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5th Symposium on Research in Choral Singing
April 30 – May 1, 2026
Big 10 Conference Center

Chicago, IL

Call for Proposals

The American Choral Directors Association is pleased to announce the fifth International Symposium on Research in Choral Singing
from 8AM Thursday, April 30, to 6PM Friday, May 1, 2026. A forum for the dissemination of research and scholarly activity, the 2026 hybrid
symposium will be held in person or remotely for ACDA members from North America and for international participants, no membership

is required. We will combine diverse presentational formats and break-out sessions with opportunities for in-depth conversation, inquiry,
and consideration of future research directions of all types. Penn State University will host the conference in Chicago, in conjunction with
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain) and De Montfort University (England).
The intent of the Symposium is aligned with the purpose of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing: to advance knowledge
and practice with respect to choral singing, choir sound, choral pedagogy, and related areas such as equity and inclusion in choral singing,
school community partnerships, adolescent development, vocal development, and singing and well-being.

Sessions will be presented in person or synchronously via Zoom; time allotments will be determined by the program committee and
communicated to presenters in acceptance letters. Unique to our symposium format: All attendees are expected to attend the entire dura-
tion of the symposium, and requests for specific time slots cannot be considered.

Typical duration for spoken presentations will be 10–15 minutes plus 5 minutes for questions/answers; poster presenters will describe
their work in a lightning talk. We anticipate a schedule of morning/afternoon in the Americas, afternoon/evening Europe and late night/
early morning in Asia/Australia. Proposals must comply with the following guidelines:

· Previously published research should not be submitted; however, unpublished findings from a published project may be submitted.

· Research previously presented at a Symposium should not be submitted.

· In-progress research is permissible for submission so long as preliminary data and findings can be discussed in the proposal and the
author plans to have completed the project by the symposium. Prospective research projects are not suitable for this Symposium.

· Proposal submission implies intent to register for and present at the Symposium if accepted. The Symposium registration fee will be
approx. $125 USD, and this year a special graduate student rate will be offered for $50 (in-person only).

Submit 400-word abstracts for presentations or the poster session online at
https://acda.org/conferences/symposium-for-research-in-choral-singing

The IJRCS Editorial Board will serve as the Program Committee and will rate each proposal according to relevance, originality, clarity, and
validity. The Program Committee reserves the right to designate accepted proposals for either paper or poster presentation.

Proposal Deadline: Friday, November 14, 2025, at 5:00 PM CST (Chicago time)

· All submissions will be blinded for review by the program committee.

· Applicants will be notified on or before January 15. Presenters will be asked to register by March 1.

CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2 35