2003 MassACDA Summer Conference
A Retrospective
Summer 2003 Conference Sang with Success!
Gordon College set the scene for the Massachusetts chapter of the American Choral Directors Association Summer 2003 Conference held on July 13th-16th. The conference was attended by approximately 50 elementary, middle school, high school and collegiate level choral music educators from across the New England states, and from as far away as Virginia. This year’s featured clinicians were Jerry Blackstone, Alexander Dashnaw, Joan Gregoryk and Michele Holt. Dr. Blackstone is director of choirs and chair of the Conducting Department at the University of Michigan. Dr. Dashnaw hails from New York where he is currently director of choral activities and chair of the Department of Music at the CW Post Campus of Long Island University. Ms. Gregoryk, founder and musical director of the Children’s Chorus of Washington, is internationally recognized for her work in the field of children’s vocal music. Her achievements have earned her numerous honors including Outstanding Arts Educator in the United States awarded by the Rockefeller Brothers Funds Awards in Arts Education, and the Maryland Outstanding Elementary Music Educator. Dr. Michele Holt is well known throughout the Northeast as a clinician, choral adjudicator and guest conductor. She is currently the director of choral activities at Providence College in Rhode Island.
The conference offered its participants three days of intensive workshops and reading sessions that focused on vocal health, group vocal technique, choral conducting, and choral repertoire. The clinicians hand selected repertoire for each of the six reading sessions. Joan Gregoryk’s workshops on Developing Vocal and Choral Skills in the Elementary School Chorus provided participants with teaching strategies, lesson plans, group vocal techniques and repertoire appropriate for the elementary and early middle school choirs. Dr. Dashnaw and Dr. Holt jointly presented workshops on building the secondary school choral program and developing a healthy choral sound. Participants were provided with extensive resources and well researched, effective choral teaching techniques. Dr. Dashnaw also presented an extremely informative session on Commissioning a Choral Work. Dr. Blackstone’s presentation on Working with Male Voices focused on developing the male voice through vocal modeling. Using conference attendees as a “lab choir”, he very expertly modeled warm-up exercises, group vocal development techniques and rehearsal strategies in his workshop on Choral Rehearsal Techniques. A conducting master class provided participants with an opportunity to conduct the “lab choir” and receive direct feedback from Dr. Blackstone. Although each clinician focused on their own area of expertise, the common message heard by all was that it is the responsibility of the choral educator to teach choral singers to sing, use the best repertoire available and expect nothing but the best from our students. In the words of Jerry Blackstone, “Why settle for a Snickers Bar when you know you can have Godiva chocolate!”
-William Pappazisis
Last revised March 24, 2009.
