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2024 ACDA Northwestern Region Conference January 24-27, 2024 Spokane, Washington

MusicSpoke Reading Session Raul Dominguez is the director of choral
activities at Regis University. Through
MusicSpoke will present a reading session of new, his research focus (the choral music of
artist-owned sheet music that focuses on usable music the United Mexican States), he seeks to
for high schools and universities. The reading session provide choirs with the resources to fa-
will include material from under-represented compos- cilitate artistic performances of Mexican choral music.
ers. We will provide the reading session materials. Mu- Dominguez earned BM degrees from Oklahoma City
sicSpoke reading sessions always prioritize composers University and then led the choirs at Clear Lake High
from the state and region where the session is held. School in his hometown of Houston, TX, for four
years. After Clear Lake, he earned his MM at Ithaca
Kurt Knecht’s compositions have been College and his DMA at the University of Colorado
described as “funky” and “joyous” in Boulder.
the Washington Post, and “brilliant in con-
cept” in The Tracker magazine. His mu-
sic has been performed at the Kennedy
Center, Carnegie Hall, and the Kimmel Center and by An Organic Approach to Text Setting:
Grammy Award-winning groups like the KC Chorale Unleashing Your Musical Imagination
and the Washington Chorale. As an eclectic performer,
Knecht has been a featured soloist with groups rang-
ing from Smokey Robinson to The Florida Orchestra. This practical, interactive session on composing ef-
He is the frequent collaborative organist/pianist for the fective and meaningful musical settings focuses on sev-
KC Chorale. He is the organist at St. Paul’s Episcopal eral rarely discussed topics. Through a combination of
in Kansas City and the co-founder of MusicSpoke. lecture, guided discovery, and practical application, at-
tendees will learn techniques for: (1) Choosing a text, (2)
Analyzing the structure and meaning of a text to gain
a deeper understanding of it, (3) Internalizing the text
so that it influences your musical imagination and al-
Nosotres Existimos: lows the music to emerge organically, and (4) Ideation:
Mexican Choral Repertoire and Resources Developing a compelling concept for the composition.
Additional guidelines include how to avoid composing
The goal of Nosotres Existimos is inclusion and be- “too soon” before understanding the text, how to avoid
longing for the choral conductor’s students and com- getting compositionally “stuck,” how to mark up and
munity through programming. This session’s informa- sketch conceptual and musical ideas on the text, and
tion on Mexican repertoire and resources, through how to compose using voice first and piano later.
handouts and websites, will connect our growing
Chicano/a/e student population to this large body of John Muehleisen is a composer whose
music. By the end, attendees will have more insight 150+ vocal and choral works have been
on Mexican choral music history, know where to find described as “masterful, imaginatively
Mexican and indigenous repertoire, and have access to harmonized, beautifully realized, and
resources to lead culturally responsive performances. brilliantly crafted.” Muehleisen’s compo-
Using this session’s offerings, participants can generate sitions have focused on topics ranging from humor—Eat
deeper belonging amongst their students and commu- Your Vegetables! and Cantata Caffeinata—to more serious
nity, share unheard voices, and continue to build com- issues, including spiritual and emotional dimensions of
munity through music. suffering and healing, gun violence, immigration, how
we treat those different than ourselves, hate crime, and

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2024 Volume 64 Number 5 25