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February 23-26, 2022 Raleigh, North Carolina

Samford University Shenandoah Valley Children’s Choir

A Cappella Choir

The Samford University A Cappella Choir was Now celebrating its 30th year, Shenandoah Valley

founded in 1939 and serves as the flagship choral en- Children’s Choir includes more than 100 children in
semble at Samford University. Under the direction of two music classes and three performing choirs under
Philip L. Copeland, the choir has received invitations to the leadership of artistic and executive director Janet M.
perform most recently at the NCCO in 2013 and the Hostetter with assistant director Joy Anderson. SVCC
2018 Southern ACDA Region Conference. The choir continues to impress audiences worldwide with its high
travels internationally every two years and frequently standards for musicianship training and artistic perfor-
participates in international choral competitions, sweep- mances. SVCC choirs frequently collaborate with pro-
ing all of the top awards at the 2018 Laurea Mundi com- fessional musicians, present at music conferences, and
petition in Budapest, Hungary, and the 2016 ŠIAULIAI perform in elite venues such as Carnegie Hall and the
CANTAT in Lithuania. National Basilica. The Concert Choir has performed
for Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, President and
Philip L. Copeland is professor of music Mrs. Clinton, and the former President Carter.
and is in his twelfth year as director of cho-
ral activities at Samford University. Choirs Janet M. Hostetter, artistic and execu-
under his direction have distinguished tive director, received her doctorate and
themselves on the national and interna- master’s in choral conducting from James
tional stage, winning significant awards in eight inter- Madison University and her BME from

national competitions and performing concerts in con- Eastern Mennonite University. Her pub-
ferences of ACDA (2006, 2010, 2018), NCCO (2008, lished research project, “Tone Production, Musicianship
2013), and on the stage of Carnegie Hall (2006, 2011). Training, Repertoire Development, Performance Prac-
Copeland has over thirty years of experience in sacred tice: A Pedagogical Overview of Selected International
music and serves at St. Luke’s Episcopal in Birmingham. Children’s Choirs,” provided her the joy of interacting
Copeland is married to Tracy and together they raise with respected children’s choirs in Australia, the Czech
their six children. Republic, Canada, and the Philippines. A seasoned mu-
sic educator, church musician, and choral conductor,
Hostetter relishes opportunities to bring people together
in song.

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2022 Volume 62 Number 5 69