Greetings choral directors,

Hearty greetings are in order for all of you who are: makers of music, singers and composers of song, cheerful encouragers of the best and poorest of singers, creators of high energy in a 7:00 AM rehearsal (not to mention producing and encouraging singers to highest notes in the early morning hours), stimulators and inspirers of  vocal and musical expertise at the church and community 9:00 PM rehearsals, organizer of school and community choral repertoire and concerts, designer of concert attire, defender of strong musical choices preserving traditional and allowing appropriate selections of “popular” music, continual advocate of school and community fine arts, life on life mentors to students of all ages, and then, at the end of the day think you are tired just because you are getting older! 

There is no doubt that at the end of the week, you need to be refueled.  

I have Good News, help is on the way.  There is an opportunity only three months away that will encourage and support you in all you do every day.

January 13-14, 2012, AMEA is hosting the biennial Music Conference.  AKACDA will be there with Choral experts who are preparing eight relevant sessions on topics for all choral directors.  If you happen to be one of the many in Alaska that also teaches, band, elementary, or general music you will have 24 additional sessions from which to choose.

So… now is the time to renew your ACDA membership, put in your request for professional leave, send in your registration form, make your hotel reservation, pack your bags,  start singing another song (did you know "Do –Re-Mi" from the Sound of Music is one of the world’s best known songs?), get ready to hear from a leading Alaskan choral director who recently said, “students who sing great literature know they have been a part of something much bigger than themselves and will remember it throughout their life.”  Listen to Mozart’s Lacrimosa on You Tube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JE2muDZksP4   and enjoy the musical moment.

To best stretch our students, we need to stretch ourselves.  Join us January 13-14, 2012.

And meanwhile, keep singing!

Margaret Brown
Grace Christian School
mbrown@gracechristianalaska.org
posted Octboer 9, 2011

Margaret Brown becomes AK ACDA president

Margaret Brown is the Upper School Choral Director at Grace Christian School in Anchorage, where she has been on the Music Department faculty since 2008. 

In her tenure there, Margaret has taught band and choir for grades 6 through 12.  Since her arrival in Alaska Margaret has also served as a state Adjudicator for ASAA events and currently serves as the President of the Alaska Chapter of the American Choral Directors’ Association through January 2013.

Mrs. Brown began her career in music education at the High School and Middle School level in Atlanta, Georgia, after receiving her Bachelor’s degree in Music from the University of Southern Mississippi. 

She served as a High School and church Choir Director while completing her Master’s degree at Georgia State University in Atlanta.  Margaret served on Georgia’s MENC State Board, and has been a Georgia Choral Adjudicator for over 23 years. 

She is a tireless advocate for the teaching of sight-reading skills, and is a contributing author to a classroom choral sight-reading series. 

She has been a guest director for many Elementary and Middle School Honor Choruses throughout Georgia and Alaska, and has served a total of nine years as a member of two different private school boards. 

Margaret has resided in Anchorage since 2004, relocating from Atlanta, GA with her husband, Chris, and son, Matthew.