Derrick Fox

Hello, MWACDA Choral Directors!

We are embarking on an exciting project to showcase the rich talent of choral composers from the Midwest. Our goal is to create a YouTube playlist featuring new and inspiring choral works from our region, and we need your help!

Do you know a talented choral composer from the Midwest? Perhaps you’ve come across a beautiful piece of choral music written by a composer from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, or Wisconsin. We want to hear about it!

How You Can Contribute:

1. Submit a Composer: If you know a composer or a piece of choral music that deserves to be featured, please share their name and any relevant information (e.g., links to their work, brief bio, etc.).
2. Share Your Favorites: Let us know about your favorite choral works by Midwestern composers. If you have any recordings or performances, we’d love to include them in our playlist.
3. Spread the Word: Encourage others to contribute by sharing this call for submissions with your friends, family, and fellow choir members.

Submission Details:

• Email: Please send your submissions to [email protected] with the subject line “Midwest Choral Composers.”
• Deadline: Submissions will be accepted until [insert deadline date here].

Once we have gathered enough submissions, we will compile them into a YouTube playlist that will be shared with our congregation and beyond. This playlist will not only celebrate the creativity and artistry of Midwestern composers but also provide an inspiring resource for our community.

Thank you for helping us bring this project to life. We look forward to discovering and sharing the beautiful choral music from our talented Midwestern composers!

Dr. Jo Ann Miller

North Dakota State University: Director of Choral Activities; University Distinguished Professor

Since 1989, Jo Ann Miller has been director of choral activities at North Dakota State University. She conducts the Concert Choir and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting and choral literature.

Her involvement in the American Choral Director’s Association includes North Dakota state president, newsletter editor, repertoire and standards chair for the university level, audition chair for the 2006 North Central convention, program chair for the 2008 North Central convention, and search committee member for the national executive director. She served as North Central division president from 2006 through 2008 and is currently the national treasurer and member of the Executive Board from 2009-2017.

As director of choral activities at NDSU, her choirs tour regularly overseas and throughout the United States. The Concert Choir has been invited to perform at national, regional, and state music conventions, including the 1992, 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, 2012, and 2016. North Central American Choral Directors Association conventions and the 2001 national ACDA convention in San Antonio, Texas.

Dr. Miller is the artistic director of the NDSU Baroque Festival and the chorus master of the Fargo Moorhead Symphony Orchestra. She was named a University Distinguished Professor in 2009, the highest honor awarded to faculty at NDSU, and in 2013 was awarded the Faculty Lectureship. She earned her degrees from NDSU, the University of North Dakota, and the University of Cincinnati, College Conservatory of Music.

She is an active clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States.

The NDSU Concert Choir tours regionally during spring break every year and internationally every three years. In 2012 they were awarded the first prize Golden Cross at the Zadar, Croatia International Choir Competition. They also record more than 30 compact discs annually. Since 2000 the Concert Choir has participated in the NDSU Baroque Festival with annual performances of Handel’s Messiah.

The Weston H. Noble Award for Lifetime Achievement in Choral Arts is given every two years to an outstanding choral conductor within the Midwest ACDA, which includes Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Mark Lehmann, St. Paul’s Lutheran Church & Choir: Chancel Choir Director

Mark Lehmann’s music education career has taken him all over the state of Iowa since his first school teaching job in 1974. In the past 41 years, Lehmann has taught at both the high school and college levels. He retired from high school teaching in 2010 to take an adjunct professor position at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa.

Before teaching at Wartburg, Lehmann worked as a vocal music instructor at Waverly-Shell Rock High School in Waverly, Iowa, from 1996 to 2010. Prior to that, Lehmann held the same position at Hampton-Dumont Community Schools in Hampton, Iowa from 1979 to 1996.

Lehmann had 172 students chosen for Iowa All-State Choir while at Waverly-Shell Rock, and five students were selected for national American Choir Directors Association (ACDA) Honor Choirs. He instructed 69 students who were chosen for Iowa All-State Choir while he worked at Hampton-Dumont.

Lehmann has been heavily involved with the Iowa High School Music Association as well as the ACDA North Central Division. He was executive board president of the former in 2007-08 and 2009-10.

Lehmann was a founding member of Comprehensive Musicianship Project in Iowa, and has served on its steering committee all but one summer when he toured Europe.  Through this program, thousands of music educators across the Midwest have been inspired to approach music education with a holistic view.

The award was established in 2003 in memory of Stace N. Stegman (1946-2003) from Sandusky, OH, who exemplified passion, knowledge, and integrity in his ongoing volunteer work with ACDA. It is now presented at each ACDA Midwestern Regional Conference to a member who has demonstrated similar professional dedication.