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2026 ACDA Western Region Conference March 4-7, 2026 San Jose, California

choir sound better and promote healthier singers. This work with individual vocal growth. Key elements such
session will examine the basic elements of singing (e.g., as posture, breath support, resonance, and vocal place-
posture, breathing, phonation, resonance, and diction/ ment will be explored, with practical exercises to incor-
articulation) to review what is actually happening, what porate into daily practice.
we can actually feel, and give conductors strategies to
convey this information to the choir within warmups, Athena Mertes is the director of choirs
voice building, and rehearsals. at Thurman White Academy of the Per-
forming Arts in Henderson, Nevada. A
Aaron Humble has been described as graduate of UNLV with a master’s in
remarkably virtuosic by the Columbus vocal performance and a bachelor’s in
Republic and transcendent by the Day- music education, Mertes established the Choir Mag-
tona Beach News Journal. He is a Gram- net Program at Thurman White Academy in 2016.
my-nominated tenor and conductor who She developed a curriculum offering choral and vocal
has enjoyed solo appearances with the St. Paul Cham- performance classes for approximately four hundred
ber Orchestra, the Columbus Philharmonic, and the students. Her Advanced Choir performed at the 2025
Boston Pops with chamber music appearances at the National ACDA Conference and the 2024 Western
Kennedy Center, Lincoln Center, the Library of Con- ACDA Region Conference. In 2020 she received the
gress, Wolf Trap, and the Chautauqua Institution. Teacher of the Year Award from Magnet Schools of
During his tenure with Cantus, Humble sang nearly America. Mertes, now in her fourteenth year teaching
one thousand concerts and recorded ten albums with middle school choir, is a national board-certified teach-
one of the nation’s premier vocal ensembles. He con- er passionate about helping students and educators un-
tinues to sing with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, Tuc- lock the true potential of middle school singers.
son’s Grammy-nominated True Concord, and Bach
Collegium San Diego. He serves as an assistant pro-
fessor of music in vocal and choral music at CSU San
Marcos, conducts the Chancel Choir at Foothills Unit-
ed Methodist Church, and leads the Zimriyah Chorale ACDA 2026 REGION CONFERENCES
at Congregation Beth Israel in San Diego.

Your Region Conference is closer than you think—
and now it’s even more affordable!

Vocal Tone and Technique
for Middle School Singers

This session will provide a comprehensive approach
to developing vocal technique for choral singers fo- are pleased to offer ACDA members
Southwest and United Airlines
cusing on warm-ups, effective techniques, and meta- discounted fares to all 2026 ACDA conferences.
cognitive strategies to help students assess their own
vocal progress. Attendees will learn methods to create
a solid foundation for healthy, beautiful singing while
emphasizing the importance of individual vocal tech-
nique. Many young singers struggle to view themselves
as vocalists and often lack the skills needed for proper Details at
technique and healthy vocal habits. This session will acda.org/2026-acda-conference-travel-discounts
guide educators in helping students balance ensemble

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2026 Volume 66 Number 5 193