Page 165 - CJJan24

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

singer with choral ensembles in Europe and within the ing into action, especially when resources are stretched
United States. Her compositions have been published thin. In this workshop, participants will reflect on the
by Alliance Music Publications and Kandinsky Music. habits and actions embedded in their choral program
in order to more intentionally shape their choral cul-
Tellu Turkka is a Finnish composer, mu- ture and program trajectory. Participants will articulate
sician, performer, and choir director in their highest values for the program they lead, reflect
the contemporary folk/neofolk music on the habits of their current practice, and identify
genre. Turkka is known as a composer specific action steps to bridge the gap.
of moving choral works, many of which
are based on old archetypal fairy tales and stories. Margaret Winchell is currently pursu-
The award-winning Finnish choir Philomela has per- ing a DMA in choral conducting at Yale
formed Turkka’s “Suden aika” (choreography by Päivi University, where she serves as the assis-
Järvinen) continuously since 1999. In the performanc- tant conductor for the Schola Cantorum
es, “tone - movement - rhythm - space - story over- and sings in several choral ensembles.
lap and a miracle happens: the whole body resonates, She holds an MM from Western Michigan Univer-
the mind quiets down and is moved to the core of the sity and a BME from Wheaton College (IL). Before
heart.” Turkka’s published compositions can be found her graduate studies, Winchell taught high school for
under Sulasol. several years in the Chicagoland area, where she of-
ten returns in the summers as a teaching artist at the
Petra Poutanen is a Finnish freelance Goodman Theatre.
musician, multi-instrumentalist, and
a choral conductor. She holds a mas-
ter’s degree in folk music from Sibelius
Academy. Her compositional career ex- Voices in Transition:
pands from working for the Finnish National Theater
to bands and choral music. Her three choirs’ musical Gender Inclusive Choral Voicings
styles lean on contemporary folk singing and improvi-
sation. Poutanen is known for her virtuosic voice us- The session will provide choral voicing options to
ing techniques from Scandinavian and Finno-Ugrian meet the needs of both the changing transgender voice
folk singing and throat singing, exploring instrumen- and those of cis-gender singers. As choir directors are
tation from traditional folk instruments to live elec- faced with more students who identify as transgender,
tronics. Her debut solo album was nominated for the the need to be able to choose literature that meets
Etno-Emma and Teosto award, one of the biggest art those needs is imperative. In addition to existing voic-
awards in Scandinavia. ings, options for adapting scores with a new “flex” part
using guidelines created by Stevie J. Hirner will be in-
cluded.

The Values Audit: Roger Emerson will be a clinician for this session. His
Aligning Your Program’s Priorities and Actions photo and bio are on page 27.

Choral directors manage many competing priori-
ties: musical excellence, students’ mental health, and
honoring diverse musical traditions, to name a few.
But our good intentions can pile up without translat-

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2024 Volume 64 Number 5 163