Chanticleer: The Inside View

Matt Oltman writes: The Western Division ACDA conference was a wonderfully memorable event. It's always fun to see choirs constantly coming from and going to the many concerts. Since this is our "home" division, we saw many familiar faces including many choral musicians and directors from the Bay Area. We were very happy to see Nola Nahulu, who is bring part of her Hawaii Youth Opera Chorus to our National Youth Choral Festival at the end of this month. We kicked off this festival with an open rehearsal and discussion entitled "The Magic and Mystery of the conductorless ensemble" for which we sit in our usual rehearsal circle with the 'audience' in concentric circles around us. Around 250 convention-goers attended and the rather laid back atmosphere of our warm desert location generated a lively and spirited discussion about how we achieve musical cohesion without the aid of a conductor. Later that evening, we gave a concert to a packed house which was warmly received by our fellow choral artists. The touring schedule was so aligned that we were free the following day. Many of us attended concerts and workshops and reunited with old friends and colleagues-including former Chanticleer member, Brandon Brack. We are extremely grateful to the North Central, Central and Western ACDA divisions for including us in their regional conferences over the past year. We are already looking forward to appearing at the National ACDA convention next year!