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2024 ACDA Western Region Conference March 6-9, 2024 Pasadena, California

Jennifer Hansen Heder, DMA, is the di- perience in singing representative selections, as well as
rector of choral activities at Fresno City hearing selected pieces performed by VOX Femina Los
College. She received her DMA in choral Angeles.
conducting from Michigan State Univer-
sity. Her doctoral research highlights the Iris S. Levine will be a clinician for this session. Her
ways in which choral educators can decenter Eurocen- photo and bio are on page 170.
tric music in their classrooms. She co-presented the
session, “Empowered Leaders Empower Others,” at Cari Earnhart serves as the director of
the 2022 Western Region ACDA Conference. Hansen choral activities at California State Uni-
Heder was previously the director of choirs at Span- versity, Fresno, where she conducts the
ish Fork High School in Utah. Her choirs at Spanish top choral ensembles and teaches un-
Fork were invited to perform at the 2018 ACDA Salt dergraduate and graduate conducting.
Lake City Conference and the 2019 Utah MEA State In demand as a conductor, clinician, and adjudicator,
Conference. She also holds MM and BM degrees from Earnhart has worked with choirs throughout the US
Brigham Young University in Utah. and abroad. She served as DCA at the American Uni-
versity of Sharjah in the UAE and as artistic director of
Nassim al Saba, an Arabic choral music ensemble. She
has been a guest conductor with the Budapesti Vándor
Middle School Choral Students: Kórus and the Istanbul International Chamber Choir.
How Do You Motivate Them? She served as Maestro of Ensemble Vocale Tempus
Floridum and as Maestro Collaboratore of Coro dell’
When middle school students are motivated, they Accademia del Diletto and Coro Polofonico del Cari-
are unstoppable. How do you channel their energy so centro in Florence.
that you can guide them on a musical journey? Explore
tips and ideas of various master choral music educa-
tors who teach young adolescents. Be ready to sing and Practice Your Pitch:
move!
Advocacy is Everybody’s Business

Lynn Brinckmeyer will be the clinician for this session.
Her photo and bio are on page 122. The culture that music creates is magnetic, but how
is it perceived outside the rehearsal space? How can
we build bridges between our ensembles and the di-
verse values and expertise found in the larger commu-
Mosaics from the Middle East nity? While it’s easy to talk about the importance of
music among colleagues, translating that conversation
There is a wealth of beautiful and significant choral to those outside our sphere can be challenging. This
music from the Middle East in both the Arabic and session will help you step confidently into public spaces
Jewish traditions, yet many choral directors find it in- equipped with a new vocabulary to communicate your
timidating to approach this music. This interactive ses- program’s value to attract new supporters. By refram-
sion will present treble music from both traditions, pro- ing your “elevator pitch,” you’ll be able to build a net-
viding helpful guides in how to successfully approach work that empowers you to thrive.
this music, pronunciation, and stylistic considerations.
We will present contemporary settings of tradition- Alex Gartner will be the clinician for this session. His
al musical material, appropriate for various levels of photo and bio are on page 74.
treble ensembles. We will provide opportunities for ex-

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2024 Volume 64 Number 5 181