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2025 ACDA National Conference March 18-22, 2025 Dallas, Texas

Series (Fred Bock/distributed by Hal Leonard), which
includes historic choral gems such as “Prairie Sunset” Collaborative Arranging
by Cecil Effinger, “Sing Unto the Lord” by George for Contemporary Choirs
Lynn, Hall Johnson’s stirring arrangement of “The
Star Spangled Banner,” and Wray Lundquist’s “John-
ny’s Gone Marching.”
Thursday 9:00 am - 9:50 am
Charlene Archibeque served for thirty- First United Methodist Church
five years as director of choral activities Crossroads
at San Jose State University, where she
trained hundreds of today’s choral con-
ductors, both at the undergraduate and Choral singers have long been trained to read writ-
graduate levels. She was the first woman to earn the ten music accurately and carefully. What happens
DMA in choral conducting in 1969 from the Univer- when we flip this modality over and create full and
sity of Colorado. Archibeque helped put SJSU on the complete choral arrangements aurally? The collabora-
world map by winning seven international choral com- tive arranging model helps to empower singers from
petitions with the famous SJSU Choraliers. Known as diverse backgrounds with strong aural traditions, and
one of America’s top choral clinicians, she has conduct- encourages groups of all ages to have honest conversa-
ed hundreds of honor choirs in forty-five states and six tions around identity, brand, and messaging, leading to
provinces of Canada and her choirs have performed at strong buy-in, attendance, and tradition and relation-
twenty-five state, divisional, and national conventions. ship building. This session will break down the pros and
Her degrees were earned at the University of Michi- cons of collaborative arranging, and then detail the
gan, San Diego State, and the University of Colorado. process of how to build a piece from start to finish with
examples from award-winning collaborative arrange-
André J. Thomas is a professor emeritus ments. Attendees will also build a short collaborative
of music at The Florida State University. arrangement together.
He was visiting professor of choral con-
ducting at Yale University from 2020 to Erin Hauger Hackel is an associate profes-
2022. He also served as a faculty member sor at the University of Colorado, Den-
at the University of Texas, Austin. He is presently an ver. She has founded two award-winning
associate artist with the London Symphony Orchestra. a cappella groups, MIX and Lark, who
He is in demand as a choral adjudicator, clinician, and have been praised for their innovation
director of honor/all-state choirs throughout North and have been singled out for their boundary-changing
America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and work in collegiate a cappella. Both groups have been
Africa. Thomas has conducted choirs at the state, re- BOSS and SoJAM champions, are recipients of mul-
gion, and national NAfME and ACDA conferences. tiple performance awards, and have won several con-
He has led numerous prestigious orchestras and choirs temporary a cappella recording awards. Hackel has
around the world. Thomas is a distinguished compos- published widely on the topics of healthy belt voice
er/arranger/author and the immediate past national singing and historic female singers at the turn of the
president of ACDA. twentieth century.

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2025 Volume 65 Number 5 45