Inside ACDA

Spring 2026

by Jamie Andrews, Executive Director

ACDA-MN Election Results

Welcome to these two new board members who will begin their term on July 1, 2026.

Garrett Lathe (3-year term: 2026-2029)

Youth Chorale of Central Minnesota

Central District

Colleen Chester (3-year term: 2026-2029)

Winona State University

Southeast District

We wish to thank the following outgoing board member for their outstanding leadership and service to our organization over the past three years:

Stephanie Schumacher

Southeast District

Kennedy Niska

Central District

Strategic Plan

ACDA-MN is excited about its new strategic plan.

Starting the fall, 2026, the committee of 14 met to create a new 3 year strategic plan. The process they took included completing a SWOT analysis and reviewing strategic plans of similar organizations, and holding feedback sessions with members.

Through this effort, the committee focused on four key objectives:

Objective 1 – Health & well-being of our communities

Strategy 1.1 – Articulate and promote the social and emotional benefits of choral singing

throughout the organization, its members, participants and their communities.

Objective 2 – Strengthen community connections through partnership & mentorship

Strategy 2.1 – Create new opportunities for sponsorship from related organizations.

Strategy 2.2 – Increase the value proposition of membership through mentorship.

Objective 3 – Support life-long singing

Strategy 3.1 – Expand the access to the methodology and pedagogy of choral music to support singing at every age level.

Objective 4 – Advocacy

Strategy 4.1 – Increase the impact of ACDA-MN’s mission and vision through advocacy at the local and statewide levels.

See the entire plan here…

The progress made toward achieving these goals will be tracked and reported upon in board meetings, the Weekly Pulse, social media, among other channels.

The ACDA-MN board adopted the plan at their Jan 24, 2026 board meeting.

Thank you to the committee members who put forth tremendous effort to make the plan a success:

Jim Cox

Bailey Geist-Schlottman

Jocelyn Hagen

Diana Heaney

Amy Johnson

Mark Johnson

Dylan Pringle

Stephanie Schumacher

Stephanie Trump

Jerry Upton

Laura Quaintance

Emily Bird

Kristin Kivell

Jamie Andrews

2026 Summer Dialogue

Back to Basics: Nuts and Bolts

Save the date and join the ACDA-MN community for the 40th annual Summer Dialogue at Concordia College in Moorhead. Highlights of the many engaging interest sessions that target all levels of teaching have been planned by conference chair and ACDA-MN Vice President Jerome Upton.

Headliners for the event are as follows:

Robyn Hilger – keynote address: Someone Has Your Voice in Their Head: Connecting Impact to What Comes Next
Michael Johnson – Directors’ Chorus conductor
Bryan Fisher – Real Talk
Brandon Dean – clinician for the annual Student Conductor Workshop
Michael Culloton – Music Literacy in the Choral Classroom
Colleen Chester – Rehearsal Revolution: Intentional Strategies for Engaging and Energizing Your Ensemble
Michael Buck – Guidelines & Resources to Explore the Contributions of MN American Indians in the Secondary Music Ensembles & Why Music? Resources for Advocacy, Research & Brain Development
Mariana Farah – guest conductor of the All-State SATB Choir
Stephanie Tubiolo – guest conductor of the All-State SSAA Choir
Brandon T. Cash – guest conductor of the All-State TTBB Choir

The Wednesday opening day schedule will feature the 15th annual Exhibits Fair with exhibitors representing undergraduate and graduate schools, tour companies, fundraising and attire specialists, composers, music vendors, community and professional choirs.

Online Summer Dialogue registration is open with early discount registration rates available until June 15.

Make your summer complete by attending Summer Dialogue!

For more information and to register visit: acda-mn.com

State Conference 2026

Save the dates!

October 24 (Gustavus Adolphus College)
November 7 St. (Michael-Albertville High School)
November 14 (Bemidji State University)

These dates are slated for the one-day regional conferences to be held next fall. With the national ACDA conference being held in Minneapolis March 7-10, 2027, we are forgoing the typical two-day conference at St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church in Mahtomedi.

In its place will be three one-day events designed to engage and motivate you, while celebrating the incredible choral activity happening throughout the state.

Details:

Each event will be approximately 9am – 3pm followed by a happy hour.

Sessions and presenters will be different at each location.

Cost is $25 per person, regardless of ACDA-MN membership.

Also occurring at each location will be the return of Golden Voices, the choir festival specifically for older adults. This free event will be made up of singers ages 55+ from across Minnesota, and that will end the day with a culminating performance. Stay tuned for more information.

Stay tuned for more information in the fall!

STATE HONOR CHOIRS

The Honor Choir season for 2026-27 is sure to be another fantastic music making experience for young singers.

Schedule:

State 9-10 Honor Choirs: Saturday, February 13, 2027
State 4-5-6 Honor Choirs: Saturday, April 3, 2027
State 7-8 Honor Choirs: Saturday, April 10, 2027

Guest conductors will be:

9-10 SATB: Matthew Abernathy, University of Michigan
9-10 SSA: Jennaya Robison, National Lutheran Choir
9-10 TBB: Issac Lovdahl, Bemidji State University
4-5-6 Aurora: Angela Kasper, University of St. Thomas
4-5-6 Polaris: Deborah Lamb, Park Spanish Immersion School
7-8 CTB: Liana Salinas, Miami Children’s Chorus
7-8 SSA: Sandra Peter, Stetson University

Our Honor Choir leadership team offers outstanding support to our student singers and their directors throughout the year. Thanks to these co-chairs…

4-5-6 Polaris: Melanie McIvor & Seth Boyd
4-5-6 Aurora: Andrew Parr & Tyler Vidal
7-8 CTB: Susan Snorek & Matt Kiminski
7-8 SSA: Megan Cox & Katie Irvin
9-10 SATB: Zach Kubasta & Chad Garrels
9-10 SSAA: Wendy Suoja & Corey Cellurale
9-10 TBB: Chris Jacobson & Jake Huntley

Look for more information about the exciting 2026-27 honor choir season posted via The Weekly Pulse and Star of the North Fall issue later this summer.

We wish to acknowledge our “retiring” co-chair for her outstanding support to our honor choir program over the years.

Zach Kubasta

9-10 SATB

THANKS TO OUTGOING R&R CHAIRS

After several years of faithful service and leadership, ACDA-MN bids farewell and says a special thank you to these outgoing Repertoire & Resources (R&R) Chairs.

Gerald Gurss

R&R: TTBB

Katelyn Sawatzke

R&R: SSAA

Kristina Boerger

R&R: World Music

Jon Campbell

R&R: Sacred Music

Zack Carlson-Giving

R&R: High School

Scholarship applications to attend the ACDA-MN Summer Dialogue are now available at:

Scholarships – ACDA MN

Scholarships will be awarded in these categories:

Full (registration and 3 nights of on-campus housing) @ $471
Partial (registration only) @ $290

Eligibility:

Recent college/university graduate or members in their first two years of teaching
Members attending their first Summer Dialogue regardless of years of experience

Application due date is June 1, 2026

2026 ACE Award Nominations

Members in each of the seven geographic districts within ACDA-MN, will have an opportunity to nominate colleagues to receive the annual Advocate for Choral Excellence (ACE) Award.

Past recipients have been administrators, accompanists, parent booster organizations, church and community choir conductors, civic leaders who promote the choral arts, neighboring ACDA-MN members, etc. Nominations are due to your district chairs by June 1.

Contact your District Chairs as follows:

Central District: Kennedy Niska, kmniska@gmail.com
Metro East District: Shaun Halland, sth1977@gmail.com
Metro West District:Randi Erlandson, rerlandson@plsas.org
Northeast District: Chris Mason, mason421@d.umn.edu
Northwest District: Isaac Lovdahl, isaac@isaaclovdahl.com
Southeast District: Stephanie Schumacher, sschumacher@honorschoirs.org
Southwest District: Bri Bergstrom, bbergstrom@stpeterschools.org

**NOTE: as is ACDA-MN policy, in the year when the national ACDA Conference is held in Minnesota, the annual awards will not be presented. However keep your suggestions in mind for 2027.