Inside ACDA

Fall 2025

by Jamie Andrews, Executive Director

Welcome Emily!

Starting in July, we welcomed Emily Bird as our new Associate Director! She is a graduate from the University of Notre Dame, with a Masters of Sacred Music in vocal performance. While at Notre Dame, she served as a director with the Notre Dame Children’s Choir, teaching their youngest choristers. Prior to graduate studies, Emily worked as a choir director and arts administrator for several children’s choir programs in the Greater Toronto Area, including the Toronto Children’s Chorus, the Bach Children’s Chorus, Canadian Children’s Opera Company, and Mississauga Children’s Choir. Emily holds a Bachelor of Music honors specialization in Music Education degree from the University of Western Ontario, in London, Ontario, Canada and has completed her Level 1 Kodály certification.

For the past five years, Emily has resided in Fort Wayne, Indiana, where she served as the Associate Artistic Director of the Fort Wayne Children’s Choir and directed the Chamber Treble Singers at the Purdue Fort Wayne School of Music. In September 2023, she joined the staff of Trinity English Lutheran Church, Fort Wayne, as the Director of Children’s Music.

In her new role with ACDA-MN, Emily will lead our communications, spearhead new program development, strengthen our fundraising efforts, and share the vibrant stories that make our community so inspiring. 

---

State Conference

Wellness to Wonder

The 2025 ACDA-MN State Conference will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 14-15 at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi. 

Saturday, November 15 will feature Dr. Tasha Golden giving the keynote address Conducting Wellbeing: Reimagining Your Role in Health, Connection, and Community Impact. 

Friday, November 14 will culminate with a concert featuring:

Suffrage Cantata by Andrea Ramsey

• Bella Lumina with guest choirs from Angelica Cantanti Youth Choirs, Minnehaha Academy, Minnetonka High School and Mound Westonka High School – Michelle Gehrz, conductor

Celebrating 130 years of Singing

• The Apollo Club – Chris McGinley, conductor

Friday and Saturday will see the following choirs, who were selected from throughout the state, to appear on the conference program. 

Friday’s performances include:

• Allegro Choral Academy – Kari & Greg Douma, conductors
• Shakopee West Middle School Choir – Kathryn Gubrud, conductor
• Owatonna High School Huskies & Concert Choirs – Paula Asmus, conductor
• Farmington High School Choir – Megan Dimich, conductor
• Minnetonka High School Concert Choir – Aaron Kohrs, conductor
• Urban Initiatives High School Choral Festival featuring VocalEssence Singers of this Age (VESOTA) and a coalition of urban high school choirs and singers – G. Phillip Shoultz, conductor

The Saturday performances include:

• Winona State University Choir – Colleen Chester, conductor
• Borealis (Twin Cities Gay Men’s Chorus) – Gerald Gurss, conductor
• Bemidji State University Choir – Isaac Lovdahl, conductor
• Golden Voices Festival Choir – Natalia Romero Arbeláez, conductor
• Borealis Chamber Artists – Richard Carrick, conductor
• Great River Chorale – Mary Kay Geston, conductor

In addition, 15 interest sessions targeting all age levels of singers/conductors will be scheduled throughout the two-day event.

---

We are absolutely thrilled to introduce the Golden Voices Festival Choir – our brand-new choral festival created especially for older adults! Choir directors have long celebrated the incredible musical, artistic, and social power of singing together – and those benefits only grow richer with age. This one-of-a-kind program invites singers from across the state to gather for an inspiring, joy-filled day of music-making and connection.

Singers ages 55+ will come together on Saturday, November 15 for a day of rehearsals, laughter, and community, culminating in a powerful performance as part of the State Conference. The choir will be led by the dynamic and inspiring Natalia Romero Arbeláez The event is free with travel stipends available for those travelling long distances. 

Registration for the State Conference and Golden Voice can be found at: acda-mn.com

---

Honor Choirs

Inspiring New Generations For Excellence

We are excited to announce the dates for our state honor choir program for 2025-2026:

9-10 Honor Choirs: Saturday, February 14, 2026 (Minneapolis Convention Center, Minneapolis)

4-5-6 Honor Choirs: Saturday, March 28, 2026 (St. Michael/Albertville High School, St. Michael)

7-8 Honor Choirs: Saturday, April 11, 2026 (St. Michael/Albertville High School, St. Michael)

For detailed information on how to audition students for the ACDA-MN Honor Choir program go to: acda-mn.org

Student participation in the ACDA-MN honor choir program is a direct benefit of current membership in ACDA.

9-10 TBB & SSAA & SATB HONOR CHOIR

Saturday, February 14, 2026

Rehearsals: Hilton Hotel, Minneapolis

Performance: Minneapolis Convention Center • Minneapolis

TBB Conductor: Lucas Miller – Spirit Lake Community Schools – Spirit Lake, Iowa

SSAA Conductor: Maria Wilson, Maple Grove & Brooklyn Middle Schools, Minnesota

SATB Conductor: Brandon Dean, Gustavus Adolphus College, Minnesota

Schedule:

Friday, October 24 – Auditions Due

Tuesday, November 4 – Director Notification

Wednesday, November 19 – Scholarship Applications Due

Friday, December 5 – Registration/Payments Due

4-5-6 Aurora Choir & Polaris Choir HONOR CHOIR

Saturday, March 28, 2026

Rehearsals and Performance: St. Michael/Albertville High School • St. Michael

Aurora Choir Conductor: Stephanie Schumacher, Honor Choirs of Southeast Minnesota

Polaris Choir Conductor: Kaite Houts, Choristers Guild Institute, Salt Lake City

Schedule:

Friday, January 16 – Auditions Due

Tuesday, January 27 – Director Notification

Wednesday, February 9 – Scholarship Applications Due

Wednesday, February 18 – Registration/Payments Due

7-8 TTB & SSA HONOR CHOIR

Saturday, April 11, 2026

Rehearsals and Performance: St. Michael/Albertville High School • St. Michael

TTB Conductor: Jim Papoulis, Composer & Conductor, New York 

SSA Conductor: Bri Bergstrom, St. Peter Public School

Schedule:

Friday, January 30 – Auditions Due

Tuesday, February 10 – Director Notification

Wednesday, February 25 – Scholarship Applications Due

Wednesday, March 11 – Registration/Payments Due

FEES

Audition fees for 2025-26 are $16 per student, and registration fees for selected students at $135.

Audition and registration fees cover these annual costs: online audition site costs, guest conductor artistic fees and travel expenses, accompanist, instrumentalists, on-site medical staff, rental of performance and rehearsal facilities, liability insurance, food, T-shirt, downloadable audio recording of the concert, and ACDA-MN administrative staff support services.

Leadership

We want to acknowledge the new and returning Honor Choir Co-Chairs for this school year. They play a key part in the success of this program.

4-5-6 Boys

4-5-6 Girls

7-8 CTB

7-8 SSA

9-10 SSAA

9-10 SATB

9-10 TBB

---

Annual Awards

ACDA-MN will honor the following individuals for their outstanding contributions to our choral music community at a Saturday, November 15 luncheon during the annual State Conference weekend:

Creative Programming Award

James Borsky

Tartan High School Concert Choir

Emerging Choral Director Award

Aaron Kohrs

Minnesota Choral Director of the Year Award

Daryl Timmer

F. Melius Christiansen Lifetime Achievement Award

Greg Aune

---

Volunteer with ACDA-MN

If you are interested in offering your time to volunteer with any ACDA-MN event or activity, contact Executive Director Jamie Andrews at: jandrews@acda-mn.org. 

We are looking for volunteers to participate in recently created Membership, Finance, Development, Communications, and IDEA committees.

We are also seeking volunteers with Honor Choirs, State Conference, Summer Dialogue, Interest Session presentations, and future leadership with our Repertoire and Resource (R&R) positions, along with our State Board of Directors.

Make your voice heard! 

---

Telling Our Story

We are looking for examples of the impact of your work. Everyday ACDA members do extraordinary work in the rehearsal room and on the performance stage. Participating in your ensembles creates a positive change in the lives of your signers. Let’s tell that story! 

The examples can be in the form of: short-written testimonials, pictures, or videos. It could be a recording of your ensemble accomplishing a particularly tricky passage from a piece of music, a note from an older adult expressing gratitude for the opportunity to sing in person again, or a picture of a student who recruits his friends to join choir because it’s just so awesome. The impact of your work shows up in many ways. 

We plan to use these stories on social media and all of our other communications channels throughout the year. 

ACDA-MN’s mission is “to inspire and support a community of choral musicians.” Let’s share stories of our mission in action! 
Contact Emily Bird if you have any questions and to send submission at – ebird@acda-mn.org

---