Register to attend the 2024 Michigan Music Conference today!

MSVMA Member: Educator - $110.00

MSVMA Member: Educator ONE DAY - $80.00

One-day registration for Friday, January 26th OR Saturday, January 27th.

MSVMA Member: Full-Time University Student - $25.00

MSVMA Member: Retired - $55.00

___________________________________________________________________________________

The 2024 Michigan Music Conference will feature Pearl Shangkuan from Calvin University as the MSVMA headliner. Dr. Shangkuan is busy as a conductor and clinician in the United States and internationally. She is the newly elected national President Elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). 

Dr. Pearl Shangkuan will be presenting three different sessions at Michigan Music Conference.

Friday, January 26, 10 AM, JW Marriott Ballroom

Effective, Efficient and Enjoyable Choral Rehearsal Techniques for Quick Comprehension and Maximum Retention

Leading a well-paced, interesting, enjoyable rehearsal that engages the singers and gets the work done, while nurturing both short and long term artistic growth.

Friday, January 26, 2 PM, JW Marriott Ballroom

MSVMA Immersion Choir

Practical application and hands-on experience of rehearsal pacing and techniques discussed in Headliner during the Friday morning session.

Saturday, January 27, 10 AM, President Ford Room

Instilling and Practicing Smart Singing

Effective techniques are used in conducting environments with limited rehearsal time. This approach develops musical intelligence independence and personal responsibility in learning and execution/performance.

                                                                                                            

                                                                                                          Dr. Pearl Shangkuan, 2024 MMC Headliner

Dr. Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. Director of Choral Activities and Professor of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan, she is also the chorus director of the Grand Rapids Symphony, a Grammy-nominated professional orchestra. Highly respected in the choral community and leadership in the United States, she was elected to the office of National President-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). She previously served on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, as well as ACDA central division president and Michigan state president.

Appointed in 2022 as the Editor of Hinshaw Music, a major choral music publisher in North America, she also has a signature choral series with earthsongs and is the music editor of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Choral series published by GIA. She has conducted several times at Carnegie Hall and other major concert halls in the US and was an invited guest lecturer at the World Symposium for Choral Music held in Seoul, South Korea. Her guest engagements for the 2023-24 concert season will take her to Canada, Europe, Asia and all across the United States.

Dr. Shangkuan has served on the jury of several international choral competitions in Europe and Asia and has led conducting masterclasses for the ACDA national conference, Chorus America conferences, the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois Choral Conducting Symposium among many prominent institutions and organizations in the US. She has conducted numerous All State choirs, ACDA national and division honor choirs, and choral festivals nationally and internationally and has headlined several ACDA state and other professional conferences.  She has commissioned and premiered numerous choral works and her choirs have performed at ACDA national, division and state conferences. In 2013, Michigan ACDA honored her with the Maynard Klein Choral Award for “artistic excellence and lifetime leadership in choral music.”

Pre Conference Opportunities - Thursday, January 25

MSVMA Choral Conducting Symposium

Dr. Brandon Waddles, Headliner

Assistant Professor Wayne State University

9 AM – 11 AM

Additional fee for this session; fee does not include lunch

$40 - Conducting Member; $20 - Observer Member

20-minute sessions with six participant conductors, focusing on conducting and rehearsal techniques. This pre-conference event will allow participants to conduct traditional choral repertoire with Wayne State Concert Chorale, and receive live feedback and instruction from a guest clinician Dr. Brandon Waddles.

Teachers have the opportunity to apply as either a Conductor or as an Observer. College students may apply as an Observer. Both new and experienced

choral conductors can benefit from observing or conducting.

MSVMA Collegiate Networking Sessions

4 PM - 7 PM in the Imperial Ballroom

There are three interest sessions being offered on Thursday. These sessions are open to anyone and there is no additional charge to attend. Collegiate members as well as professionals who are just getting started in their education career are encouraged to attend.

4 PM - MSVMA Partner Program Meet and Greet - Brian Leduc, Rochester High School

5 PM - Recruitment, Retention and Rigor in the Choral Classroom - MSVMA Members Panel Discussion

6 PM - Turning Your Classroom Into A “Classroom” - Amy Schroeder, Big Rapids High School

MSVMA Adjudication Conference

8 AM - 1 PM in the Imperial Ballroom

You may register separately for this event here. 

SCECHS are available for this clinic.

If you have considered being an adjudicator for MSVMA, check the process out by attending the second Adjudication Conference of the year on Thursday, January 25 in the Imperial Ballroom. Dr. Brandon Johnson from Eastern Michigan University is our headliner and Jessica Nieuwkoop will be our sight-reading clinician. If you are a new teacher, you are welcome to attend as well. Attending the adjudication clinic is a great way to learn about the process and educational goals of the festival experience. 

Please contact Kelli Falls at kellifalls@msvma.org or Pam Pierson at pampierson@msvma.org with any questions. 

General Conference Sessions & Performances

In addition to educational sessions we will also have musical performances from our 6-7-8-9, high school traditional and Jazz Honors Choirs, Choral Hour is back on Friday and time to gather as we celebrate the members of MSVMA with election results, 2025 MSVMA Teacher of the Year and social time to get together with friends and colleagues at the Friday evening Annual Meeting and Reception.

Event Dates: January 25 - 27, 2024

DeVos Place
303 Monroe St
Grand Rapids, Michigan 49503-2233