In March 2020, choral professionals made massive shifts in rehearsals and performances. . . . I was inspired by the amount of support and collaboration I saw among choral professionals. And, I’m sure like many others, I wondered “how will this change us?”

As we transition into whatever is next for the choral art, I suspect it will include the same innovation, support, collaboration, and work. Unless, I suppose, we are all okay with going back to exactly what we were doing before, which I doubt. Why not use this as a chance to reimagine and widen the community? COVID-19 disrupted our way of music making and much of our standard practice. We have questions to answer about recruitment, community building, and safety. We have questions to answer about our programs and curriculums, worship services and advocacy. We also have very real and unignorable questions about how our profession will work and attain greater equity. The process of answering these questions could result in exciting and needed movements forward if we are willing to keep the same focus on thinking outside-the-box. Read full ChoralNet post.

Shannon Gravelle, Director of Choral Activities &

Coordinator of Music Education, Meredith College (Raleigh, NC)

The ACDA Composition Initiatives Committee has developed new resources for you!

This past year, choral composers lost the musical experiences that affirm, encourage, and inspire, as well as a year's worth of revenue normally generated by choirs purchasing, performing, and licensing our music. We recognize the importance of singing great music written in the past; but in this unique time, living choral composers and their publishers need unique support. As the light begins to dawn after our long choral darkness, #SingNewMusic!

Please share our campaign on your social media accounts (look on Facebook for a shareable post on the ACDA page or the American Choral Composers group, or on ACDA's Twitter and Instagram feeds) and tag any upcoming or current performances with the hashtag!

Two new bloggers take the stage this week, both reflecting on the transitions we will be facing out of the past year and into what promises to be a different kind of choral world.

New! National Event

Join Advocacy & Collaboration Committee members for a casual conversation before the holiday weekend. Bring your questions about advocacy and collaboration and they will do their best to answer them! Walk away with ideas and practices you can tap into.

Register in advance to join this conversation. Zoom information is included with your registration confirmation email.

Visit our State Chapter Events page for a comprehensive list of events that are open to all ACDA members. Each listing indicates whether it is virtual, hybrid, or in person. Ohio, Montana, Vermont, Indiana, and New Jersey all have events coming up in June. To add an official chapter event, ask your president to submit the information here.

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.

Julius Herford Dissertation Prize. Nomination period open. Learn more. Deadline: Jun. 15.

Did you miss yesterday evening's webinar with Jamila McWhirter, chair, ACDA Education & Communication Committee, and panelists Gretchen Grace Harrison, Chris Munce, and Vincent Oakes? Never fear! You can find an unedited recording of the livestream on our Facebook page. An edited version with links to panelists' presentations and handouts will be added to our National Webinars webpage by Friday.

ACDA member Rebecca Lord has created a database of Free-$1/Copy Sheet-Music Resources. It features an array of websites providing public domain scores, works of individual composers, special collections, and historic documents and autograph scores among others. Copyright and other helpful information provided. Have a resource to add to the database? Submit it using this online form.

Two chapters have president-elect elections open this month: Florida ACDA (Jun. 8-21) and Utah ACDA (Jun. 15-28).

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