Choir Fam Podcast Dean Luethi & Matthew Myers

"Choral programs don't exist in a vacuum. They exist in a place, and they exist in a place that serves a people. That people group is always bigger than choir. The first thing that you've gotta do is answer the question, 'how are my people, how is my place going to be served by choral music?' and then build that. You've gotta build that one step at a time."

Joshua Cheney, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina. He is responsible for the leadership and administration of GWU Choirs, to include the direction of Concert Choir, Men’s Chorale, Handbell Ensemble, and the Worship Ensemble. Joshua also teaches courses in conducting, voice, and guitar.

In addition to his work in teaching, Joshua currently serves as the Interim Music Minister for the First Baptist Church of Asheville, North Carolina. In this role he participates in worship planning and leads the Adult Choir in rehearsal and worship. Joshua is an active performer and has sung professionally with the North Carolina Master Chorale Chamber Choir, Bel Canto Company, the Red Shift Choir, and Coro Vocati. Joshua is a regular clinician, adjudicator, and presenter, having directed honor choirs, adjudicated choral festivals, and given lectures at professional conferences throughout the South. Previous appointments include service as the Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee, the Assistant Director of Music and Worship at the First United Methodist Church of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the Choral Music Educator at John M. Morehead High School in Eden, North Carolina, and the Choral Music Educator at Harnett Central Middle School in Angier, North Carolina.

Joshua holds the B.A. in Music Education from Campbell University, the M.M. in Choral Conducting and Church Music from Mercer University, and the D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University. Joshua is married to Rebekah Cheney, who serves as the Director of Annual Giving at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, North Carolina. Joshua and Rebekah reside in Asheville, North Carolina.

To get in touch with Joshua, you can find him on Instagram (@jcheneyconductor or @gardnerwebbchoirs) or email him at mailto:jcheney1@gardner-webb.edu .

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 3 episode from February 16, 2024, to hear how to share your story with us.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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“Octave displacement is a really big thing with adolescent singers. Make a game out of it - I’ll have them match me, match me up an octave, match me down an octave - versus scolding when you’re in the middle of rep and someone is singing too low and you just point and say ‘that’s too low.’ That’s a little ambiguous for the average 13-year-old. To give them the strength to identify it themselves is practicing the skill we want to see played out in the repertoire.”

Since 2006, Mr. Oakes has served as Director of Choral Music and Music Instructor at The Baylor School, a grade 6-12 independent day and boarding school in Chattanooga. Under his direction, the choral program has grown to include over 200 participants in four student choirs and a faculty choir. In 2015, he was awarded Baylor's Glenn Ireland Chair for Distinguished Teaching and starts his service as Chair of Baylor’s Fine Arts Department beginning with the 2019-2020 school year.

Mr. Oakes also serves as Artistic Director of the Chattanooga Boys Choir, a music education and performance organization founded in 1954 which now includes over 120 choristers ages 8-18 in five ensembles. Including innovative performance opportunities and collaborative community initiatives, the CBC maintains a performance calendar of thirty appearances annually. The choir has performed and toured extensively, including performance tours to Europe, Canada, and Cuba. Recording opportunities for the CBC have included commercially-released recordings with Stephen Curtis Chapman, Casting Crowns, and the grammy-nominated NAXOS recording of Maurice Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges with the Nashville Symphony Orchestra.

He is the former President of the ACDA’s Southern Region and in 2012, he was selected as one of seven conductors chosen to represent the United States at the inaugural ACDA International Conductor Exchange Program in Cuba.

As a conductor/clinician, he has conducted numerous honor choirs and festivals throughout the United States, including ACDA regional honor choirs. A lifelong advocate for music in worship, he has served churches in Florida, Georgia, and Tennessee and as a clinician/conductor for children and youth choirs at Lake Junaluska, Massanetta Springs, and Montreat church music conferences.

Mr. Oakes earned the Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Florida and the Master of Sacred Music degree in Choral Conducting from Emory University. He has contributed articles to Choral Journal and a chapter in the textbook Choral Pedagogy (3rd edition) by Robert Sataloff and Brenda Smith. 
To get in touch with Vic, you can visit chattanoogaboyschoir.org or baylorschool.org.
Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 3 episode from February 16, 2024, to hear how to share your story with us.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson
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“I started to see the possibilities of what a youth community choir could be. Seeing that profound impact on a young woman was very transformative for me. After two or three years, everything that I did had more layers. There was a new potential of enhancement and community impact. The things that make me go like a volcano are about community, access to programs, and how to break barriers for participation.”

Dr. Marcela Molina has been leading the Tucson Girls Chorus since 2006, first serving as Artistic Director and taking the helm as Executive Director in 2011. Under Dr. Molina’s guidance, the Tucson Girls Chorus has grown significantly in programming and community engagement. With her leadership, the TGC has transformed into a vibrant and collaborative organization that creates access to inclusive programming for youth, and provides resources to music educators and support to their classrooms all year-round. Dr. Molina is also the Director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus.

Dr. Molina was an honoree in Tucson's 40 under 40 for her significant achievements and contributions in her profession and community and was one of eight in the state of Arizona chosen for Cox Hispanic Heritage Month. She was selected as a finalist for the Woman of Influence Awards in the category Arts and Culture Champion and under Molina’s leadership, the Tucson Girls Chorus was awarded the 2017 Copper Cactus award for Charitable Business sponsored by the Tucson Metro Chamber.

Born in Bogotá, Colombia, Dr. Marcela Molina holds degrees from Westminster Choir College and the University of Arizona. She has contributed articles to Antiphon, and the books Teaching through Performance in Choir, Volume 2 and Choral Reflections: Insights from American Choral Conductor-Teachers. She was named 2019 Choral Director of the Year by Arizona American Choral Directors Association (AzACDA), and she often serves as a clinician and guest conductor for choral festivals. Dr. Molina has served on the board of the AzACDA as well as standing committees for ACDA Western Division. She currently serves on the board of Chorus America.

To get in touch with Marcela, you can email her at mmolina@tucsongirlschorus.org or visit tucsongirlschorus.org. She's also on Facebook (@marcela.molina.1612147) and Instagram (@molinamarch).

Marcela recommends checking out the following composers: Colombian arranger Jorge Alejandro Salazar, Puerto Rican composer Diana Saez, and Melanie DeMore. About DeMore, Marcela writes, "I love unison singing to build tone and use it as a canvas of creative added writing from the singers, if composer allows."
Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 3 episode from February 16, 2024, to hear how to share your story with us.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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“If a student has been unsuccessful at elementary and middle school, by the time they get to high school, it’s really hard to shift and course correct. But if they haven’t been successful at elementary and you get them at the middle school level, you really do have the potential to shift that course in a monumental way, to reshape their views about whether they are indeed successful and worthwhile. You really have such a big role to play.”

Jessica Nápoles is Professor of Choral Music Education at the University of North Texas. She teaches undergraduate coursework in choral methods, conducts the Concert Choir, and mentors graduate students in research. Dr. Nápoles served as Interim division chair for Conducting & Ensembles in 2019-2020 and Interim division chair for Music Education in Fall of 2020. A native of Florida with a Cuban-American background, Dr. Napoles taught middle school chorus in the public schools of Miami and Orlando, FL. She received her bachelor of music education, master of music education, and PhD in music education from the Florida State University. Prior to her appointment at UNT, she taught at the University of Utah for 11 years.

Dr. Nápoles is an active choral conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, frequently engaging in guest conducting opportunities locally, regionally, and nationally. She has conducted All State and honor choirs in 20 states across the United States. She has conducted the Southern, North Central/Central, Eastern, and Western division honor choirs for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). In 2019, Dr. Nápoles made her Carnegie Hall debut as choral conductor for the WorldStrides OnStage Honors Performance Series. She was asked to return every year since.

In addition to her choral conducting invitations, Dr. Nápoles is a well known researcher, with numerous publications in journals such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, and the International Journal of Music Education. She served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education, the premier research journal in music education, the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, and the Journal of Music Teacher Education. Her research interests center on testing practitioner practices empirically, expressive conducting, burnout, and teacher talk. She has presented at conferences on these topics nationally and internationally. She is presently serving on NAfME’s Executive board of the Society for Research in Music Education.

Dr. Nápoles is meaningfully engaged with the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) at the national level. She is currently the Chair of the Research Standing Committee. Additionally, she served as Assistant Conference Chair for the 2019 and 2021 conferences, the Honor Choir Coordinator for the 2015 and 2017 conferences, and she is currently the co-chair of the 2025 Dallas national conference. Dr. Nápoles led the writing team of the ACDA COVID-19 task force that drafted a document to assist choral directors at all levels during the pandemic.
To get in touch with Jessica, you can email her at jessica.napoles@unt.edu or find her on Facebook (@jessica.napoles.1).

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“Contemporary commercial music is closer to the students’ everyday musical culture. There’s that component of culturally relevant pedagogy that both show choir and vocal jazz meet. They are a bit more naturally motivating to a majority of students, and we honor the musical culture of the United States and our popular styles from the last 100 years when we teach these things."

Ryan Deignan is Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Minnesota Duluth where he leads the flagship University Singers and the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble Lake Effect and teaches voice lessons, ear training, and vocal pedagogy. Deignan is the Artistic Director of the Twin Ports Choral Project and was a fellow at the 2022 Baylor International Choral Conducting Masterclass.

In addition to teaching and conducting, Deignan performs as a professional vocalist. He performed with the Madison Choral Project in 2023 and sang with the new Baton Rouge choir Red Shift in their 2020 Southern ACDA performance, where he also served as tenor soloist. Deignan sang with Dallas’ Orpheus Chamber Singers and Dallas Bach Society, and community choir Denton Bach Society as tenor soloist for their performance of Rossini's Petite Messe Solennelle.

At the high school level, Deignan was Director of Choirs for the West Des Moines Valley High School choral program of 350 students, seven traditional choirs, two show choirs, and four jazz choirs. Under his direction, Valley Singers performed at the 2016 North Central ACDA Convention in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Prior to West Des Moines, Deignan was Associate Director of Vocal Music at Cedar Rapids Washington High School where he led a Slice of Jazz to the 2012 Iowa Vocal Jazz Championship.

Deignan holds a BA in Vocal Performance from Luther College, an MA in Music Education from the University of Iowa and DMA in Choral Studies with a cognate field in Vocal Pedagogy from the University of North Texas.

To get in touch with Ryan, you can email him at rpdeignan@gmail.com or find him on Facebook (@rdeignan) or Instagram (@rpdeignan).

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 3 episode from February 16, 2024, to hear how to share your story with us.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson
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"I didn’t want to do any middle level teaching because of behavior, but I ended up teaching eight years at Patrick Henry Junior High. I loved every moment of it. I learned that if the kids loved and trusted you, they would do anything for you. It was just so much fun to take what they were willing to give and do some good work with them. It all translated into how they behaved in choir."

Cathleen Britton has been making music her entire life. She grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and then studied music at The University of South Dakota, where she earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Master’s Degree in Music Education. Britton has spent her career largely in Sioux Falls directing middle and high school vocal music programs. Her concert choirs have been selected repeatedly to perform at regional conventions, college music festivals and even at Carnegie Hall. Show choirs directed by Britton have received top awards at competitions in a multi‐state area. Outside school, Britton directed the Asbury Methodist Adult Choir for 15 years and was vocal conductor at the Augustana Summer Music Camp. She has served as Clinician and Festival Conductor at numerous conventions and competitions throughout the state and region. She traveled to Muscat, Oman as a festival conductor for the TAISM Festival of Choirs.

Britton has fostered the growth of vocal music programs through her work in the American Choral Directors’ Association where she has served as Repertory and Standards Chairperson for Vocal Jazz and Show Choir, Publicity Chair, and Convention Clinician for the North Central Division of the ACDA. She also held the office of State President of the South Dakota Chapter of ACDA. In 1996, Britton received the Encore Award for excellence and achievement in choral music and in 2008 was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award by her peers in the American Choral Directors’ Association‐South Dakota Chapter. Britton was honored as the South Dakota recipient of the National Federation of High Schools 2011 Outstanding Music Educator Award. She was their North Central regional recipient for the same award in 2017, and in 2020, she received a national citation from NFHS.
To get in touch with Cathy, you can find her on Facebook (@cathy.clark.britton) or Instagram (@catbritton).

Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 3 episode from February 16, 2024, to hear how to share your story with us.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson



Roots Music RamblerHear great conversations with the artists behind the music you love, new music and more!Listen on: Apple Podcasts   Spotify