Page 158 - CJJanuary2026
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2026 ACDA Southwestern Region Conference                                              March 4-7, 2026                                                         Albuquerque, New Mexico



                                      P
                                       er
                                      Performing Choirs
                                          f
                                           orming C
                                                       hoirs
                    Oklahoma State University                         Plano East Senior High School

                       Cantamus Camerata                                      Concert Choir




















           Cantamus Camerata is an auditioned treble cham-    Plano East Senior High School is a 6A campus with
        ber ensemble of twelve to twenty singers and welcomes   an enrollment of over three thousand students. Plano
        all  self-identifying  treble  voices  from  the  campus  of   East houses the IB World School for Plano ISD, which
        Oklahoma State University. Cantamus Camerata per-   affords our campus and program a complete nineth-
        formed  at  the  Oklahoma  Music  Educators  Winter   through  twelfth-grade  environment.  The  Plano  East
        Conference in 2025, premiered Martín Palmeri’s Nisi   Senior  High  School  Concert  Choir  is  the  top-per-
        Dominus at Cadogan Hall in London, and received first   forming ensemble of seven vocal ensembles within the
        place in both the treble choir and chamber choir cate-  choral program. The Concert Choir has a tradition of
        gories at the Llangollen International Musical Eistedd-  excellence with consistent sweepstakes awards at UIL
        fod in 2024. The singers have embraced the final line   concert and sight-reading. Members of this chorus are
        of their mission statement, “to be examples of light in   involved  in  the  international  baccalaureate  program
        the world,” since the ensemble’s inception in the fall of   and other clubs throughout the school. The Plano East
        2022.                                               Concert  Choir  was  featured  at  the  2020  SWACDA
                                                            Conference and performed at TMEA in 2022.
                    Christopher Haygood is a faculty mem-
                    ber of the Michael and Anne Greenwood               Daniel Knight is in his twentieth year as a
                    School  of  Music  at  Oklahoma  State              choral director at Plano East Senior High
                    University,  where  he  conducts  Cantam-           School and has been teaching in Plano
                    us  Camerata  and  the  Concert  Chorale,           ISD for the past twenty-five years. Knight
        teaches  courses  in  graduate  and  undergraduate  cho-        graduated from UNT with a BME and a
        ral conducting, and serves as chancel choir director at   master’s in education. In 2014 he was selected as the
        First Presbyterian Church (PCUSA) of Stillwater. Hay-  Teacher  of  the  Year.  His  Plano  East  Varsity  Men’s
        good’s  research  on  the  music  of  Holocaust  survivor   Choir was invited to perform at SWACDA (2016) and
        Petr Eben, Māori composers, and the intersection of   National ACDA (2019). The Plano East Concert Choir
        teaching snow sports and singing has led to presenta-  was invited to perform at SWACDA (2020) and TMEA
        tions at NCCO, NWACDA, SWACDA, OCDA, and            (2022). He has been a member of the Orpheus Cham-
        OkMEA. He has served internationally as a guest cho-  ber Singers and sings frequently in the Highland Park
        ral clinician and conductor.                        Chorale.




        156      CHORAL JOURNAL  January 2026                                                  Volume 66  Number 5
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