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NATIONAL OFFICERS
From the
PRESIDENT
PRESIDENT
LYNNE GACKLE

lynne_gackle@baylor.edu As I write this article, it is difficult for me to believe
that I began writing my thoughts to you, the ACDA
VICE PRESIDENT
membership, in June of 2019. In looking back over this
ANDRÉ THOMAS period of time, I realize that so much has transpired.
athomas32312@aol.com
During this time, ACDA has sponsored two wonderful-
PRESIDENT-ELECT ly successful National Conferences—one in person in
Kansas City, celebrating Community and Legacy; and
DAVID FRYLING
dfryling@mac.com Lynne Gackle one held virtually, which celebrated Diversity in Music
in all its many forms. There were also six hugely suc-
SECRETARY/TREASURER cessful Regional Conferences hosted in a year that would prove to be unlike
TOM MERRILL anything that we have seen in the past 100 years.
merrillt@xavier.edu
Our world could not have changed more over the past eighteen months.
We have collectively felt the gripping fear as we watched choral music be-
PAST PRESIDENT
come maligned and viewed as a “threat.” This human activity that has tra-
TOM SHELTON
ttshelton@aol.com ditionally brought people together in unity to share in times of celebration,
pain, sorry, joy, worship, and community very quickly became something
INTERIM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR dangerous to our very existence and, consequently, was taken from us, al-
HILARY APFELSTADT most in an instant. Our hearts broke as we realized that there would be
hapfelstadt@acda.org no singing—for how long, we didn’t know. For many of us, our world be-
came one that was silenced and isolated on many fronts. Our profession was
EASTERN REGION PRESIDENT threatened, yes, but as the months wore on, our minds and our inner beings
PENELOPE CRUZ began to face a sadness that seemed endless.
pcruzacda@gmail.com
However, as stated in the introduction of the ACDA COVID-19 Response
MIDWESERN REGION PRESIDENT Report, “Choral directors are resilient, resourceful and exemplary leaders…
we were asked to make enormous adaptations to our instruction as a result
MARY EVERS
meversmusic@comcast.net of the COVID-19 pandemic. In many cases, we were asked to do so with as
little as one week of preparation. Directors passionate about their students/
NORTHWESTERN REGION PRESIDENT parishioners/community worked tirelessly to serve their singers and to keep
TIMOTHY WESTERHAUS them engaged with the choral art.” The conclusion of the document states
president@nwacda.org the hope that “we will emerge stronger…as a profession with a new commit-
ment to self-study and growth.”
SOUTHERN REGION PRESIDENT
I believe that we have emerged stronger as a profession and our minds
CONNIE DROSAKIS are open to new possibilities as never before! As people, we rediscovered the
connieisms@aol.com
importance of showing grace to each other and to ourselves, and we have
SOUTHWESTERN REGION PRESIDENT supported each other as we faced our individual challenges. It was inspiring
RYAN SULLIVAN to see this support evidenced through groups such as ChorAmor and others,
ryanwsullivan@gmail.com as they reached out to hundreds of conductors and choral musicians to help
train, encourage, and support each other through technology. Informational
WESTERN REGION PRESIDENT webinars still abound, and each of us has been forced to think more “outside
LOU DE LA ROSA of the box.” In doing so, that which was TRULY important became very
president@acdawestern.org
clear, and that which we THOUGHT was important was found to be not
so important after all. Our priorities changed and greater clarity of purpose
INDUSTRY ASSOCIATE REPRESENTATIVE
began to take shape.
KATHY FERNANDES As the country faced the crisis of pandemic, we also experienced social
J.W. Pepper
tension and turmoil. As a result, we have begun to be more refl ective, more
Kfernand@jwpepper.com
aware, and more committed as a profession to the importance of making the

4 CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2021 Volume 61 Number 11