Call for Auditioned Choirs | | |
The 2026 Midwestern Conference theme, Reflections of Us, invites us to explore how choral music captures our collective voices—past, present, and future—honoring diverse traditions, shared experiences, and the ever-evolving tapestry of our art. As we lift our voices together, we reflect not only on the music but on each other—our communities, our challenges, and our triumphs—knowing that through song, we discover deeper connections and a greater understanding of who we are. We call upon our membership to share performances that demonstrate excellence and showcase a broad spectrum of choral repertoire, including music from pre-1900, works by historically excluded/marginalized composers, and newly composed or commissioned pieces that offer connections to and reflections on the lives and identities of our singers, our choirs, our midwestern communities, and our membership. Conductors from all R&R areas are strongly encouraged to apply. Click here to visit the MWACDA website to submit your choir.
Applications close Wednesday, May 21, 2025, at 11:59 p.m. CENTRAL TIME.
| | Call for Interest Sessions | | |
Sing Around Nebraska Festival and Honor Choirs serve our 4th through 6th grade singers in November of each year. This year’s Honor Choir joined the voices of over 100 singers who earned their membership through a state-wide audition. Our Honor Choirs feature nationally known clinicians and 2024 was no exception, as the ensemble was under the leadership of Gretchen Harrison. The elementary singers performed a beautiful concert at the end of their experience.
Singing Youth of Nebraska Festival and Honor Choirs serve our 7th through 9th grade students in January of each year. The 2025 experience was a Festival Choir, so each site’s chorus was made up of non-auditioned singers. While each of this year’s six sites hosted different clinicians, all of the students prepared and performed the same repertoire. It is always so good to empower our middle school and junior high singers with the opportunity to gather and sing outside their school building and school choir program.
Professional Development is another branch of our comprehensive approach to enrich the whole conductor. During the state NAfME conference, NCDA does our best to provide valuable conducting experiences for directors of all experience levels, as well as reading sessions of R&R selected repertoire. The summer months bring a time of rejuvenation as we join on the Peru State College campus for our annual NCDA Conference Retreat. This summer, on June 28 through July 1, we will feature national clinicians and some of Nebraska’s finest educators to guide us through sessions on rehearsal techniques, technology for the conductor, reading sessions, and many others. We even commission and premiere a new work each summer, published through MusicSpoke. Our summer retreat is open to educators from any area and we all come together as one community of conductors.
Click here for more information about the NCDA summer conference!
| | Thank you to Chris Storm, president of NCDA, for your state's contributions to the March newsletter. | | Join us in Milwaukee in 2026! | | |
Professional Development Corner
Click here to watch A History of Black Music in America
Click here to explore the New Choral Music Facebook Page
Click here to explore the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing
Click here to explore repertoire suggestions from our friends in Southwestern ACDA.
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