. . . One of the biggest silver linings has been the opportunity for our singers to grow as strong, independent musicians. We have always made musicianship and literacy a major component of our choral program, but this year we have been able to closely monitor the growth and development of each singer, giving more time for individual assessment and immediate and transformational feedback. An increase in musicianship has likely helped to foster other outcomes including confidence, which is highlighted in the next segment.

Our choir of 86 singers has had to be split into 7 smaller ensembles to ensure safety measures could be followed. The singers have noticed the difference this made in their ability. Everyone has had to become a leader and with everyone taking ownership of their learning, confidence levels have grown exponentially. Singers no longer rely on their neighbor to hear and learn their part. With 6 feet social distancing, they have only one singer to rely on . . . themselves! . . . Read complete post with 7 positives.

Jeanne Wohlgumuth, Artistic Director, Columbus Children's Choir & incoming President-elect, Ohio Choral Directors Association (Columbus, OH)

The CDC released updated masking recommendations yesterday! Fully vaccinated people are, among other activities, cleared to "sing in an indoor chorus" with other fully vaccinated people. Since the guidance is specifically about masks, it is still recommended that singers and conductors wear masks and follow accompanying protocols about distancing and ventilating the room to maintain safest conditions. As always, the CDC notes that people should consider local conditions and their own personal situation. Click here for the full, revised CDC masking guidance.

Please complete this 2-minute survey if you met in person last year. Music programs have been through a lot during the pandemic. The researchers want to hear from all music teachers, directors, and administrators across the world who were in person during the 2020-21 school year. How did your year go?

The coalition reports that it is currently working on a chorus-centric webinar (they just did one on band instruments).

Find the latest choir-related guidance and resources on our COVID Resources page.

Customize your news by telling us you are a middle school choral educator, or a community choir conductor, or church musician, or other type of conductor. Log-in at https://acda.org and go to your the My Info page of your Member Profile; then click on Change to update that information. This will ensure that you receive any announcements targeted to your area of interest!

Have you noticed more news in your news feed? A few months ago app users started having access to more daily posts from ChoralNet and the RSS feed from NAfME. It's where to go to get choral news first! 📲 Click here to download the app and get started!

New! National ACDA Webinars

We have added a new page to the website to include information on national webinars. Watch there for news on the upcoming June webinar for middle school and high school choral educators.

New! State Events

Visit our state chapter events page for a comprehensive list of events that are open to all ACDA members. Does your chapter or region have an official chapter event coming up that is open to other members? Ask your president to submit the information here to be included on this page!

Check the region conference page for dates and locations of the 2022 conferences, as well as to find links to each region's conference information.

A limited number of registrations to this landmark conference are still available! By registering now, you can access sessions and performances through December 2021.

Log-in here, then click Register at the top right of the page.

J. W. Pepper Reading Packets Available

Click here to go to the Pepper site. Create a free account to access PDFs of the session booklets.

Already registered? Access performances and sessions here: https://acda.pathable.co/login.

First, can you log in? Remember, your primary email address is your username. If you’re not receiving the reset password email at that address, we may need to update your username manually. Please contact us at membership@acda.org or (405) 232-8161 and ask for help!

Second, can you renew once you log-in? If you aren’t able to move through the renewal process for some reason, please contact us and ask for a “pro forma invoice.” We’ll email you a link to simply click on and pay your renewal dues.

Autorenewal Available! If you are an Active member, you may opt-in to autorenewal of your dues the next time you renew your membership.

Sign-in at https://acda.org, go to your profile, scroll to your communications preferences, and de-select "Weekly Inspiration." Or, reply with "Unsubscribe" in the subject line and we'll manually remove you from this Wednesday email.