2013 ACDA-Michigan Fall Conference
CONCERT SESSION
PERFORMING CHOIRS
WEST OTTAWA HIGH SCHOOL
SELECT WOMEN’S ENSEMBLE
Pamela Pierson, Conductor
Pamela Pierson has had the distinct pleasure of working with young singers for 36 years. She has taught at West Ottawa High School in Holland since 2002, previously taught at Coloma Community Schools in Coloma, Michigan, and has guided many diverse groups of students. Pam’s ensembles perform over 100 times a year and sing in venues as varied as retirement homes, weddings, corporate events, aircraft carriers, cathedrals, caves, Ground Zero and The Grand Ole Opry. Since 2005 her groups have performed in Toronto, Chicago, Cleveland, Nashville, New York City and Milwaukee. They have worked one-on-one with some of America’s leading composers and conductors. and have sung at multiple Michigan ACDA conferences and the Michigan Music Conference. Pam is currently on the Executive Board of the Michigan School Vocal Music Association as Supervisor of State Events and the Board of Directors of the Holland Chorale. Pam recently conducted the 2012 MSVMA SSAA State Honors Choir at MMC. She received her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees from Michigan State University but has received her real education from the many thousands of students who have passed through her doors and enriched her life.
Select Women’s Ensemble
The Select Women’s Ensemble had its inaugural year in 2007-2008. This auditioned choir is for highly motivated women with advanced reading skills. They have been stellar performers at MSVMA Choral Festivals and have an active performing schedule. In 2008-2009 two equal ensembles were formed within this ensemble, Ateri Bradu and Asteri Proi and have twice received Michigan Youth Arts Festival nominations. In October, 2009 the Select Women’s Ensemble performed at the Michigan ACDA Conference. In January 2011 they performed at the Michigan Music Conference; and in 2012 they performed at the ACDA Central Division Conference in Fort Wayne, Indiana.
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY
OAKLAND UNIVERSITY CHORALE
Michael Mitchell, Conductor
Michael A. Mitchell is Associate Professor of Music at Oakland University where he serves as Music Program Director and Director of Choral Activities while conducting the Oakland Chorale, the University Chorus, and the Symphony Chorus. In addition, Michell supervises the graduate program in choral conducting and teaches choral literature and conducting. For nine concert seasons he served as Artistic Director/Conductor of the Detroit based Cantata Academy Chorale, also leading that group on three acclaimed European concert tours. Dr. Mitchell serves as Resident Guest Conductor of the professional ensemble Academic Choir Ivan Goran Kovacic in Zagreb, Croatia, has lectured at Zagreb University, and was the first American to lecture at the Slovak University of Music and Art in Bratislava, Slovakia. Before coming to Michigan, he taught at the University of Missouri-Kansas City and was a choral director and music supervisor in the public schools in Texas. Dr. Mitchell studied conducting, music education, and voice at the University of Texas at Austin and received his doctorate in conducting at the University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory, where he served as assistant to Dr. Eph Ehly for three years. His other teachers include Andre Thomas, Jerry McCoy, Patrick Gardner, Mary Breden, Morris Beachy, John Silantien, Leonard Johnson, and Gary Hill. As a doctoral student he was the winner of the UMKC Chancellor’s Award for Academic Merit and was a finalist in the American Choral Directors Association national conducting competition. His dynamic, energetic approach to music has made him a frequently invited guest conductor and clinician throughout the country. He also has extensive experience as a church and studio conductor, and has received numerous commissions as a composer of choral music. His most recent composition, Gloria, Pax, Alleluia, was premiered at the 2012 ACDA Central Division Conference in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. As a member of ACDA and serves ACDA-Michigan as Repertoire and Standards Chair for Ethnic and Multicultural Music. He is also a member of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, Chorus America, the American Music Center, The College Music Society, The Michigan School Vocal Music Association, and Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia.
Oakland University Chorale
The Oakland Chorale is the elite touring ensemble in the choral area of Oakland University’s Department of Music, Theatre, and Dance and is open to all university students by audition each fall. The Chorale maintains a busy concert schedule including regular appearances at Detroit’s historic Orchestra Hall with Oakland’s resident professional orchestra, the Oakland Symphony. Recent works include the Verdi Requiem, Mahler’s Symphony #2, and the Vaughn Williams Dona Nobis Pacem. The choir also tours regularly, having visited New York and Texas in recent years.
Recent Chorale Alumni have pursued graduate study in music at The Eastman School of Music, among others, and include two Regional winners of the Metropolitan Opera auditions and a finalist in the Placido Domingo Competition. Chorale alumni are also pursuing professional music careers in the US and Europe, and are teaching music in schools throughout the country. Past conductors of the Chorale include Walter S. Collins, Lyle Nordstron, Suzanne Mallare Aton, and L.H. Brown. Michael Mitchell has served as conductor since 1997.
TRAVERSE CITY HIGH SCHOOL
CHORAL-AIRES
Tamara Groves, Conductor
Tamara Grove received her Bachelor of Music Education from Michigan State University where she worked with Dr. Charles K. Smith and studied conducting with Dr. Jonathan Reed and Dr. David Rayl. She has also studied private voice with Jayne Sleder, Robert Bracey, and Richard Fracker. Her previous positions include an internship as Director of Choirs for the Williamston School District, Interim Choir Director at Carman-Ainsworth (Flint), Church Choir Director at the Presbyterian Church (Okemos), Director of Choirs at Christa McAuliffe Middle School and John Glenn High School (Bay City) and Director of Choirs at Traverse City Central High School since 2006. Tamara is a long-standing member of ACDA and serves as District Manager and Full Board Secretary for MSVMA. She also serves as a Board member of the MSU College of Music Alumni Association. Ms. Groves has been awarded the Ellis Family Endowed Music Education Scholarship (2003), the MSU School of Music Voice Scholarship (2000-2003) and the MSVMA Carolyn Leep Scholarship (2013). She has presented at the MSVMA Early Careers Conference and is currently working toward her MM in Choral Conducting at MSU.
Choral-Aires
The Traverse City Central High School Choral-Aires regularly receive superior ratings at MSVMA Choral and Solo and Ensemble Festivals. Ensembles at TCCHS also regularly perform large works with orchestra and have commissioned and premiered several new works. Students in TCCHS choirs take an active role in their music education through student led sectionals, a peer-governing choir council, student organized and produced revues, as student conductors and student composers and by taking the role of cooperative teacher/learning in daily rehearsals. The TCCHS Choirs maintain a busy yearly performance schedule with regular performances throughout Michigan and on tours to San Antonio, New York, Washington DC, Chicago, Toronto, Salzburg, Vienna, Estonia, Latvia, and Germany. They have been invited to perform at the Midwest Music Conference, the Michigan Youth Arts Festival, and at the 2001 ACDA national Convention. Students have also had the opportunity to work with notable conductors such as Anton Armstrong, Janet Galvin, Sandra Snow, Jerry Blackstone, Doreen Rao, Andre Thomas, Sir David Willcocks, Aarne Saluveer, and Gints Ceplenicks.
MIDLAND CENTER FOR THE ARTS
MIDLAND CAMERATA SINGERS
James Hohmeyer, Conductor
James Hohmeyer is formerly the Artistic Director for the Music Society, conductor-emeritus of the Rochester Symphony Orchestra, and is currently Director of Choral programs and Music Theater at the Midland Center for the Arts. In 2010 he conducted the Hollywood Concert orchestra on a month-long national tour with Shirley Jones in “A Night at the Oscars.” His conducting credits include the Pittsburgh Symphony, Lake St. Clair Symphony, Southern Great Lakes Symphony, the Arizona State honors Orchestra, Oakland Youth Symphony, the Metropolitan Youth Symphony and the Michigan Opera Theater Touring orchestra. He was selected twice as the M.S.V.M.A. State honors Choir director and is active as a choral music adjudicator and clinician. Hohmeyer apprenticed with Maestros Robert Shaw and James Levine, and has degrees from Wayne State University and completed the requirements for a Doctor of Music Arts (orchestral conducting) at M.S.U. Hohmeyer has been musical director for the Hillberry and Bonstelle theaters (W.S.U.), the Attic Theater (Detroit), Meadowbrook Theater (Rochester), Marquis Theater (Northville), Dearborn Civic Theater, and the Dearborn Player’s Guild. Good Company, a vocal jazz ensemble (Hohmeyer, conductor), was one of three ensembles selected to perform at the 2005 A.C.D.A. National Convention in Los Angeles, CA. The Camerata Singers performed for the 2007 A.C.D.A. Convention in Grand Rapids, MI. Hohmeyer has won awards in the National Adult Conducting Competition (LaCrosse, WI), and at the American Conductor’s Competition (Oakland, CA). His multi-faceted background includes a 30-year career as a Detroit-area educator, jazz pianist, theatrical conductor and jazz conductor/pianist/arranger for the Michigan Opera Theater touring programs. Hohmeyer has served as choir director, organist and director of music for the First Baptist Church (Ferndale), the Congregational Church of Burmingham, the Birmingham Unitarian Church, Chris Church Episcopal (Detroit), Memorial Presbyterian Church (Midland), Immanuel Lutheran Church (Mt. Pleasant), and is currently Director of Music at the United Church of Christ (Midland).
Midland Camerata Singers
The Camerata Singers includes vocalists from all Center Stage Choirs of the Midland Center for the Arts, this 28-member chamber choir is known for its intricate work in the classics as well as for showcasing new and dynamic pieces using some of the finest talent in the mid-Michigan area. Membership in this group is open by audition to any qualified singer as positions become available. Performing outstanding choral works with an emphasis on small ensemble music, this impressive group continues to entertain audiences with their high level of artistry and exceptional musical expression. Camerata’s credits include the Cass City Bach Festival, Marshall M. Frederick’s 90th Birthday Celebration Concert at Saginaw Valley State University, the St. Lorentz Church music series in Frankenmuth, at a previous Michigan ACDA Conference, and several performances with the Midland Symphony Orchestra.
CAROLYN MAWBY CHORALE
Carolyn Mawby, Conductor
Carolyn Mawby, Founding Conductor, is Emeritus Faculty at the University of Michigan-Flint, where she was one of the founding faculty members of the Music Department. In that capacity, she founded the University Chorale, the University Chamber Singers and the Summer Academy of Music She is the recipient of the A. Raymond Roth Award in recognition of “Exemplary contributions to Music Education in the Flint Community, the Maynard Klein Award in recognition of “Artistic excellence and a lifetime of leadership in the field of choral music”, and the Michigan Music Educators Association’s “Outstanding Administrator” Award. The University of Michigan-Flint Chamber Singers under Miss Mawby’s direction were selected to perform at several American Choral Directors Association and Michigan Music Educators conventions. Before coming to the University of Michigan-Flint, Miss Mawby taught choral music at Grand Blanc High School. While there, her high school groups were invited performers at numerous Midwest Music Conferences. The Grand Blanc High School Chamber Singers were selected as the Outstanding Small Ensemble in the state of Michigan. Miss Mawby earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Michigan State University and a Master of Music History and Literature degree from Boston University in Boston, Massachusetts.
Mary Nieuwenhuis, Associate Conductor, was the director of choral/vocal studies as well as the Freshman Music Theory professor at Mott Community College for 25 years. She started singing with the Carolyn Mawby Chorale several years ago and states that it has been an enlightening experience and feels as if she’s taking free graduate courses each Tuesday evening. She previously taught at Carman-Ainsworth School District and Flushing Community Schools. She has been a musical director for the New Vic Supper Theater, Flint Community Players, and Clio Cast and Crew. She has participated inthe Kenneth Jewell Chorale in Detroit, the Flint Festival Chorus, and Flint Arts Chorale. Her undergraduate work was done at Central Michigan University where she was the recipient of the Phi Mu Alpha award and the Powers Music Award. Her graduate work wa done at University of Denver, concentrating on music education and choral studies. Some of her biggest influences in the choral music field came from her experiences at the National Music Camp and Interlochen Arts Academy from which she graduated High School
Dr. Matthew Thompson, Associate Conductor/Pianist, is a Lecturer of Voice at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theater, and Dance. There, his duties include teaching two courses: An Introduction to Lyric Diction and IPA, and Technology for Music Educators, as well as coaching graduate vocal students. Also a collaborative pianist for the Wind, Brass, and Percussion departments, he performs numerous recitals with faculty and students each year. Matthew’s graduate degrees are from the University of Michigan, where he studied with Martin Katz. As a doctoral candidate, he was the first colaborative pianist to earn a Rackham Research Grant for the preparation of his lecture recital on American Popular Song Accompanying. UM projects include: Albert Herring, L’incoronazione di Poppea, Pajama Game, and Ragtime. His undergraduate degree, with Highest Honors and Highest Distinction, comes from the University of North Carolina where he completed an honors thesis, The Russian School of Piano in America: the piano pedagogy of Rosina Lhevinne. Recent summer work ha been at Belvoir Terrace, a performing arts camp in Lenox, MA, where Matthew is a musical director, and both a piano and voice teacher. Matthew has also been an apprentice coach at the Merola Opera program (2007) and Wolf Trap (2009), where his work included: Cenerentola, Cosi fan tutte, Hin und Zurück, and Gallentry. Active in the community, Matthew is pianist and guest conductor with the Carolyn Mawby Chorale. He also serves as artistic coordinator for the 11th annual Flint Festival of Choirs and this year is excited to invite Hugh Floyd to be guest clinician. Matthew can be heard on a 2011 recording from Detroit’s Brasslar label: La Trompette a Renouvelé, with Ann Arbor trumpeter David Ammer. His YouTube channel, MattT7000, has numerous vocal and instrumental collaborations. Especially treasured are those with his mentor, Martin Katz, and his partner, Vince Yi.
Carolyn Mawby Chorale
The Carolyn Mawby Chorale began in 1987 as the University of Michigan-Flint Alumni Choir and is comprised of singers from all walks of life. There were sixteen members in the first several years. In its early years we were featured on UM-Flint concerts as a guest ensemble. We opened membership to the greater Flint area in 1990 and quickly grew to the Chorale’s present size. By 1997 we became an independent ensemble with our own concert season. We have presented concerts in Courson Auditorium on the Interlochen Campus; the Opera House in Traverse City, St. Stanislaus Catholic Church in Bay City with soloist Sylvia McNair, the Community Auditorium in Northport MI, as well as our yearly concerts in First Presbyterian Church, Flint and St. Christopher’s Episcopal Church in Grand Blanc, MI.
