Inside ACDA-MN

By Jamie Andrews

IDEA FUND

In 2023, ACDA-MN launched the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA) Fund to deepen our diversity and equity efforts in choral music. The IDEA Fund is dedicated to supporting choir conductors and creative programs that (1) remove barriers to engage with ACDA-MN, (2) provide mentorship and education to pre-service and early career choir directors, and (3) create greater access to opportunities for choral singing.

Although just over a year old, this fund is already having an impact. The initial round of support went to four applications with a range of goals and outcomes that continue to diversity and engage the wider community in choral music. The funded applications include:

Minnesota Choral Mentorship Program’s goal include promoting the personal and professional well-being of young choral directors in an effort to retain early-career choral directors in the profession. The program engaged 13 mentors who made 11 visits. Led by Diane Heaney, Zack Carlson-Giving, and Michael Walsh, the program is still welcoming prospective mentors and mentees.

*Note: if you are interested in being a mentor or mentee, you are encouraged to contact Zack Carlson-Giving (zachariah.davin@gmail.com) or Diane Heaney (dianehean@gmail.com).

Angelica Cantanti’s Glee Club Music Class for singers with special needs was launched with a goal of providing access to the arts for young singers with varying abilities to grow musically and to share their love of singing. The program consists of three 8-week sessions, with a weekly 60-minute class in the Fall of 2024, and Winter and Spring of 2025. Funds support paying Teaching Artists and for the publicity to recruit students with special health care needs or disabilities. The goal is to keep the cost of the class low, with no financial barriers to participation. The program began in the summer of 2024, meeting on Saturdays at Creekside Community Center in Bloomington, an ADA compliant facility. The participants build cooperation and a sense of belonging with the other members through activities such as playing musical games and learning simple songs. Musical concepts such as simple rhythms, steady beat, melodies, chording, listening, and self- regulation are used along with creative movement and exercises designed to explore their voices.

BridgeSingers, led by Sarina Partridge, created a new community-based, non-auditioned singing group that focused on singing songs of comfort and healing as free offerings to people in times of transition, loss, and grief. Participating singers said about the experience, “This is such a cultural need – but we’re disconnected and at a loss for how to ask for it.” And “I feel like more of a human when I leave than when I arrived.”

CoMUSICation being able to expand their high-quality after school music programs to teens. The project exceeded their goal by 22% and served 22 youth who identified as 50% Black, 9% Asian, 14% Latino, 14% White, and 14% multiracial. Activities the young musicians participated in included a Winter Showcase, caroling at the St. Paul European Christmas Market, and the 2024 Youth Song Share.

IDEA Fund applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and reviewed by a panel of six people who represent a mix of backgrounds and experience. More information about the IDEA Fund, including the application form, can be found at IDEA Fund.

COMMUNICATION COMMITTEE

We are looking for volunteers to join the newly formed Communications Committee. The group will look to coordinate and streamline the various channels of communication ACDA-MN currently has in an effort to better tell our amazing story.

People with interest and skills in social media, creating content, editing images and videos are encouraged to sign up.

Contact Jamie Andrews at jandrews@acda-mn.org for more information.

STATE HONOR CHOIRS

Inspiring New Generations For Excellence

4-5-6 AURORA & POLARIS CHOIR HONOR CHOIR

Saturday, March 29, 2025
Rehearsals and Performance: St. Michael/Albertville High School • St. Michael

Aurora Choir Conductor

Greg Gilpin
Composer & Conductor, Indianapolis, IN

Polaris Choir Conductor

Patti Arntz
Robbinsdale Schools, retired

Schedule:

Friday, January 10 – Auditions Due

Tuesday, January 21 – Director Notification

Wednesday, February 5 – Scholarship Applications Due

Wednesday, February 19 – Registration/Payments Due

7-8 TTB & SSA HONOR CHOIR

Saturday, April 5, 2025
Rehearsals and Performance: St. Michael/Albertville High School • St. Michael

TTB Conductor

Lukas Warren
Red Wing High School

SSA Conductor

Elizabeth Egger
Angelica Cantanti & Scott Highland Middle School

Schedule:

Friday, January 31 – Auditions Due

Tuesday, February 11 – Director Notification

Wednesday, February 26 – Scholarship Applications Due

Wednesday, March 12 – Registration/Payments Due

 

ANNUAL STATE ELECTIONS —  March 1-8

Meet the Candidates

President-Elect

James Cox

Jason Etten

Metro West District Chair

Randi Erlandson

Miriam Augsburger

Northeast District Chair

Chris Jacobson

Christopher Mason

Southwest District Chair

Bri Bergstrom

Complete candidate bios and statements of leadership intention will be published via The Weekly Pulse in the weeks leading up to the balloting time frame.

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2025 SUMMER DIALOGUE

July 30 – August 1

Planning is currently underway for the annual ACDA-MN Summer Dialogue, July 30 – August 1 located at Concordia College, in Moorhead, MN. The Summer Dialogue planning team, led by ACDA-MN State President Jerry Upton, will be offering relevant and engaging sessions throughout the three-day schedule.

ACDA-MN Co-Directors’ Chorus Headliners:

Michael & Matthew Culloton

More updates will be shared throughout the spring, with the online registration starting in May.

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ANNUAL AWARDS

ACDA-MN Annual Awards presented at the 2024 State Conference

The following ACDA-MN members were nominated by their peers and selected by the ACDA-MN Board of Directors to receive these annual awards which were presented at the 2024 State Conference this past November.

Creative Programing Award
Co-sponsored with VocalEssence

Amy Johnson

Artistic Director, See Change Treble Choir

(L-R) Philip Brunelle (presenter) and Amy Johnson

Emerging Choral Director Award

Jaclyn Schmeichel

Farmington High School

(L-R) Megan Dimich (presenter) and Jaclyn Schmeichel

Good morning, my name is Megan Dimich and I teach at Farmington High School.  I’m so honored to be here to present the Emerging Choral Director Award to my colleague, Jaclyn Schmeichel.

Since coming to Farmington High School 4 years ago, Ms. Schmeichel has taken our program by storm. She came in with confidence in the skills she possessed while also understanding she has room to grow and learn. She jumped in with both feet with to our Tenor/Bass ensemble, Con Brio, and has led these singers with assertion and fun. They have grown tremendously under her leadership of fun and structure. In our auditioned SSAA ensemble, Cantabile, she built a home for them to feel completely invested and loved in our program. One remarkable achievement is they continue to compose new music together honoring students of different cultures and backgrounds, as well as mantras and songs to live by for the class. She is not afraid of new challenges and only grows into a more confident educator in the process.

Attention to detail is maybe Schmeichel’s biggest strength. This applies to picking appropriate, quality, and diverse literature. She honors every composer, lyricist, and context of the music when teaching and has a profound way of helping our singers invest in the song. She is thorough in her vocal techniques and makes sure students not only understand the actual mechanics of the voice while also using imagery, actions, and words to help them unlock their voices.

As a partner in our choir program, I have been nothing but amazed with her ability to dive into an existing program. Not only does she honor the work we have built in Farmington, but she also feels comfortable suggesting new ideas and helping drive the shape of our program together. I truly enjoy our conversations and her views on education, choral music, and the world. She is the full package and I could not be more proud of her and the work she does and will continue to do in Farmington.

I am proud to present this award to my dear friend, Jaclyn Schmeichel.

Megan Dimich, presenter

Minnesota Choral Director of the Year

Michelle Gerhz

(L-R) ), Chris Starr (presenter) and Michelle Gehrz

During my first year of teaching, I met a spunky fifth grade girl who obviously loved music with her whole heart. It became rapidly clear to me that there was so much music inside of her. In the spring of that year, I started her piano lessons and when I returned in the fall, I moved her up 3 levels. Her mom told me she played the piano all summer.

Several years ago, we met for lunch and Michelle shared her desire to start an adult treble choir of her own to spread light, find hope and feel immense joy! Bella Lumina was born. The first time I heard them sing, I didn’t want the concert to end. Two years ago, she invited me to go

with them to sing Andrea Ramsey’s Suffrage Cantata with a mass choir at Carnegie Hall. Of course I went, and then joined Bella Lumina the following fall. Singing inside of Bella Lumina is a powerful experience. The rehearsals are joyous and inspiring work and are full of music that is inspirational and especially empowering.

Michelle’s uplifting programming runs through the Angelica Cantanti choir that you heard yesterday, the Minnetonka Senior Chorale and Bella Lumina. To quote Emma, one of her Angelica singers, “Never in my life have I felt as loved and appreciated outside of my home. Mrs. Gehrz is the heart and soul of that. She is filled with a zesty character that is intriguing, and pushes us to do our best. But my favorite thing about her is that she always takes the time to thank us for being there. She truly appreciates us and I just love knowing that.”

Michelle, I am so very proud of you and what you mean to the choral community in this state. It is with great JOY I present this award to you!

Chris Starr, presenter

F. Melius Christiansen Lifetime Achievement Award

David Cherwien

National Lutheran Choir, retired

(L-R) David Cherwien and Shaun Halland (presenter)

About Jamie Andrews

Jamie Andrews (he/him) has over two decades of experience working in the arts, education, and nonprofit administration. He is currently the Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota, and a founding member of PrimeLife Arts Learning, an on-line platform dedicated to Creative Aging. Previously he served as Development Manager for Lakeshore Players Theatre, Recruitment and Events Planning Liaison at the University of St. Thomas, and as the Chief Learning Officer at the Minnesota Opera, where he oversaw an extensive array of programs for all ages, including an industry-leading Creative Aging initiative, Music Out Loud, the first opera-based El Sistema-inspired youth program in the US, and the commission of a youth opera The Song Poet, based on the novel by Kao Kalia Yang with music by Joceyln Hagen. Active in arts advocacy, Jamie serves on the board of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts.

Jamie started his career in the arts, teaching band and choir in Forest Lake and Lester Prairie, Minnesota, after earning a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. He also earned a master’s degree in Arts and Cultural Management from St. Mary’s University of Minnesota.