By Lydia Schouten
From choir related symposiums and lectures to watching choral programs from across Minnesota perform, going to the Minnesota American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Conference presents many opportunities for vocal music education majors.
President of ACDA affiliations at Concordia, Carly Comstock has gone to this event two years in a row and has a passion for making it accessible for as many students to go as possible, as she says, “I’ve helped a lot with finances and I work closely with our treasurer to get that all coordinated.” Attending the conference is a multiple-day affair and students stay a few nights in the cities, which requires financial assistance.
Comstock has been the main communicator about the details of the trip. “I’ve sent out mass emails that will say step by step how to register, this is what to wear and this is the itinerary” she says.
She works hard for this trip’s success not just because of her role as president but also because of her passion for the opportunities that attending can provide, Comstock says, “I went my freshman and sophomore years and loved it! We get to pick what sessions we want to go to, attend a student symposium put on by ACDA students across the state and in between it all we get to listen to different choirs perform from all over Minnesota.”
These sessions that Comstock mentions are all topics circled around choral education which is why, “it’s great exposure to the endless possibilities that choir can provide” and it’s “really really eye opening” for vocal education majors to attend.
Attending the conference is also a great bonding experience for those in choir, as Comstock says, “my favorite part is getting to be there with people that I really think highly of and we’re all enjoying something at a high level.” Apart from the typical bonding experiences of a school trip like the bus rides and staying at a hotel, Concordia ACDA students also have a tradition of “meeting up with the St. Olaf ACDA at Olive Garden,” Comstock states.
Freshman vocal education student Aliya Martinson is also excited for this part because, as she says, “we get to see what other music programs are like compared to Concordia.” This is Martinson’s first time going to the conference and she is excited to go because, “it is a fantastic opportunity to get to see how other programs work across Minnesota” she states.
Martinson is also not a bit nervous since, “Carly has been very thorough about the itinerary and communicating everything.” So even though it’s her first time attending, she feels confident that she knows what it is going to look like and “has been prepared” for attending. Martinson was also, as she says, “the hype man” for this trip and was the one who convinced her friends to join her. It’s a good thing they decided to come because at the end of the day, just like Comstock, one of the things Martinson is most excited for is “bonding with the other music ed majors” she states.
The sessions and lectures at ACDA are very focussed around the education aspect of choir and vocal music. Because of this, Martinson states that, “it will help me potentially see what my future classroom could look like.” This is yet another reason why attending the conference can be beneficial for underclassmen. It gives them a taste of what their careers might look like after they graduate and what they might want to focus on.
According to Comstock, “it’s also an amazing networking time.” Students are so exposed to tons of other vocal educators and building relationships with those they meet can benefit them in the future. Another newcomer to the Minnesota ACDA Conference is Dr. Tubiolo, the director of the Kantorei and Chapel choirs. Comstock states that, “Dr. Tubiolo mentioned that she got her first job due to the connections she made at her first ACDA Conference in her home state.”
Thanks to the Concordia ACDA, this opportunity is both accessible and beneficial to the choir department here on campus. From the exposure to choral opportunities and glimpses students can get into their future to the bonding experience it provides, vocal music education majors should continue to attend this trip in order to broaden their horizons. As Comstock says, “we love music, we love to sing, it’s so fulfilling and beautiful and it makes you really excited to be a teacher and to be at Concordia.”
