"I think in many ways the pattern is the least important part of conducting. It’s much more about showing what the music should be doing, not beating four. If it were just a matter of keeping time, we could use a flashing red light. That's not what your job is. Your job is to encourage and show the music physically. I believe very strongly that the conducting gesture is nothing more than your vocal process externalized.”

Chester L. Alwes holds degrees in music from Hanover College, Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Before joining the University of Illinois faculty in 1982, he taught at the College of Wooster and the University of Rochester/Eastman School of Music. Prior to his retirement in 2011 from the University of Illinois, Dr. Alwes taught graduate courses in choral literature, seminars on the works of J. S Bach and Henry Purcell and graduate and undergraduate conducting. From 1982-2009, he was conductor of the U. of I. Concert Choir, taking over the Women’s Glee Club prior to his retirement. In addition, he frequently conducted the University’s Oratorio Society, Summer Chorus, and the Illinois Summer Youth Music Senior Chorus.

In 1996, he founded the Baroque Artists of Champaign-Urbana (BACH), an ensemble drawn from the University and local community that specialized in music of the 17th and 18th centuries. As a choral conductor, Dr. Alwes was known for his innovative programming, his sensitivity to tone and musical line, and his dedication to the musical growth of his singers.

He is the author of A History of Western Choral Music (2 vols., Oxford University Press, 2015-16), Handel’s Messiah: the Complete Solo Variants (Roger Dean Music, 2009), the chapter on Choral Music of the Romantic era in the Cambridge Companion to Choral Music, Andre De Quadros, ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2012), articles on choral music and numerous choral compositions and arrangements (70+).

To get in touch with Chet, you can find him on Facebook (@calwes) or email him at calwes@illinois.edu.

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“You have to create the bridge between the instructor and the student. Talk about your passion about the music, why you're performing it, why the piece is so special, and mix some humor in there. Once that engagement happens, everything you teach is automatically transferred because all the performers want that excellence for themselves, which is different than just telling people what to do. When you can inspire them to really want it, that's when the results become infinitely spectacular.”

Luke McEndarfer is a GRAMMY Award-winning American conductor and one of the most compelling visionaries in the classical music world today. His dynamic career spanning over two decades has been shaped by an unwavering commitment to ambitious innovation, artistic creativity, and musical excellence. Currently, he serves as Artistic Director, President and CEO of the National Children’s Chorus, one of the fastest-growing and most successful youth arts organizations in the United States.

In 2004, McEndarfer was appointed director of the acclaimed Paulist Choristers, and in 2008 his dream to create the National Children’s Chorus took flight. Since then, the NCC has grown from only sixteen families in Los Angeles to over one thousand across the country. McEndarfer’s Senior Division vocalists are GRAMMY Award-winning, having received music’s highest honor for Best Choral Performance in 2022. In 2020, McEndarfer initiated the building of a new annual opera camp in Vail, Colorado, that would grow to engage developing voices in the art of opera, curated with an extraordinary curriculum designed exclusively for youth education.

McEndarfer’s background and experience encompass numerous conducting appearances on both coasts featuring adult choral and symphonic masterworks. Equally at home in the studio, he has worked on several motion picture soundtracks, such as Escape from Tomorrow, Snowmen, and Imagine That. Television credits include conducting performances and studio appearances with CNN, CBS, ABC, and Fox, as well as NBC’s Tonight Show with Jay Leno.

Since the age of six, McEndarfer has studied piano extensively, winning competitions and musical honors with the Music Teachers’ Association of California. He is a two-time graduate of UCLA, holding a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature and a Master of Music degree in conducting.

To get in touch with Luke, you can find him on Facebook or Instagram (@LukeMcEndarfer) or find the National Children's Chorus on their website (nationalchildrenschorus.com), on Instagram (@nationalchildrenschorus), or on Facebook (@nationalchildrenschorus).

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“I said, ‘I really wish a book existed with more women composers in it’... This book is so important in 2024 with equality and inclusivity being at the forefront of our profession. I think that this is timely, and I think it's a great representation of where we're going in our profession right now especially given the fact that I see a lot more programming to be equal with male composers and women composers.”

Alan Troy Davis is a conductor, music educator, tenor, and voice teacher with extensive experience in both academic and community music settings. He has completed the coursework for a Doctor of Musical Arts (D.M.A.) degree in choral conducting at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln and is currently finalizing his doctoral document. He also holds a Master of Music (M.M.) in Choral Conducting from California State University–Los Angeles, a Master of Education (M.Ed.) in Secondary Education from Portland State University, and a Bachelor of Musical Arts (B.M.A.) in Music from Pacific Lutheran University.

Davis has taught in public high schools across Oregon, Colorado, and California and has directed a variety of church and community ensembles. His research interests focus on choral intonation, conducting pedagogy and score study, vocal pedagogy within choral rehearsals, Renaissance and Baroque performance practices and repertoire, and the exploration of choral repertoire by women composers.

As a compiler and contributing author, Davis is playing a key role in the forthcoming book Choral Repertoire by Women Composers, scheduled for publication by GIA Publications, Inc. in January 2025. In addition, he will co-present an interest session titled In Her Voice: Highlighting Female Composers at the 2025 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) National Conference in Dallas, Texas.

To get in touch with Alan, you can find him on Instagram (@thechoralgeek) or Facebook (@alantdavis) or email him at alantroydavis@gmail.com.

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"I have always been very intentional about my programming. My students sit in front of me, they're 18 to 22 years old, but I would have programmed for their 35-, 40-year-old self, for when the hard times come. What are we singing? What is this choir mama feeding them that eventually, when the hard times come, bubbles up in their spirit to help them get through the harder times?"

Dr. Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. She is the National President-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), having previously served on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, as well as ACDA central division president and ACDA Michigan state president. She is the chorus director of the Grand Rapids Symphony, a Grammy-nominated professional orchestra and Professor Emerita of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Appointed in 2022 as the Editor of Hinshaw Music, a major choral music publisher in North America, she also has a signature choral series with earthsongs and is the music editor of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Choral series published by GIA. She was an invited guest lecturer at the World Symposium for Choral Music held in Seoul, South Korea and her guest conducting engagements regularly take her to Europe, Asia, and across North America.

Dr. Shangkuan has served on the jury of several international choral competitions in Europe and Asia. She has conducted numerous All State choirs and has headlined several ACDA state and other professional conferences. She has commissioned and premiered numerous choral works and her choirs have performed at ACDA national, division and state conferences.

In 2023, the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) gave her its Honorary Life Member Award for “distinguished leadership and extraordinary service to the choral community, both nationally and internationally.”

To get in touch with Pearl, you can find her on Facebook (@pearl.shangkuan) or email her at pshangkuan@hinshawmusic.com or pearl.shangkuan@calvin.edu.

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“I don't have a sound that I'm trying to make the choir fit into. I'm trying to understand and uncover the palette of sounds that are in front of me and then expand our sense of what we can sound like. This happens through the community building process, because the more we honor each individual and allow them to bring themselves into that rehearsal space, then the fuller and richer we are.”

Dr. Joel Tranquilla (he/him/his) is a conductor and music educator noted for his versatile musicianship and creative programming. Originally from Fredericton, Joel is thrilled to have returned home to assume the position of Artistic Director of the Halifax Camerata Singers and Chorus Master of Symphony Nova Scotia. Formative choral experiences include touring with the American Boychoir as a boy soprano and singing as a member of the Nova Scotia and National Youth Choirs. He holds degrees from Mount Allison University, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University where his doctoral research was in the area of Canadian choral-orchestral works.

Joel relocated to Nova Scotia in 2023 after spending nine years as the Director of Choral Activities at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC, where he oversaw a program of six choirs and taught various courses within the School of the Arts, Media and Culture. Joel led the TWU Chamber Choir on tours to Ottawa, New York City, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. In addition to his work at TWU, Joel served as the Artistic Director of the Valley Festival Singers in Abbotsford and was the conductor of the award-winning Coastal Sound Youth Choir in Coquitlam. A singing member of the Canadian Chamber Choir since 2007, he was named the ensemble’s Associate Conductor in 2013. As such, he contributes to the programming and long-term artistic visioning of that organization. Prior to his time on the West Coast, Joel lived and worked in Windsor, Ontario, serving as the conductor of several local ensembles including the Windsor Symphony Orchestra Chorus. In high demand as an adjudicator and clinician across the country, Joel is a past Guest Conductor of the New Brunswick Youth Choir and the Manitoba Provincial Honour Choir, and was the Assistant Conductor of the 2012 National Youth Choir.

Major works conducted include Poulenc’s Gloria, Vaughan Williams’ Hodie, Ramirez’s Navidad nuestra, Mendelssohn’s St. Paul, Handel’s Alexander’s Feast, Requiems by Fauré and Duruflé, Bach’s St. John Passion, and Allan Bevan’s oratorio Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode. In spring 2023, Joel conducted the premiere of a new oratorio by David Squires and made his Carnegie Hall debut in a program featuring Vaughan Williams’ Five Mystical Songs.

Joel believes in the power of choral music to build and strengthen community. His wife, Meghan is an audiologist, and they have three precocious children: Everett, Penelope, and Felix.

To get in touch with Joel, you can visit the Halifax Camerata Singers website at halifaxcamerata.org or find them on Facebook (@HalifaxCamerataSingers) or Instagram (@halifaxcameratasingers). You can also find the Canadian Chamber Choir at their website canadianchamberchoir.ca, on Facebook (@CanadianChamberChoir) or Instagram (@canadianchamberchoir).

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“Historically, in higher education and in music in general, it was a male-dominated podium expectation. When we step on the podium as women-identifying conductors, we're breaking that image. There's a long way to go, and WiCHEd is working on bringing a supportive community together, helping the next generation figure out how to navigate this complicated web.”

Coreen Duffy is associate professor of conducting and director of choral activities at the University of Colorado Boulder where she conducts the CU Boulder Chamber Singers and oversees the choral program. Her duties at the College of Music include leading the graduate program in choral conducting at both the master’s and doctoral levels.

Duffy is also artistic director of the Seicento Baroque Ensemble, a Boulder-based semi-professional choral ensemble committed to working with period instruments and historically-informed performance practice.

Prior to her appointment at CU Boulder, Duffy served on the faculties of the University of Montana and the University of Miami Frost School of Music. Under her direction, the University of Montana Chamber Chorale performed at the Marktoberdorf International Chamber Choir Competition, the 75th Anniversary Festival of Music at the Hochschule für Musik Saar, Cadogan Hall and Southwark Cathedral, Carnegie Hall, the Northwest Conference of the American Choral Directors Association, and the Montana International Choral Festival.

Duffy is an active clinician and composer: Her works are published by ECS Publishing, Hinshaw Music, Pavane Publishing and Walton Music. She specializes in Jewish choral music and has presented sessions on the subject internationally including the international conference of the European Center for Jewish Music (EZJM) in Hannover, Germany, and national conferences of the College Music Society, National Association for Music Education, National Collegiate Choral Organization, North American Jewish Choral Festival and ACDA.

Duffy is vice president of the National Collegiate Choral Organization and recently served as president-elect of the Northwestern ACDA and Northwest representative of the NAfME National Choral Council.

Duffy earned her DMA in choral music from the USC Thornton School of Music, Her MM in conducting from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, Juris Doctor at the University of Michigan Law School and her BMA and BA with honors in English from the University of Michigan.

To get in touch with Coreen, you can email her at coreen.duffy@colorado.edu. You can also find her on Facebook or Instagram (@coreenduffy).

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“When people talk about what skills kids are lacking in America these days, two of the skills that come up a lot are the ability to listen to each other and have some empathy for each other. Some people would say it’s not just kids that are lacking those skills; it might be what is really missing from our society. I think choir is the best subject to teach those skills.”

Hailed by The Oregonian for providing “the finest choral concerts in Portland in recent memory,” Ethan Sperry is the Director of Choral Activities at Portland State University, where he conducts the world-renowned Chamber Choir and leads undergraduate and graduate programs in conducting. He is also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Oregon Repertory Singers, one of America’s most distinguished adult choruses. Choirs under his direction have performed at over a dozen ACDA and NAfME Conferences, won over thirty awards and medals at international choir competitions on four continents, and sung at The Hollywood Bowl, The Kennedy Center, and the United Nations. Under his direction in 2013 The Portland State Chamber Choir became the first American Choir ever to win the Grand Prix at the Seghizzi International Choral Contest in Italy, and in 2017 they became the first American choir to win the Grand Prix at the Bali International Choral Festival, the largest choral gathering in Asia. Sperry has recorded albums for the Naxos and Gothic labels.

A prolific arranger of World Music for choirs, Dr. Sperry is the editor of the Global Rhythms series for Earthsongs Music, one of the best-selling choral series in the world, and is also published by Hal Leonard. Sperry is also a frequent collaborator with film composer AR Rahman and has appeared as a guest conductor for him numerous times including at Bollywood Night at the Hollywood Bowl and the 2008 Filmfare Awards, the Indian equivalent of the Oscars. He also serves as a consultant for the KM Music Conservatory in Chennai, the first classical music school in India, which opened in 2009.

He has earned a bachelor's degree in Philosophy from Harvard College and Masters and Doctoral degrees in Choral Conducting from the University of Southern California. Prior to moving to Oregon, Sperry served for 10 years on the faculty of Miami University in Ohio where he conducted the Men’s Glee Club, Collegiate Chorale, and Global Rhythms Ensemble. He has also served as Artistic Administrator of the Arad Philharmonic Chorus in Romania and Conductor of the Coeur Regional de Guadeloupe, the only Symphonic Chorus in the French West Indies.

To get in touch with Ethan, you can email him at ethansperry@gmail.com. You can find the Portland State University Chamber Choir on Facebook (@psuchamberchoir), Instagram (@psuchamberchoir), or Tiktok (@psuchamberchoir), and you can find the Oregon Repertory Singers on Facebook (@OregonRepertorySingers) or Instagram (@orsingers).

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Thank you for listening to our show this season!!

Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the fourth season:
St. John Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach
St. Matthew Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach
Ave Maria, Franz Biebl
Requiem, Johannes Brahms
“Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” from Requiem, Johannes Brahms
No Time, Susan Brumfield
I Sing Because I’m Happy, Rollo Dilworth
Requiem,Gabriel Fauré
African American Requiem, Damien Geter
Gloucester Service, Herbert Howells
La Guerre, Clément Janequin
Sweet Rivers, Shawn Kirchner
O Magnum Mysterium, Morten Lauridsen (x2)
Le Cantique des cantiques, Daniel-Lesur
Coenantibus autem illis, Juan de Lienas
I Am Harvey Milk, Andrew Lippa
Miserere, James MacMillan
Mass for Double Choir, Frank Martin
Terza Messa, Marianna Martines
Light of the East, Byung-Hee Oh
Sicut Cervus, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
Tu Es Petrus, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina
The Road Home, Stephen Paulus
Let My Love Be Heard, Jake Runestad
Abendfeier in Venedig, Clara Schumann
And the Swallow, Caroline Shaw
Fiddler’s Hymn, Pete Sutherland
Alleluia, Randall Thompson
Earth Song, Frank Ticheli
The Sacred Veil, Eric Whitacre
Serenade to Music, Ralph Vaughan Williams

Here are the composers that our guests suggested you check out:
Johann Sebastian Bach
Michael Barrett, see Choir Fam Episode 97
Amy Bernon
Sherry Blevins
Margaret Bonds
Johannes Brahms
Samuel Coleridge-Taylor
Chiara Margarita Cozzolani
Maurice Duruflé
Gabriel Fauré
Dan Forrest
J.D. Frizzell, see Choir Fam Episode 91
Katerina Gimon
Laura Hawley
Franz Joseph Haydn
Darius Lim
Andrew Lippa
Cecilia MacDowall
Joanna Marsh
Frank Martin
Selga Mence
Kyle Pederson
Florence Price
Zanaida Robles (x2)
Marie-Claire Saindon
Caroline Shaw
Ken Steven (x2), see Choir Fam Episode 98
Peteris Vasks
Tracy Wong (x3), see Choir FamEpisode 58

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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