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2026 ACDA Midwestern Region Conference February 25-28, 2026 Milwaukee, Wisconsin

University of Wisconsin-Madison Waukee High School
Concert Choir A Cappella

Concert Choir is the premier choral ensemble at
the Mead Witter School of Music. The ensemble is
composed of singers who demonstrate exceptional A Cappella is the premier ensemble at Waukee High
musicianship, vocal technique, and ensemble skills. School and is part of a comprehensive choral program
Concert Choir is dedicated to performing a diverse with a tradition of excellence. A Cappella has appeared
repertoire that spans the entire breadth of the choral twice at national ACDA conferences and multiple re-
literary tradition. In recent years, Concert Choir has gional conferences, including 2022. Over the past ten
achieved significant recognition for its artistry, earning years, A Cappella has been selected for the Luther Col-
the honor of performing at the 2022 Wisconsin MEA lege’s Dorian Choral Invitational, the featured choir
Convention and the 2025 ACDA National Conference. at Wartburg’s Meistersinger Honor Choir Festival, the
In 2024, Concert Choir was selected as the winner of Morningside University Choral Invitational, and the
the American Prize for Best Choral Performance in the featured 4A ensemble for ICDA’s Iowa Choral Show-
large collegiate choir category. case three times. In recent years, students from this en-
semble have performed with the Urbandale Singers, the
Mariana Farah is the director of choral King’s Singers, VOCES8, the Iowa State Singers, and
studies at UW-Madison, where she con- the Wartburg Choir.
ducts Concert Choir, teaches courses in
graduate choral conducting, and over- Jeff Knutson is in his ninth year at Waukee
sees all aspects of a comprehensive cho- High School, where he directs A Cappella,
ral program. Prior to her appointment at UW-Mad- two bass clef choirs, a show choir, and a
ison, Farah served as the associate director of choral jazz choir. Each year, Knutson coordinates
activities at the University of Kansas. Choirs under her Festival of Peace, directs a masterwork,
leadership have successfully performed at the Missouri, and plans a choir tour, with international tours occur-
Kansas, and Wisconsin MEA conventions and at the ring every three years. Knutson received his bachelor’s
2008 and 2018 Southwestern ACDA Region Confer- degree from Luther College and his MM in choral con-
ences. The UW-Madison Concert Choir performed at ducting from Michigan State University. Knutson serves
the 2025 ACDA National Conference in Dallas. Farah’s as an R&R chair for the Iowa Choral Directors Associ-
research focuses on Brazilian choral music, particularly ation.
the choral works of Ernani Aguiar. She maintains an
active schedule as a clinician for festivals in Brazil and
in the United States.

CHORAL JOURNAL January 2026 Volume 66 Number 5 57