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The New Canon Project: Bringing New Voices to the Canon risingtidearts.org

Marina Quintanilla is an Oklahoma City- Future of Music Faculty Fellow, he has received com-
based composer and musician from the missions from the Cincinnati Song Initiative, Tallahas-
studio of Dr. Edward Knight (OKCU). see Symphony Orchestra, and MINA String Quartet.
Marina has sung with OKC’s semi-pro- Khyle holds degrees from Lincoln University of PA
fessional choirs—Canterbury Voices and (BS), Georgia State University (MM), and Florida State
Canterbury Chamber Voices—since 2021, has had University (PhD).
numerous performances with the OKC Philharmonic,
and premiered her own works. In 2023 she began her
journey with the New Canon Project and is currently We hope our ACDA members will explore these new
working on a commission for OKCDA’s 2027 All-State pieces with open ears and hearts. These works are not
Treble Choir. In her free time, Marina teaches at El “add-ons” or side projects—they are powerful, ped-
Sistema, an organization whose mission is to provide agogically sound additions to your repertoire library.
free music learning opportunities to students in the They are written with care, tailored to the realities of
Oklahoma City Metro area. school ensembles, and infused with the creative voic-
es of composers who reflect the students in our class-
rooms.
David García Saldaña (he) is an emerging
Los Angeles-based Mexican-American
Chicano composer whose choral work Looking Ahead
draws on folk music and traditions. His We also invite you to be part of the broader move-
compositions have been performed by ment to reimagine our repertoire. Programming these
the Los Angeles Master Chorale, SACRA/PROFANA, new works, offering your feedback, and advocating for
and The Sunday Night Singers, and he has received structural change in your local and state networks helps
commissions from the Los Angeles Unified School carry the momentum of this initiative into the future.
District and Cortines High School for the Arts. He ap- In five to seven years, we envision a choral landscape
proaches Latinidad as a dynamic identity, expanding where diverse, high-quality works by Black and Latine
Latin American music narratives to include the U.S. composers are not rare gems but standard options in
Latino voice. His “Nochebuena Choral Series” features our festival lists, state contest libraries, and daily class-
vibrant new arrangements of Latin American Christ- room use. We hope more publishers will invest in this
mas villancicos. He currently teaches music theory and kind of intentional, equity-focused work, and that
composition at Pasadena City College. He serves as more composers from underrepresented backgrounds
Western ACDA Composer Track Co-Chair. will find both a home and a livelihood in school music
spaces.
And most of all, we hope our students—those sitting
Khyle B. Wooten (he/him), a Philadel- in choir rooms across the country—will see themselves
phia native, is assistant professor of mu- reflected in the music they sing and understand that
sic performance and director of choral their stories, voices, and creative spirits belong in the
activities at Ithaca College. A conduc- canon too.
tor, educator, researcher, and composer, Let’s continue to build that canon together.
he previously served at the University of Tennessee,
Knoxville, and taught in Philadelphia and Atlanta
schools. His research focuses on Lena McLin and cho-
ral works by Black women composers. An inaugural

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2025 Volume 66 Number 3 37