Page 79 - Jan.indd

February 23-26, 2022 Raleigh, North Carolina

identities. From Sufi melodies to the teaching profession, moving to racism through professional growth.
works by LGBTQ+ composers, par- a new program, opening a school,
ticipants will listen and sing excerpts or reviving a program, teachers will Trevor Tran is head of
from a variety of fantastic works and walk away from this session ready to performing arts and
learn exactly where and how to fi nd restore, recruit, and restructure. director of vocal arts
the powerful beasts that are shaping at Fort Myers High
the future of choral music. McKenna Stenson is School in Southwest
an innovative conduc- Florida. At FMHS, he leads the cho-

Wes Stoner is the di- tor, teacher, and vocal- ral ensembles, teaches AP Music
rector of choirs at Wal- ist. She has built a ca- Theory and IB Music, and advis-
ton High School in the reer inspiring students es the school’s Tri-M Music Honor

Cobb County School to sing with confidence and moti- Society chapter. Tran sings with the
District in Georgia, vating communities to create lasting Festival Singers of Florida and the
where he conducts the T/B Ensem- change through song. Her energet- Fort Myers Mastersingers, and ac-
ble, Camerata Singers, and Walton ic demeanor permeates positivity tively composes. He holds concur-
A Cappella. Stoner is also a can- throughout the ensemble, creating rent master’s degrees in choral con-
didate for a DMA from the Frost a community of compassion, trust, ducting and music composition from
School of Music at the University of and resilience. Stenson is currently Temple University and a BM from
Miami (FL). He is in his seventeenth a DMA student in choral conduct- San Jose State University.
year of teaching choral music at the ing at the University of North Texas
high school level and has held sev- (UNT).
eral leadership positions in Georgia
MEA and ACDA. Honoring Trans and
Gender-Expansive Singers
Growth Mindset:
Jami Lercher is a clinician for this
session. Her photo and bio are on Striving for Improvement Trans and gender-expansive
page 47. in Your Choir and Yourself (TGE) singers deserve safe and

empowering spaces to engage in
This session centers on the growth high-quality choral music experienc-
Fixer Upper: mindset, which is a pedagogical ap- es. Drawing from their new Oxford

Transforming Choral proach fostering the belief that intel- University Press book, Honoring Trans
ligence and skills can be developed and Gender-Expansive Students in Music
Communities Post-Pandemic instead of remaining static and un- Education, the presenters will provide
changeable. The session will out- context and practical suggestions for
While the pandemic presented line the growth mindset approach, working with students who inhab-
unprecedented challenges for choral present strategies and examples for it a variety of spaces among gen-
singing, this time forced creativity, implementing a growth mindset in der-identity and gender expression
innovation, and collaboration. Re- an ensemble, and explore how the continuums. Choral director-educa-
verting back to what we know can growth mindset can be used to ad- tors will have opportunities to refl ect
be comforting, but this is the time dress current societal issues like rac- on their own choral settings, engage
to remember the things from the ism. Participants will learn about in a discussion of policies, consider
pandemic that kept our programs their own mindset tendencies, gain instructional strategies, and practice
alive while we move into the time ideas for creating an environment of healthy group vocal techniques (e.g.
to thrive. Whether you are entering growth, and discover ways to combat semi-occluded vocal tract exercises)

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2022 Volume 62 Number 5 77