The American Choral Directors Association’s 2023 National Conference, an unmissable yearly gathering of the nation’s most committed choral minds, has a schedule brimming (from February 21st to February 25th) with concert performances, interest sessions, and networking opportunities, all in Cincinnati’s most historic venues, (ones that have housed Hamilton, The Lion King, Elton John, Prince, Bob Dylan, and Frank Sinatra—to name a few). The 2023 National Conference now includes a special FBPG session in partnership with the ACDA! The Fred Bock Publishing Group’s own Pearl Shangkuan, Brandon Boyd, Tom Shelton, and Brad Ellingboe will be at the session in Cincinnati’s Duke Energy Convention Center, on Wednesday, February 22nd, at 11:00 a.m., (Room 206-262).
Presented by Hinshaw Music, Gentry Publications, Pavane Publishing and National Music Publishers, these renowned clinicians will be accessible to attendees of the 2023 National Conference and the community of ACDA members. Each brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table. Don’t miss the chance to hear:
Pearl Shangkuan
Dr. Pearl Shangkuan is an internationally celebrated talent in choral music who is not only the chorus director of the Grammy-nominated Grand Rapids Symphony, but also the Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Calvin University, a member of the Board of Directors of Chorus America, the former president of the ACDA Central Division and Michigan ACDA, and the Editor of Hinshaw Music. Dr. Shangkuan, a recipient of the Maynard Klein Choral Award for artistic excellence and lifetime leadership in choral music, has led groundbreaking choral performances across the globe. Demand for her music and her expertise has carried her across South Africa, Indonesia, Australia, Japan, Korea, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Austria, and Canada. Her influence has been heard around the globe, and is now accessible at Cincinnati’s 2023 ACDA conference!
Brandon Boyd
Conductor, composer, educator and arranger Dr. Brandon Boyd is the Editor of Gentry Publications, Assistant Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of Missouri, and conductor of the MU Glee Club and Concert Chorale. His own arrangements are sung nationally and internationally. He regularly travels the world to lend his talents to choirs, conferences and workshops around the globe, including conducting workshops at Universidad Católica Boliviana, San Pablo of the Unidad Academica Regional Tarija in 2019 and serving as guest conductor of the Philharmonic Orchestra, Sociedad Corla Andaluz, Symphonic Ochestra at the historic Casa de la Cultutura de Tarija. He debuted with the London Symphony Orchestra with Maestro Andre Thomas in 2020, and served as a clinician in the NAfME All-National Honor Choir. Passionate about using choral music to uplift the community, Dr. Boyd co-directed choral community projects in Florida including the MTC Women’s Prison Glee Club, The Tallahassee Senior Choir and the RAA Middle School Partnership Choir. You can find him at the Duke Energy Convention Center on the 22nd!
Tom Shelton
Professor Tom Shelton, conductor, composer and educator, the former National President of the American Choral Directors Association, and the Jr. Editor of Hinshaw Music, is a Chair of the Choral Studies, Music Education, and Sacred Music Department and professor at Westminster Choir College. He directs the Children’s and Youth Choirs of Princeton United Methodist Church and the Semi-Tones Ensemble. Professor Shelton taught middle school choral music for 18 years and was formally awarded in 1999 by the North Carolina Music Educators Association. As former National President of the ACDA (2017-2019), Professor Shelton is an active ACDA member and has also served as the ACDA Southern Division president, National R&S Chair for Middle School/Junior High Choirs, and North Carolina President. His choral expertise and conducting have been showcased at workshops and festivals across America and the world, including Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Jakarta, Belarus, Minsk, and Hong Kong. Professor Shelton will be present at the ACDA’s 2023 home in Cincinnati, Ohio, at the Fred Bock Publishing Group’s Wednesday session.
Brad Ellingboe
Conductor, soloist, composer and scholar Brad Ellingboe is the Editor of Hinshaw Music and the author and editor of four books. Ellingboe was knighted by the King of Norway in 1994 for his scholarly contribution to the history of choral music by making the songs of Edvard Grieg accessible to the English-speaking world. He has over 160 pieces of celebrated music in print, has conducted and led festival choruses in 14 countries and 35 states, and, as a bass-baritone soloist, has sung under conductors like Sir David Willcocks, Robert Shaw, and Helmuth Rilling. He served at the University of New Mexico for thirty years, as Director of Choral Activities, Professor of Music, and Regents Lecturer. The founder and director of Albuquerque’s Coro Lux, the creator of the Chorus of Light is also the Director of Music at the United Church of Santa Fe. His National Music Publishers celebrates the best of Western European traditions in music.
February 21st to February 25th will be five days brimming with the best of the nation’s choral music and its celebrated community and leading legends. Stop by the Duke Energy Convention Center during the ACDA Conference to hear the Fred Bock Publishing Group’s own Pearl Shangkuan, Brandon Boyd, Tom Shelton, and Brad Ellingboe at 11:00 a.m. on the 22nd!