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2024 ACDA Eastern Region Conference February 28 - March 2, 2024 Providence, Rhode Island

H eadliners/S pecial E v en ts
Headliners/Special Events

Ramsey High School adjudicator for marching bands within the US Bands
Ram Jams circuit and volunteers as an EMT.

Immersion Choirs

Immersion Choirs will provide attendees with op-
portunities for learning through singing. A hybrid of
the traditional interest sessions and repertoire reading
sessions, attendees will sing in two fifty-minute sessions
led by experienced practitioners who will help share a
deeper understanding of performance practice, and
cultural, social, and historical perspectives relating to
specific genres, time periods, and geographic regions.
Attendees will have the option to choose from four Im-
The Ram Jams are the principal competitive A Cap- mersion Choirs at the time of registration. The Immer-
pella group within the Ramsey High School Chorus sion Choirs are scheduled at the same time, so there is
Program. The group represents the top auditioned stu- no need to miss any other conference activity.
dents from within the school and performs works from
a wide variety of genres, including contemporary a
cappella, traditional choral repertoire, and new works. Black Spirituals and Gospel Music
The ensemble is a frequent competitor in the ICHSA
competition, run by Varsity Vocals, where they have Bring a new perspective to your choir, community, or
been named the Mid-Atlantic Champion and repre- solo singing by exploring and sharing how the essence
sented the region at National Finals for the last three of Black Spirituals and Gospel singing change when
years. Their first EP album is titled Home Where I Belong, sung through the lens of “singer as researcher.” Let’s be
and they recently finished recording their next EP to be curious by engaging the lens of an ethnographer and
released later this year. phenomenologist. We will co-create profound contexts
by embodying the tapestry of the five senses. What does
Matthew Wolf is the director of vocal a sustained tone sound like when evoked from the belly
music at Ramsey High School, where he of the slave ship? How is a spiritual transformed when
directs the Ramsey High School Chorus, sung from the weeds versus the concert stage? What are
both competitive A Cappella groups, The the gospel roots of rock and soul music? The merging
Ram Jams & Ramsey Blues, and teaches of message, music, and movement will be involved. All
AP music theory and digital music production. Wolf are welcome to participate as they are able.
has been a high school choral director for the last elev-
en years, and his ensembles have been featured in a J. Donald Dumpson, PhD, of Diverse
wide variety of settings, including performances for Arts Solutions and Arch Street Presbyte-
state governors and U.S. senators. He received a BME rian Church, is the founding conductor
and BM in vocal performance from West Chester Uni- of the Westminster Choir College Jubi-
versity and an M.S. Ed. in Educational Leadership lee Singers, New Jersey Symphony Or-
from The University of Pennsylvania. Wolf is an active chestra (NJSO) Community Chorus, and Philadelphia

136 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2024 Volume 64 Number 5