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2022 ACDA Western Region Conference

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Interest Sessionsessions
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About Gong, Ai, Na: Amplifying Womxn's Voices: that develops, fosters, and models

Influences of Gamelan and An Intersectional Approach to a collaborative philosophy and en-
courages a musically explorative
Kulintang in Southeast Asian Equity in the Choral Ensemble curriculum. They will also discuss
Choral Works holistic pedagogical approaches and
Utilizing an intersectional ap- skills-based systems that can be ap-
Fast tempo, overlapping intricate proach, this session will address plied in the choral rehearsal and the
rhythms, tongue-twisting combina- equity through programming by voice studio.
tions, extensive use of onomatopoe- highlighting repertoire written by
ic syllables, and bright and forward womxn, acknowledging the inter- Jenny Bent is profes-
timbres are some of the key elements section of race and gender in choral sor of music, director
that characterize the choral music of repertoire, and providing sugges- of choral activities,
SE Asia. This session will look into tions for how to reframe or replace and associate dean of
the common musical features in cho- problematic music. Attendees will the School of Arts &
ral works from the SE Asian region, also have access to composer and Humanities at Sonoma State Uni-
generally strongly infl uenced by repertoire databases, informative versity. She is choral director of the
the gamelan and kulintang orches- playlists and podcasts, and a “Rep- Santa Rosa Symphony and manag-
tras. Each of these features will be ertoire Accountability Checklist” to es Chanticleer’s summer program.
explored through the six composi- help evaluate repertoire through a Bent earned degrees from Boston
tions selected for this session. Come more equitable lens. University (BM & MM Voice Per-
and discover the wonders of the SE formance, MM Choral Conducting)
Asian gong-chime sound world and Alyssa Cossey is the clinician for this and University of Illinois at Urba-
the rich cultural significance of these session. Her bio and photo are on na-Champaign (DMA Choral Con-

musical elements! page 44. ducting & Choral Literature). She
received the 2019 California MEA
Yu Hang Tan is a Ma- Bay Section Outstanding Choral
laysian choral con- Better Together: Educator Award.
ductor and baritone
currently pursuing his Strategies that Allow Choral Justin Montigne is a
DMA at USC. Before Directors and Voice Teachers to voice teacher and coun-
moving to Los Angeles, Tan was an Work Cohesively toward the tertenor who teaches
active member of the Atlantic Can- Creation of Fulfilling, Healthy, workshops, classes, and

ada choral scene, where he directed private lessons in the
Suara, a semi-professional choir spe- Diverse, and Inclusive Experiences San Francisco Bay Area and abroad.
cializing in Southeast Asian choral for Our Students Montigne is currently the director
repertoire that he founded in 2018. of voice studies for the Grammy
Performing nationally and abroad, Are your choral and voice pro- Award-winning San Francisco Girls
Tang is an alumnus of the 2018 and grams unnecessarily siloed due to Chorus and teaches vocal studies
2020 World Youth Choir, and the common misconceptions of the dif- courses at Sonoma State University.
professional Elora Parish Choir. ferences between choral and solo Previously he co-founded Bay Area
singing? Jenny Bent and Justin Mon- Vocal Academy and taught at the
tigne will present strategies choral University of Minnesota, UC Davis,
directors and voice teachers can use and UC Berkeley.
to create a unified voice program

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2022 Volume 62 Number 5 131