Good evening amazing choral directors. We are excited to share information on our upcoming events, including:

(1) NJ-ACDA High School Choral Festival

(2) NJ Elementary and Junior High School All State Festival

(3) Upcoming Online PD Opportunities:

• Elementary and JR High All-State Audition Procedures - December 12, 5:30 - 6:30 PM
• Takeaways from the ACDA Children’s & Community Youth Choir Conductors’ Retreat- Repertiore, Strategies, and More! - February 3, 10 AM - 11 AM

As our school year filled with exciting events starts taking shape, please consider publicizing your concerts and events with our membership by filling out THIS GOOGLE FORM.

Check us out on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/njacda/

Our non-competitive festival has been running for decades, and is a wonderful opportunity to share music with an appreciative and supportive community, your fellow NJ choir directors. We are once again fortunate to have fabulous clinicians joining us:

Dr. Rachel Carlson of Kean University
Dr. Nicholas McBride of The College of New Jersey
Prof. Deborah Mello of Montclair State University
Prof. Tom Shelton of Westminster Choir College
Dr. Timothy Urban of Rutgers University (sight reading)

Registration is now open, and closes on January 15th.

I encourage you to consider joining us in May. We are all enriched by listening to other choirs perform and by sharing our work with each other. This festival will be a wonderful way to conclude the school year. I know many of you lead middle or intermediate school choral programs, but I wanted to include you so you could nudge your colleagues!

NJACDA HS Choral Festival Handbook

Registration Link

Best,

Mike McCormick

High School Festival Chair

Timeline

Friday, January 12, 2024– Deadline for Choir Audition Materials

Saturday, January 20, 2024– Judging Day, Scotch Plains- Fanwood High School, Scotch Plains, NJ. Host: Kaitlyn Reiser

Saturday, January 27, 2024– Judging Day – Snow Date (if necessary)

Saturday, April 27, 2024 – Rehearsal Day, New Providence HS, New Providence. Host: Anna Skelton

Saturday, May 4, 2024 – Festival Day at J.P. Case Middle School, Flemington, NJ. Host: Rose Nagy

Ensembles:

Elementary All-State Honor Choir – Grades 4-6

Junior High All-State Honor Choir SATB AND SSA– Grades 7-9 *

Materials Needed for Audition:

One mp3 recording for each student that contains the two vocalise/scales and the solo. Please note that a director can only submit 16 auditions per school/organization for each ensemble.

One Student Form filled out for each student which includes basic information such as:

• Student’s name, grade, and voice part

• Parent’s name, phone, and email

One Director Form filled out which includes basic information such as:

• Personal information – name, address, phone, email, etc.

• School information – name and address

• Your NAfME or ACDA membership cards, which will need to be scanned and uploaded onto this site

Audition fee: $10.00 per student.

Please print and include this All-State Check Form with the mailed-in check.

Once accepted, students will need to pay $25.00 for an application fee.

Here is a folder of the song files.

Here are the complete audition instructions.

Questions?

Contact: Kaitlyn Reiser

NJ Elementary & Junior High Honor Choir Coordinator

kreiser@spfk12.org

Be on the lookout for the registration form for the following upcoming online PD sessions offered by our NJ Elementary & Junior High All-State Choir Coordinator, Kaitlyn Reiser.

Google Meet for Elementary and Junior High All-State Audition Procedures: Dec. 12, 5:30 - 6:30 PM

Stop by the Google Meet to have your questions about the audition process answered! There will be a recording demonstration as well as a sample audition.

PD credit will be offered! Audition recordings are due January 12th.

Takeaways from the ACDA Children’s & Community Youth Choir Conductors’ Retreat- Repertoire, Strategies, and More!- Virtual Workshop Saturday, February 3, 10 AM -11 AM

The NJ-ACDA Board is so excited to have the opportunity to work with you and support our fellow choral educators. If you have any questions, please reach out to us.

Libby Gopal: President, libbymontielgopal@gmail.com

Kason Jackson: President-Elect, kasonkjackson@gmail.com

Dr. John Wilson: Past-President, jwilson@brrsd.k12.nj.us

Patrick Hachey: Treasurer, pghachey@gmail.com

Dr. Stephanie Tubiolo: Inclusivity Chair; Website & Media, stephanie.a.tubiolo@gmail.com

Ally Jurgens, Membership Chair: ajurgens2010@gmail.com

Dr. Brandon Williams: Treble Choir & SSA R&R, bwilliams@mgsa.rutgers.edu

Adam Good: World Music & Culture R&R, ADAM.GOOD@ebnet.org

Dr. Lynnel Joy Jenkins: Children's Choir R&R, LJenkins@WestrickMusic.org

Dr. Chris Thomas: Student Activities (Collegiate) R&R, thomasc@rowan.edu

Dr. G. Preston Wilson: Student Activities (Collegiate) R&R, gpwilson@rider.edu

Madelyn Curtin: A Cappella & Jazz R&R, mcurtin@htsdnj.org

Michael McCormick: High School Festival Chair, mike.mccormick155@gmail.com

Dr. Nicholas McBride: College & University Choirs R&R, mcbriden@tcnj.edu

Sarah A. Michal: Music in Worship R&R, sarahamichal@gmail.com

Matthew Lee: High School Youth R&R, matthew.lee@edison.k12.nj.us

Kahlil Gunther: Community & PRofessional Choirs R&R, kgunther@salemcc.edu

LIsa Rotondi: Elementary & Middle School Outreach Chair, lrotondi@brrsd.k12.nj.us

Kaitlyn Reiser: Elementary & Junior HS All-State Coordinator, kreiser@spfk12.org

Barbara Retzko: High School Festival Host, barbararetzko@hotmail.com

Lori Lynch: New Teacher Mentoring, lynchla@rowan.edu