards/Recognitions Continued on next page

State University, Fullerton and an MA in education and
Raymond W. Brock Memorial Commission curriculum design from Brandman University. He is also
a recipient of the Britten-Pears and Holst Foundation
Jennifer Higdon, Pulitzer Prize and residency in Aldeburgh, UK. His music is available at
three-time Grammy winner, is one of MusicSpoke and J.W. Pepper.
America’s most performed composers.
Equally comfortable in all genres, she has
had commissions from a wide range of Steven Demorest Award Winners
performers, including from the Philadel-
phia Orchestra, the Chicago Symphony, The President’s
Own Marine Band; the Tokyo String Quartet, Eighth Project:
Blackbird, as well as individual artists such as singers Perceptions of the
Thomas Hampson and Sasha Cooke. One of her most Collegiate Treble Choir Experience
recent choral commissions includes Invitation to Love for
Chorus America’s national conference, as well as cho- Elizabeth (Libby) Hearn is assistant
ral/orchestral works for the Atlanta Symphony Chorus professor of choral music education at
(formerly Robert Shaw Chorale). Her first opera, Cold the University of Mississippi, where she
Mountain, was commissioned by Santa Fe Opera and was a conducts Women’s Glee and University
resounding success, repeatedly selling out and was the first Chorus. She also teaches graduate and
American opera to win the International Opera Award. undergraduate courses in choral music
Her second opera, Woman With Eyes Closed, will be given education, conducting, and qualitative research. Ad-
its world premiere by Opera Philadelphia in September ditionally, she conducts CoroArroyo—a treble choir in
2024. the CoroRio Organization. Prior to joining the faculty
at UM, Hearn received a Ph.D. in music education from
the University of Alabama. She previously held the posi-
tion of assistant professor of music and director of choral
Raymond W. Brock Prize for Professional Composers
activities at Marian University in Indianapolis. Her career
in secondary education began in Alabama, where she
Jeffrey Derus is an American composer, served as the choral teacher at Hueytown High School. In
producer, educator, and musician. His addition to teaching and conducting, Hearn has presented
music has gained a worldwide presence her research in published journals, and at international,
with commissions and performances from national, regional, and state conferences. Her research
ensembles such as Choral Arts Initia- interests include treble choirs, job mobility in music edu-
tive, INSPIRARE, Constellation Men’s cation, assessment, and ACDA history.
Ensemble, Inversion Ensemble, KC VITAS, the Nova
Scotia Choral Federation, Temple University, and Van- Alicia Canterbury Vorel serves as as-
guard University. Derus’s premiere concert work, From sistant professor in music education in
Wilderness: A Meditation on the Pacific Crest Trail, captures the the Department of Music at Southern
transformative experience of traveling the Pacific Crest Illinois University Edwardsville, where
Trail. From Wilderness made its commercial debut in April she teaches undergraduate and graduate
2022 with director Brandon Elliott and Choral Arts Ini- music education majors and conducts the
tiative along with cellist Kevin Mills. It ranked #3 on the SIUE Treble Choir. She earned the Bachelor in Music
Billboard Charts (Traditional Classical Albums), #2 Best Education at Mercer University, the MM degree in Mu-
Seller on iTunes Classical Charts, and #1 New Release sic Education from Texas Tech University, and the PhD
Opera/Vocal Albums on Amazon. Derus holds a BA in from the University of Mississippi. Vorel is an experienced
music education and a teaching credential from California educator focusing primarily on general music and choirs

CHORAL JOURNAL February 2023 / 2023 ACDA National Conference Program Book Volume 63 Number 6 147