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2024 ACDA Southwestern Region Conference February 27 - March 2, 2024 Denver, Colorado

Boys in their thirty-two-city “In A World Like This” rangements have been performed by The University of
stadium tour and participated in three American Music North Texas Jazz Singers, UNT Jazz Singers II, Uni-
Abroad tours. As a coach, Diaz has adjudicated, per- versity of Oklahoma Singing Sooners, and performing
formed, and instructed at vocal festivals around the groups from around the United States.
country and the world, and served on the vocal coach-
ing and arranging staff of NBC’s The Sing-Off. Diaz is
currently based in Maryland, USA. Sound 101 with Tony Huerta

Are you lost when it comes to working with sound
equipment? Do you know how to troubleshoot when
More Than This: no sound comes out? Do you know how to EQ differ-
A Talk on Expanding Our Horizons ent groups? What about purchasing a sound system for
your classroom or a cappella group? Tony Huerta will
through A Cappella answer all these questions and more!

Do you feel particularly “intense” about a cappella? Tony Huerta will be the presenter for this session.
Are you in a group you love but feel like you’re stag-
nating? Do you wish you had more ideas about how
to take your music further? Come have a chat with Jazz Timbre, Style, and Tuning
Christopher Diaz about coaching, arranging, listening,
producing, performing, traveling, teaching, organizing,
improving, promoting, choreographing, creating, con- Led by Dr. Jim Graves, this session explores those
necting and any other -ing! topics that are critical to the success of the vocal jazz en-
semble. We will identify timbral choices idiomatic to vo-
Christopher M. Diaz will be the presenter for this ses- cal jazz. You will learn tips and tricks for teaching swing,
sion. bossa nova, and other jazz styles. We will establish tech-
niques for balancing and tuning tight harmonies.

Jim Graves will be the presenter for this session.
Commercial and Jazz

Jim Graves, Coordinator
Improvisation
Jim Graves is a multifaceted vocal art-
ist, arranger, and educator, He serves as Led by Dr. Jim Graves, this session explores vocal
director of choral activities at Southern jazz improvisations. You will be presented with listening
Nazarene University since 2008. He di- aids, and tips and tricks for beginning jazz singers to
rects the University Singers, SNU Cho- approach vocal improvisation. We will explore motivic
rale, and Concert Choir. He also teaches courses in development through rhythm, breaking down melodies,
music theory, music education, and private and group goal tones, etudes, and ways of creating assessment in
voice. Graves has led groups at the National ACDA your ensemble.
Convention, at the Jazz Education Network National
Convention, has presented interest sessions at the na- Jim Graves will be the presenter for this session.
tional and regional level of ACDA, and was formerly
the Southwest ACDA Jazz R&R Chair. Graves’s ar-

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2024 Volume 64 Number 5 99