The Barton Community College Student Chapter of American Choral Director’s Association (ACDA) will attend the professional organization’s 60th Anniversary Diamond Jubilee National Conference from Feb. 27 – March 2 in Kansas City.
The ACDA serves choral musicians in educational, religious, community and professional domains by gathering choral professionals to network, perform, learn and inspire one another in their work. Seven students from Barton will travel to the four-day conference, where they will attend master classes and lectures and attend performances by auditioned student and professional ensembles from the United States and abroad. The conference headliner will be the English composer John Rutter, who is familiar to many high school and college choral singers.
Barton will be represented by Dylan Carrier, Dorian Lueth, Kelsey Neeland and Aaron Schultz of Great Bend; Katelyn Robinson and Alex Robl of Ellinwood, and Aiden Johnson of Ellis. Chapter sponsor and Barton Director of Choral Activities Sara Oberle was selected to sing in the “Director’s Legacy Chorus” which will perform Saturday afternoon at the Kaufman Center for the Performing Arts under the batons of internationally esteemed choral musicians including Eph Ehly, Ann Howard Jones, Don Neuen and Dale Warland.
“I’m very excited that our students will have the ability to attend a national convention this early in their pre-professional training,” Oberle said. “Typically national conventions are held in various locations across the country every other year, so we are fortunate to have access to one nearby. Many of the few undergraduates in attendance will be from much larger programs that include graduate training. It’s important for students to experience music-making on such a high level so that we know what to aspire to as educators and musicians. This is a chance for our students to have their horizons expanded as they learn about teaching methodologies and literature of many cultures. They will have the chance to interact with music industry representatives, conductors of renown, music publishers, and four-year colleges. We will hear excellent performances and return inspired and transformed.”
The student chapter of ACDA has been fundraising through the year to make this trip possible and welcomes any additional support to underwrite this pre-professional training. Please contact faculty sponsor Sara Oberle for more information at oberles@bartonccc.edu.
