Headline Clinician Information
Richard Bjella was most recently hired in September 2009 as full professor and Director of Choral Studies at Texas Tech University. The highly acclaimed University Choir who made its Carnegie performance debut on May 2, 2010 to rave reviews. They just performed as the only college choir to sing at the 2012 TMEA Convention in San Antonio to two standing ovations and will be appearing at the 2013 ACDA National Convention as well.
Previous to 2009, Bjella was the Director of Choral Studies at Lawrence University, Conservatory of Music. The Concert Choir most recently performed for the 2009 National American Choral Directors Association Convention in Oklahoma City. Bjella has conducted outside the United States in Prague, Paris, Lucerne, Vilnius, Seoul, and London and has guest conducted over 350 festivals and workshops in 29 states. Most recently he was honored to conduct the Arizona All-State, the All Northwest 6 state MENC All-State (Seattle), the Connecticut All-State, the Collegiate All-State Choir in Wisconsin, the National OAKE HS choir in Phoenix, AZ, Mozart Requiem in Lincoln Center, and presented sessions in Tennessee and Washington for music educators. This year he is presenting workshops or guest conducting in Ohio, Tennessee, Iowa, Florida, Georgia, Texas, New York, New Jersey, Michigan, Wisconsin, and Alaska. He will be presenting a session at the National ACDA convention in 2013.
Bjella served as President of the Wisconsin Choral Directors’ Association, has been a part of the Comprehensive Musicianship through Performance leadership team for Wisconsin Music Educators Association, and various state and regional leadership positions with ACDA and WMEA as well. He was been inducted into the Washington High School Fine Arts Hall of Fame, and is also listed in the World Concert Artist Directory of Conductors and Biltmore’s “Who’s, Who in America”, and was most recently awarded the Hanns Kretzchmar Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2006 and received the ‘Lawrence Excellence in Teaching Award’ in 2007
For Registration Information
2014 Conference
(PERIODIC UPDATES WILL BE PROVIDED)
Doug Armstead, MMC Planning Committee
Steven Lorenz, MMC Planning Committee
Wendee Wolf-Schlarf, MMC Planning Committee
Ginny Kerwin, MMC Executive Board
Erich Wangeman, MMC Executive Board
Therees Tkach Hibbard is Associate Director of Choral Activities and associate professor of choral music at the University of Nebraska Lincoln School of Music. She has conducted choirs ranging from young children to professional singers; and has served as adjudicator, workshop leader, and guest conductor for numerous choral organizations throughout Great Britain, Ireland, Europe and North America; and recently in Hong Kong and Muscat, Oman. Before joining the faculty at the UNL School of Music she worked for twelve years as a choral conductor, singing tutor and senior lecturer at several UK colleges and universities in the London area including the London College of Music, the Royal College of Music (junior department), and Roehampton University where she also served for two years as Programme Convener for the MA in Choral Music Education, establishing the first BBC Singers Conducting Master Class Residency program. She has also served as a tutor for the Choral Conductors’ Training Course for the Association of British Choral Directors which she helped develop and implement throughout the UK. During her tenure in London she was also the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Imperial College Choir and Chamber Choir of the Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine London; both non-audition ensembles made up of students, faculty, staff and alumni who presented three major choral/orchestral concerts each year.
Highlight performances have included the Bach St. John Passion and B Minor Mass, Brahms, Mozart, and Verdi Requiems, Elgar The Dream of Gerontius, Rachmaninoff Vespers, and Fanshawe African Sanctus, as well as premiering a variety of new compositions and chamber works during her eight years of leadership with the choirs. Her work as a movement specialist in the training of choral singers and conductors has created unique opportunities for her to work with choirs and collaborate with conductors from around the world. Her research on enhancing choral performance through movement training has led to the development of a comprehensive choral education philosophy of "BodySinging"; most clearly demonstrated through her work with the Oregon Bach Festival Youth Choral Academy, the St. Olaf Choir, and the American Boychoir. In addition to her work as a conductor, she has also performed professionally as a vocal soloist and chorus member both in London and the United States.
She began her career as a singer and dancer in musical theatre before training as a classical performer and conductor. Her work as a church musician has permeated her singing and conducting work throughout her career, and she continues to serve in her commitment to spirituality in music and the arts as board member for the Hildegard Center for the Arts in Lincoln, Nebraska. She has sung for composers and conductors such as Aaron Copland, Helmuth Rilling, and Mistlav Rostropovich; and has had the opportunity to premiere works by Arvo Pärt, Krystof Penderecki, and a vocal chamber piece by Shostakovich conducted by Rostropovich in Carnegie Hall. She is a member of the Oregon Bach Festival Choir under the direction of Helmuth Rilling, recipients of the Grammy award in 2000 for their performance of CREDO by Penderecki.
Future Conference Dates:
Grand Rapids MI
DeVos Place, Amway Grand Plaza Hotel,
JW Marriott Hotel, and DeVos Hall
January 16 - 18, 2014
January 22 - 24, 2015
January 21 - 23, 2016
January 19 - 21, 2017
