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Repertoire & Resources

clude bingo, picnics, and board game nights; all are a ACDA grants access to valuable resources
fun way to build a community. through conferences, publications, and net-
working opportunities, but I imagine it could
be hard for an undergraduate student to fully
Indiana University: We offer a blend of education- comprehend the value of those resources if
al and social activities, including three to four faculty they had no real-world applications for them.
presentations and/or panel discussions per semester. My peers and I got to attend conferences ev-
We’ve also invited faculty from other departments and ery year, mostly paid for by our student chap-
units on campus to offer perspectives on a host of cho- ter. We’d come back feeling rejuvenated and
ral-adjacent topics. get to jump right in and teach a new canon
we’d learned in an interest session to young
people at ICYC. We understood firsthand
Ithaca College: Generally, the chapter had choral the importance of making personal connec-
graduate students present a topic of their choice each tions with other choral professionals because
year. If we had an on-campus guest artist, that person we witnessed that good communication, effec-
would present. Faculty presented on topics of their ex- tive collaboration, and a shared passion were
pertise. Public school teachers in the area presented crucial for successful choral endeavors. We ap-
sessions on various topics (musicals with middle school, preciated things like the Choral Journal because
vocal jazz, tenor-bass ensembles, solfege, etc.) There we had exposure to so many different music-
was generally a session after regional or national con- making settings, and we were figuring out what
ferences that allowed the members who went to share we were most passionate about.
information about their favorite sessions and what they
learned from the conference. This was fun because they
would tell stories of meeting composers or conductors
that they had heard about throughout their lives. They How did you keep students engaged with
also had a Messiah reading in December—open to the your chapter throughout the academic year?
community—with student conductors who had been
selected through an audition process.
The ACDA chapter assisted with events on cam- SUNY Potsdam: To ensure our club’s success with
pus like our annual Composition Competition Fes- student engagement, our E-board meets weekly to dis-
tival Day and Concert and the New York State Area cuss programming. These meetings are efficient and
All-State Festival. They served as hosts for attending organized with accurate records reflecting the direction
high schools, oversaw lining up the choir members in of Crane ACDA. The information discussed is includ-
the hallway and leading them on stage. These events ed in our weekly email chain for all members. We rely
provided great learning experiences. Conference atten- heavily on our E-board to recruit and excite our mem-
dance was a big part of the year’s activities. The chap- bers about upcoming events. Seeing peers who provide
ter leaders also promoted community partnerships— valuable experiences to one another is vital to our or-
many of the students had their first “real-world” choral ganization's success. Our members stay involved year-
teaching experience working with a community group round with weekly lab choirs, knowing there is always
called the Dorothy Cotton Jubilee Singers, directed an ACDA event each week. We plan other events such
by Baruch Whitehead. ICACDA also worked hand in as guest speakers and club bonding at least a month
hand with the Ithaca Children’s Choir, now known as ahead of time and coordinate them with the school
ICYC. Many students served as assistant conductors events calendar to ensure our members can attend.
through an internship program or as staff pianists. In The leadership in our organization is also very re-
the words of a former student (Juliana Joy Child): ceptive to feedback and generally understands the

48 CHORAL JOURNAL November/December 2024 Volume 65 Number 4