August 2007

From the President | Hilary Apfelstadt

At The Ohio State University, we are just completing spring quarter as I write. Commencement will take place on June 10. My doctoral graduates are straddling the breech between student life and the work place, looking back and, at the same time, looking ahead.  For at least one of them, it is a bittersweet time as she has cherished her time as a student again after twenty years in the classroom. Now she looks forward to teaching at a university where she will encounter prospective teachers, novice conductors, and new colleagues, all of whom she will influence and who will influence her.

I, too, am straddling the breech between the relative safety of being president-elect and the visibility of being president.  As busy as it is to plan a convention, it is not the same as chairing executive committee meetings or national board meetings or overseeing the business of ACDA on a daily basis. Fortunately, excellent role models in recent past-presidents such as Mitzi Groom and Michele Holt have set an example and are still available for advice and assistance, along with members of the Past Presidents’ Council, committed division chairs, R&S chairs, and a wonderful office staff in Oklahoma City, are all part of the ACDA support system. I am grateful to each of you.

Every national ACDA president has a slightly different agendum perhaps, but all relate to making this wonderful organization even stronger.  Michele Holt has worked tirelessly to improve communication.  You will see changes on our Web site, for example, as a result of her initiatives.  The Choral Journal is now published monthly and includes columns for elementary and junior high school choral directors in an effort to meet the needs of a broader constituency.  
In an effort to continue this attempt to reach out to all our members of ACDA, we will re-instate the biannual ACDA Leadership Conference in the summer of 2008, an event that will benefit divisional and state leaders who can then share their expertise and ideas with every member in their regions.  We intend to have an informational column in the Choral Journal, keeping members abreast of matters dealt with by the executive committee and national board.  In the near future, you will have a chance to meet the Oklahoma City office staff and put names and faces together as we feature them in the Journal.  To celebrate our 50th anniversary, former past-presidents and other leaders in ACDA will reflect on highlights that have influenced the growth of our organization.

We will continue to have wonderful conventions at the state, division, and national levels.  I have recommended, however, that we establish a Convention Task Force that will work with the Strategic Planning Committee (under the able leadership of Mitzi Groom), to look at ACDA members’ needs and how those might be best met in the near future. Only about 25 percent of our membership currently attends national conventions. What about the other 75 percent of you who have not done so?  Are you able to go to division conventions?  Do you support your state activities?  With economic constraints and busy schedules, many people cannot travel great distances. What goes on at the state level may be the only contact apart from the Choral Journal that some of you have.  If that is the case, what we do at the grass roots must be especially useful and accessible. Our task force will be charged with looking at how that can be accomplished, among other things.

Our honor choir policies, particularly regarding chaperones, need re-examination. For the recent national convention in Miami, we revised those to be more compatible with MENC’s chaperone policy.  If all-state choruses are run both by MENC and ACDA, we have to be consistent between the two organizations, or we not only run the risk of losing people, but also fail to provide wonderful musical opportunities for students of our members. At the same time, we must be mindful of legal issues that may arise, if we do not provide adequate supervision for students. As the world becomes more complicated, we must respond with reasoned thoughtfulness to challenges.

One of my personal goals is to be as transparent as possible about how ACDA is run and how we can best work together for the good of the whole.  Each member of ACDA is crucial to the strength of the entire organization.  If you have concerns or suggestions, let your state president know, or contact your division president.  If I can be of assistance, feel free to e-mail me directly.

Each of us is here because we love choral music. One of the great benefits of attending our conventions at any level is that they afford us the chance to hear great performances, to make music together, to share ideas, and to meet colleagues, all of whom share that love of the choral art.  Working in isolation is rarely productive in the choral community. Make plans to attend your summer convention. Offer your services to your state organization.  Mentor a new teacher next fall. Commit to selecting some really top-rate music and sharing it with your colleagues and choirs. Plan a choral festival or an exchange with another choir.  However you choose to do it, help make ACDA better by being involved and letting those of us whom you have entrusted with leadership know how we can best accomplish this together.  I wish you rejuvenation and relaxation this summer so you are energized for another season of choral music-making.

Hilary Apfelstadt

Return to the August 2007 Issue contents