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

P er f orming C hoirs
Performing Choirs

Boston Arts Academy Central Bucks East High School
The Spirituals of Boston Arts Academy Select Choir

The Central Bucks East High School Select Choir is
Founded in 2009, The Spirituals of Boston Arts an auditioned choir of forty members from grades ten
Academy explores the evolution of the African Ameri- through twelve. The choir has performed at the PMEA
can sacred choral music tradition. This auditioned state conference, the NAfME Eastern conference, and
group of sophomores, juniors, and seniors at Boston the ACDA Eastern Region conference. In addition
Arts Academy, the city’s only public arts high school, to performances in its community, the choir has also
is directed by Michael W. Bradley. In addition to their performed in notable venues such as the Philadelphia
2015 victory on “Sing That Thing!,” Spirituals won Basilica, the Cathédrale Marie-Reine-du-Monde in
a Gold Medal at the Massachusetts Instrumental and Montreal, Washington National Cathedral, and Carn-
Choral Conductors Association Festival. The Spirituals egie Hall. The choir has also commissioned works from
have been one of the premier performance ensembles Ēriks Ešenvalds and Blake Morgan of VOCES8 and
for BAA for over ten years, performing for political dig- frequently works with notable collegiate clinicians from
nitaries and the greater performance community of throughout the East Coast.
Greater Boston and Massachusetts.
Christopher Villante is a graduate of
Michael W. Bradley has been an active Temple University with a BME and an
educator in the arts community and MM in vocal performance. He has been
K–12 education for over ten years. Brad- a long-time professional choir member,
ley graduated from Berklee College of musical theater actor, accompanist, and
Music with a BME. He currently serves organist. He has been the choir director at Central
on the Voice faculty of Boston Arts Academy, where Bucks East High School and the vocal director of the
he chairs the music department. Bradley’s choirs have school’s drama club for the past eleven years. Under
competed and placed in national competitions and his direction, the choirs have performed at PMEA,
have performed for Yo-Yo Ma, Damien Woetzel, and NAfME, and the ACDA Eastern Region conference.
at the White House for First Lady Michelle Obama. Villante is also a happy husband and father to his six-
Bradley maintains an active schedule as a clinician year-old son.
through the consulting firm Motif Creative Services.

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2024 Volume 64 Number 5 139