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ACDA NATIONAL
Alphabetical Listing of Interest Sessions
2025 2025 ACDA National Conference March 18-22, 2025 Dallas, Texas
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March 18-22 Dallas, TX Interest Sessions (Open to Both Tracks) )
ing, Peterson has taught in elementary, middle, high serving as an associate conductor with the Seattle Chil-
school, church, community, and collegiate settings. A dren’s Chorus.
professor at California State University-Fullerton, he
trains choral music educators and conductors, and di-
rects the Concert Choir and Singing Titans Chorus. “Hidden Flowers” —
He has served the profession in many roles, including
president of the California Choral Directors Associa- Persian Choral Music
tion. His choral methods textbook RESONANCE: The
ART of the Choral Music Educator is used widely to train
pre-service music teachers. Thursday 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm
First United Methodist Church
Sanctuary

Help! I Have to Teach a Jazz Choir
We will examine the history of choral music in Iran;
historical and contemporary Iranian choral compos-
Thursday 1:10 pm - 2:00 pm ers, conductors, and ensembles; repertoire from “ear-
First United Methodist Church ly” Persian choral music to today; and performance
Upper Room (3rd Floor) practice(s) associated with sound production and Per-
sian diction. The SDSU Chamber Choir, led by Arian
Khaefi, will demonstrate excerpts of works, discussing
This session will address basics of vocal jazz peda- challenges and successful approaches to this repertoire
gogy with a slightly different emphasis: What do I need with American ensembles from a conductor’s point
to “un-learn,” leave behind, or modify when I go from of view. Attendees will gain a knowledge of potential
choir to jazz choir? Choral educators are well trained to repertoire within a living database of Iranian works,
teach choir but not necessarily jazz choir. Choir direc- as well as a toolbox of methods to employ when ap-
tors develop their tried-and-true, cherished techniques proaching Persian choral music.
to develop choral tone, but many of those techniques
are out of place or do not work well when teaching Daniel Reza Sabzghabaei is a creator who
jazz. There is no need to despair. Your musicianship is interested in looking at time through
and instincts will serve you well. different lenses: unpacking notions of tra-
dition, exploring memories of those past,
John Hendrix accepted a teaching posi- and investigating nostalgic frameworks
tion at Shorewood High School that in- that lean forward. His music has been presented by
cluded vocal jazz after he had already New York Youth Symphony, JACK Quartet, National
been directing choirs for twenty years. Sawdust, Civic Orchestra of Chicago, American Com-
Having no jazz experience in his back- posers Orchestra, Beth Morrison Projects, New York
ground, he needed to become a student again. After Festival of Song, Guerilla Opera, Moab Music Festival,
a couple of “awkward” years, his jazz choir began to Chorus Austin, Young New Yorkers Chorus, Pro Coro
“hold its own,” and then became competent, competi- Canada, The Esoterics, and VocalEssence. He recently
tive, and reputable (of course, it was the teacher who completed his doctorate at Cornell, where his disserta-
was growing). Hendrix has enjoyed a career that in- tion focused on Persian Choral Music.
cludes church music; secondary music education (pub-
lic and private) in Minnesota and Washington; and

50 CHORAL JOURNAL January 2025 Volume 65 Number 5