Page 149 - CJJanuary2026
P. 149

2026 ACDA Southwestern Region Conference                   March 4-7, 2026                                        Albuquerque, New Mexico






                                                            Madrigal Festival (2023, 2025), and the Mark of Distinc-
                       Demonstration Choir                  tion at Celebration of Excellence (2025). She resides in

                                                            Pflugerville, TX, with her husband and three children.
                       McNeil High School

                         Chamber Singers                                         Graduate



                                                                        Jennaya Robison is the artistic director of
                                                                        the National Lutheran Choir and a nation-
                                                                        ally  recognized  conductor,  educator,  and
                                                                        soprano. She has held faculty positions at
                                                                        the  University  of  Missouri–Kansas  City
                                                            and Luther College, and regularly conducts all-state and
                                                            honor choirs, festivals, and workshops across the United
                                                            States, Europe, and southern Africa. An active composer
                                                            and arranger, she edits a choral series with MorningStar
                                                            and  Pavane  Publishing.  Robison  serves  as  the  ACDA
           Chamber Singers is an elite ensemble within a vi-  national R&R chair for music in worship and holds de-
        brant 6A high school with a population representing   grees from Luther College, the University of New Mexi-
        more  than  fifty  countries  and  a  choir  program  that   co, and the University of Arizona. Her work champions
        serves over 230 students. McNeil High School is a true   sacred, intergenerational choral artistry.
        melting pot of cultures, languages, and backgrounds.
        Chamber  Singers  consistently  receive  top  ratings  at
        state evaluations, contests, and festivals, but the ensem-         Demonstration Choir
        ble’s greatest success is found in the way community
        is built through shared musical experiences. They per-
        form the stories of people from all over the world, be-       University of Northern Colorado
        lieving that through shared stories, we deepen our con-
        nection to each other, to history, our community, and to              Chamber Choir
        the world we aspire to make better.

                    Wendi Burwinkel is in her twentieth year
                    of  music  education  and  her  eleventh
                    year as the head director at McNeil High
                    School in Round Rock, TX. Prior to Mc-
                    Neil, Burwinkel directed for Cedar Val-
        ley Middle School in Round Rock ISD, Round Rock
        Community Youth Choir, and Burnet Middle School
        in Austin ISD. She earned her BM from the University
        of Texas in Austin followed by an MM in conducting
        from  the  University  of  Texas  in  El  Paso.  Her  choirs   The UNC Chamber  Choir is the  premier  select
        consistently receive Sweepstakes at UIL and top per-  mixed  vocal  ensemble  at  the  University  of  Northern
        formance  awards,  including  the  Mark  of  Excellence   Colorado,  specializing  in  choral  chamber  music  from
        National Choral Honors (2023), Mark of Distinction at   a variety of music genres ranging from early music to

        CHORAL JOURNAL  January 2026                                                                                        Volume 66  Number 5          147
   144   145   146   147   148   149   150   151   152   153   154