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2026 ACDA Eastern Region Conference February 25-28, 2026 Providence, Rhode Island

notably Love City Sings. Her research is published in Chorale for twenty-four seasons and with the LA Phil-
the Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education. harmonic. He has also sung on four dozen feature film
Previously she was a choir director in public schools soundtracks.
and community settings for seventeen years, primarily
in Chicago at Jones College Prep High School (Chicago
Public Schools) and Uniting Voices Chicago (formerly
Chicago Children’s Choir.) Progress & Pushback:
LGBTQ Inclusion in Divisive Times

This session explores LGBTQ+ inclusion in choral
Music in Worship music education amid increasing political polarization,
Reading Session censorship, and anti-“woke” rhetoric. Participants will
examine the challenges of restrictive policies and cul-
Join an inspiring reading session with celebrated tural pushback while learning strategies to build inclu-
composer and songwriter Shawn Kirchner. From the sive, affirming classrooms. Topics include integrating
piano, he’ll lead an exploration of original sacred mu- LGBTQ+ content into curriculum, addressing backlash
sic for congregation and choir: simple songs for prayer/ from parents and administrators, navigating tough con-
worship and the seasons of the church year, choral in- versations, and developing resilient, values-driven re-
troits and anthems in many styles, and excerpts from sponses. The session emphasizes the power of educator
larger works Songs of Ascent, Princeton Motets, and The Light allyship and collective advocacy, reinforcing that inclu-
of Hope Returning. Come and discover new, immediately sive education strengthens all students and the school
usable material for your own church settings and con- community as a whole.
certs—or just come for an hour of uplift and spiritual
renewal. Over the years he has written dozens of hymn Nicholas McBride (he/him) is associate
settings and original anthems. Kirchner’s most recent professor and coordinator of music edu-
projects include new service music for communion litur- cation at The College of New Jersey. His
gy at Princeton Chapel and a “bluegrass” mass setting research interests include LGBTQ+ and
for congregational use at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal in gender issues in music education, queer
Atlanta. pedagogies and curricula, music teacher education,
teacher evaluation, and empathic learning processes
Shawn Kirchner is a composer/songwrit- in arts education. McBride’s scholarship appears in the
er and singer/pianist whose choral works Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, the
are sung throughout the world. He served Journal of Music Teacher Education, Music Education Research,
as composer in residence for the LA Mas- Visions of Research in Music Education, and the Music Ed-
ter Chorale from 2012 to 2015 and has ucators Journal. He is also co-editor of the forthcoming
collaborated with many leading choirs, including Con- Oxford Handbook of Queer & Gender Research in Music Ed-
spirare, Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and the San Antonio ucation. McBride is founder and principal conductor of
Chamber Choir. Kirchner’s choral works reflect his the “This is Me” National Choral Festival for LGBTQ+
reverence for the inherited traditions of folksongs, car- youth and allies at Lincoln Center and a human rights
ols, and hymns, and incorporate the rhythmic vitality, campaign “Welcoming Schools” national facilitator.
counterpoint, and improvisatory spirit of Baroque and
bluegrass traditions. His original songwriting ranges in William Sauerland (he/they) is an assis-
style from jazz/gospel to folk/bluegrass, the latter fea- tant professor of music and director of
tured on his album Meet Me on the Mountain. As a classical choral studies at Purdue University, Fort
choral singer, Kirchner has sung with the LA Master Wayne. Sauerland is the author of the

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2026 Volume 66 Number 5 37