Greetings & Happy February!
I am so happy to be reaching out to all of you with exciting updates from the ACDA student chapters of WCSU and UCONN, as well as reminders about registering for the ACDA Eastern Region Conference in Rochester - and of course, another important round of SAVE THE DATES!
I am also thrilled to be sharing a celebratory post from Jon Noyes - Director of the Fairfield Children's Choir - Congratulations to the entire FCCC Staff and Choristers on their 25th Anniversary Season and upcoming performance at Carnegie Hall.
Rochester is only 3 weeks away! I look forward to seeing many of you there!
Amanda Hanzlik
President, CT-ACDA
ROCHESTER 2020!
REGISTER at https://acdaeast.org/division-conferences/rochester-2020/
Please attend the CONNECTICUT PARTY!
FRIDAY 6:00pm - The Street Craft Kitchen and Bar/ HYATT
Western Connecticut State University Student Chapter
Clare Callahan, President
Western Connecticut State Universities chapter of ACDA has really seen some major changes this year. In 2019 the chapter elected a new executive board that made a significant impact. President: Clare Callahan, Vice President: Julia Giattino, Treasurer: Adam Giard Secretary: Madison Palmerino. At the end of 2018, there were 7 members but going into 2019 we had a strong 60 members. As an executive board, we worked to include everyone and change the face of our chapter. Spring of 2019 our advisor for the interim was Dr. Ellen Voth along with Dr. Kevin Isaacs. Fall 2019, we welcomed Dr. Jeremy Wiggins to the university, and he became our permanent advisor. We had a successful first set of choir concerts with him and excited for what he will be bringing to WCSU in the future.
We held events through the semester such as a choral share where upperclassmen would have a chance to conduct a choral piece of their choice. We had students sign up to act as the choir and made sure that we had an even amount of voices in each part. This event had a large turnout of 40 people with instrumental, jazz, audio and choral focuses. We are currently planning a choral festival for high school chamber choir groups that has been a success in the past. This festival will take place this coming march and will be adjudicated by Dr. Isaacs and Dr. Wiggins. ACDA is the organization that runs the event and is our biggest event of the year.
We had the largest turnout to a state conference this past fall in Guilford, CT. We had about 20 students that attended the conference.
Afterward, the executive board received so much positive feedback from students expressing that they were so glad that they went. We are now preparing for the ACDA Eastern Conference in Rochester, NY. We have 5 students attending the conference and are looking forward to the major conference. Clare Callahan was one of five students to have received the Kegerreis Scholarship which involved a big application process. This scholarship was designed to give financial support to students that wanted to attend the conference.
Going into 2020, we had just elected a new executive board. President: Madison Palmerino, Vice President: Anthony DeLuoc, Treasurer: Liam Alldredge Secretary: Madi Aug. They have come up with new ideas for events and getting more students involved for the future. We are excited for what the state and national chapter has in store for the future and being more involved.
The University of Connecticut Student Chapter
Spencer Sonnenberg, President
The UCONN ACDA has had several exciting updates in the past few months! Enrollment has increased this Spring 2020 and the organization attended the fall conference, in which UConn had shown in strong numbers and played vital roles in many key parts of the conference process. UConn Graduate students helped lead reading sessions and panels while student leaders helped to make the day a success engaging with choral musicians from across the state. Here on campus this Spring, UConn ACDA also hosted the first UConn Choral Festivals which were very successful including multiple schools in clinics provided by the UConn Choral faculty. During the festival, UConn ACDA brings both high school and middle school choirs to join in a productive weekend of music making with some of the best clinicians in the state. Membership into UConn ACDA is easy and can be accomplished by speaking with Dr. Spillane upon the start of every semester
Fairfield County Children’s Choir 25th Anniverary at Carnegie Hall
The Fairfield County Children’s Choir will present their 25th Anniversary Spring Concert on Saturday, May 16, 2020 at 8:00 PM at Stern Auditorium/Perelmen Stage at Carnegie Hall. Tickets will be available from $17 - $55 in late February at carnegiehall.org | CarnegieCharge 212-247-7800 | Carnegie Hall Box Office at 57th and Seventh.
The two-hour program, including intermission, will feature all four divisions of the FCCC. Selections will include include Ave Maria by Biebl, Sing Me to Heaven by Gawthrop, Wanting Memories by Barnwell, Shenandoah arr. by Noyes, Blue Skies arr. by Emerson, Bridge Over Troubled Water arr. by Shaw and a World Premiere Commission by Robert I. Hugh, among many other pieces.
The FCCC, comprised of over 300 choristers ages 9 - 19, has performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, Madison Square Garden, West Point, Tanglewood; in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Denver, Flagstaff, Boston, Hawaii, Canada, England, Ireland, Austria and Czech Republic. The group received two first place awards at the Golden Gate International Choral Festival in California in 2018. They will perform in Paris and at the World Choir Games in Belgium in July 2020.
The Fairfield County Children’s Choir can be found at www.SingFCCC.org.
SAVE THE DATES
ACDA at CMEA!
Reading Session - Round table Discussion
Social Hour with All State Conductors Jeff Douma and Tesfa Wondemagnehu
Hartford Convention Center - April 3, 2020
CT-ACDA SPRING CONFERENCE
ON THE HORIZON! - Scheduling/Planning/Repertoire for 2020-2021
(Registration will open in April)
Hartford - May 30, 2020
CT-ACDA SUMMER SING - N - SOCIAL
Shoreline Location TBD - August 22 or 29, 2020 (TBD)