Louisiana American Choral Directors Association

New ONLINE version of The Choral Advocate is posted to the website for January 2010

Please click on the Choral Advocate link to the right

                                          Russ Givens, Webmaster & Editor, The Choral Advocate

A Message From our President

Dr. Louise LaBruyere, LAACDA President

FALL VOCAL CONFERENCE 2009

WHAT A WONDERFUL WEEKEND!  We had FIVE honor choirs this year!  There were a number of highlights, not the least of which were the inception of our Men’s Honor Choir and the change in concert venue to First Baptist Church.  I know there are bugs to work out with the new venue, but the musical results make them well worth it.  There are many people to thank.
     Let me start by recognizing our honor choirs.  They are truly the cornerstones of the weekend.  I’d like to personally thank our inspiring guest conductors Christy Elsner (children), Anthony Sears (youth), Dr. Carol Krueger (women), Dr. Gary Packwood (men), and Dr. Mitos Andaya (college).  I spoke to many of the students during the course of the weekend and know that each of them experienced musical, emotional, and personal growth and fulfillment.  I hope you all had the opportunity to observe some of the rehearsals and attend the panel discussion.  Our students were not the only ones to benefit from these celebrated musicians’ expertise.
     None of this could have happened without the tireless efforts of our honor choir coordinators:  Cheryl Dupont assisted by Barbara Walker (children), Randall Boyd & Lisa Johnson (youth), Judy Snow (women), Cedric Bridges & Dr. Ric Watkins (our brand new men’s choir!), and Dr. Caroline Carson & Dr. Deborah Chandler (college).  These men and women spent countless hours contacting guest conductors, preparing for auditions, and making sure everything ran smoothly at the convention.  Until you see what is entailed in coordinating an honor choir you have no idea how much work these people do.  Please take the time to thank them personally.
     Our clinicians were truly outstanding this year and offered sessions on a wide variety of subjects.  Dr. Ken Fulton shared his time and talents in three different interest sessions which included a master class for some of our student members as well as techniques and repertoire that all of us at any level could use with our choirs.  Dr. Mitos Andaya shared her expertise in the field of vocal jazz while Eric McCrary and Cheryl Dupont gave us valuable and practical information on recording our students.  Our very own composer/conductor Joseph Winters presented new choral music for us to use in our schools and churches.
     The LA-ACDA board and conference contributors worked endlessly to attend to every detail of the convention. Dr. Beth Rota and Dr. Caroline Carson worked together not only to organize the reading sessions, but to make sure that all necessary equipment was where it needed to be.  Margaret Albert and Natalie True handled all of the financial issues as well as numerous other details.  Along with Dr. Meg Frazier, Natalie also served as conference accompanist.  Dr. Alissa Rowe and Pam Givens assisted in every aspect of the planning and running of the convention.  Kathy Cordova made sure our membership information was correct and Russ Givens constantly updated pertinent information on the website.
     Finally, I’d like to thank all of the members of LA-ACDA for being part of the Fall Vocal Conference.  Whether you had students in one or more of the all state choirs, sang in the conductor’s choir, or helped move chairs, your attendance and participation are what the conference is all about.  ACDA is an organization instituted to promote choral excellence and your work in Louisiana contributes to that goal.

                                                      Louise LaBruyere

 SOUTHERN DIVISION CONVENTION-MEMPHIS

All State Choirs for  Fall 2010  will include:

Children's Choir (formerly Elementary Choir)

Youth Choir
(formerly Jr. High Choir)

Women's Choir

Men's Choir

Collegiate Choir

Click on the All State Information link to the right for detailed information about each choir.(this info will be updated following the January 2010 Board meeting.)