March 29, 2019
K-State Choir professors, directors, students gain recognition at national conference
Several K-State Choirs professors, directors and students received recognition at the biannual National American Choral Directors Association, or ACDA, Conference, hosted Feb. 27-March 2 in Kansas City, Missouri.
The individuals who received recognition included faculty members Joshua Oppenheim, Bryan Pinkall, Patricia Thompson, David Simmons Wood; and choral student Kolby Van Camp. Additionally, Julie Yu, associate professor and co-director of choral studies at K-State; R.J. Leonard, K-State graduate student majoring in choral conducting; and Marley Wareham, K-State senior majoring in music education, attended the conference and represented the K-State Choral Program. Yu currently serves as the president of the Southwestern ACDA conference.
Oppenheim, associate professor and co-director of the choral department, composed a piece that was performed at the conference, titled "El Hombre Armado."
Additionally, Pinkall, voice professor, performed with the Kansas City Chorale, a professional ensemble that performs traditional and contemporary music. The Kansas City Chorale won a Grammy award in 2012 for "Best Choral Performance and Best Engineered Album, Classical."
Thompson, associate voice professor, performed with the Spire Chamber Ensemble at the conference. The Spire Chamber Ensemble is a professional choral group comprised of performers from the United States and Canada.
Wood, the director of Collegium Musicum, K-State's historical performance ensemble, and music professor, was chosen to co-present an interest session at the conference. The session was titled "Rediscovering Early Music." Wood presented alongside directors and staff of the acclaimed choral ensemble Seraphic Fire, as well as Early Music America, the Northern American service organization for early music. The session focused on music of the Renaissance as a means of teaching musicianship and musicality.
Van Camp, sophomore in vocal performance and music education, also composed a piece that was performed at the conference. Van Camp's piece, titled "In Flanders Fields," was performed by the men of Allegro Choirs.
The School of Music, Theatre, and Dance is a part of the College of Arts and Sciences. Visit k-state.edu/mtd to learn more about music, theatre and dance at K-State.