YOUR PROFESSIONAL JOURNEY BEGINS TODAY!

One of the questions I pose on the first day of our Introduction to the Music Major class at the

University of North Dakota is, “When do you start becoming a professional music educator,

musician, therapist, composer, or connoisseur?” The answers are all varied as you can imagine,

but they actually started the moment they chose their major. Arguments can be made that

investments in private lessons in their grade school days, or auditioning for honor ensembles,

could have been a starting point. However, for this class I choose to focus on the day they made

the choice to pursue a music career. Once we come to that conclusion in our class discussion,

collegiate memberships in professional organizations are introduced and all are encouraged to

join.

Collegiate membership in the American Choral Directors Association comes with the benefits of

receiving professional journals, gaining website access to literature lists, job postings, and the

opportunity to attend their state, regional and national conferences. Building a culture of

attending professional conferences, starting right away in the freshman year, is the goal of many

college and university music education programs. Conference attendance puts a student into

the professional arena with those who are doing the job they aspire to do. They are in spaces

where the sharing of ideas and techniques is occurring and where important decisions are

made. Simultaneously, their coursework becomes even more meaningful.

Have you started your “professional” journey? Last February, four University of North Dakota

students attended the Midwest Regional ACDA Conference in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The four,

Choral Music Ed students had attended our North Dakota ACDA Conference at least once, but

this was the first time all four had been to a regional conference as an ACDA member. I hope

that you will consider starting your professional conference journey this year after your read

about their experiences below.

1. Why was it important for you to go to the Midwestern ACDA Conference in Milwaukee?

• It was important for me to go to the MWACDA conference because it is a new experience

within the teaching field I want to go into. I absolutely love going to conferences like

NDACDA and NDMEA, so getting the opportunity to go to a bigger version of that was

really awesome! I also got to meet some amazing new people from outside of North

Dakota. It’s a source for networking as a young educator!

• It was important for me to attend the Midwestern ACDA conference because it helped me

broaden my horizons as a future choir director. I was able to meet and build connections

with directors in our region which I find so important for the future of choir in the Midwest!

• There are so many sessions on really niche topics that you don’t always get to learn

about, and just being able to grow your toolkit as an educator is super important. Also, the

networking aspect is huge. You meet people from all over and from different walks of life,

and it’s just so amazing to connect with all those people. Lastly, the concerts are so

important because you get to hear excellent music-making but also see people performing

just for the love of music, and that’s such an important part of the journey too.

2. What was your favorite concert performance? Why?

• Listening to the Detroit School of Arts Concert Choir was just amazing. To see such an

excellent, well-rounded choir was already incredible, but as a Black musician myself,

seeing that level of Black excellence was very motivating and inspiring.

• I absolutely loved the performance by the Detroit School of Arts Concert Choir. In the

audience I could tell that they all had such a good relationship. I also loved the North Scott

Singers. Their program was set up so beautifully and I loved seeing the way they

transitioned between each piece along with all of the movement. It kept things interesting

for the audience! Through these performances, I discovered that as a future director, I

want to create more visual aspects for our audiences!

• The new professional treble chamber group called Lyra performed at the conference. We

got the opportunity to meet them after the concert and hear their stories about the group

and each other. That was a highlight of the conference for me because you don’t get to

hear a group of that caliber live every day!

• My favorite concert performance was the North Scott High School Singers. From the

different genres and textures of each piece, choreography, and varying formations, I was

fully enveloped in the performance the entire time! It was one of the most engaging

performances I have been to!

3. What was your favorite interest session? Why?

• My favorite session was “Redefining Community: Choral Music at the Margins.” I love

how it focused on how choral music can restore dignity, build connection, and foster

artistic expression in spaces that we often overlook as a society. Building trust in

nontraditional ensembles is something that I now realize is so important! Everyone should

have the opportunity to sing!

• My favorite interest session was the church choir session. This is my first year directing a

church choir, so I got to learn a lot of valuable information, tips and tricks, and new

repertoire. I’ve never been to a conference that had something specifically for church

choir, so that was super awesome for me.

• My favorite interest session is a tie between two of them. “Unified Music” by Zach

Carlson-Giving especially spoke to me as a musician with a different ability. I strive to

make music more accessible for anyone with a different ability, so this was a beautiful

presentation to get to see! I also loved Elena Cressy’s presentation on “Community Music

at the Margins.” She inspired me to think of ways to create music in my community that

are not often done.

4. Why should college students go to conferences?

• College students should go to conferences because it creates an opportunity for growth!

The opportunity to collaborate with teachers who are actively doing what we will be doing

lets us take a moment and imagine ourselves in their shoes. We can learn about the

struggles and how to handle them, the best moments that we can look forward to, and

even brainstorm to create solutions to issues that they want to fix! Immersing ourselves in

the culture that we can help create brings us to a positive environment!

• I think college students should go to conferences because it will teach them more than

what their one university knows. These conferences are constantly bringing new topics to

our conversations that further our ability to teach! Getting a head start on that knowledge

will be helpful in our future career even if it may not feel like it in the moment.

5. Will you be going to the National ACDA Conference next year? Why?

• I would absolutely love to go to the National ACDA conference next year! I will have to

look into it and how it aligns with my classes, performances, and financial standing, but it

would be amazing to go to the National level, especially with it being so close!

• I absolutely 115% will be attending the National ACDA Conference next year. The

regional conference was so awesome that I can’t even imagine how amazing nationals will

be. It’s also close this year in Minneapolis, so I feel like there’s no excuse not to go. Also,

the leadership cohort I was a part of this year was such an awesome group, and we all

decided that we’re going to meet up again at nationals, so that’s another reason I’m going.

Regional ACDA was amazing, and I cannot wait for nationals.

• Yes! I will be attending the National ACDA Conference next year because it is an

opportunity to not only build on the relationships I have already made with teachers and

directors in our midwestern region but also build relationships with teachers and directors

from other regions! Getting to witness the hard work of choral students across the nation

will be so rewarding and I can’t wait to experience the sessions that we will get to attend!

Please feel free to reach out with any questions you might have (melanie.popejoy@und.edu). In

the meantime, grab a conference “buddy” to go with you to the following events:

February 5-6, 2027

North Dakota ACDA Conference, Grand Forks, ND

March 7-10, 2027

National ACDA Conference, Minneapolis, MN

March 21-23, 2027

North Dakota Music Educators Conference, Bismarck, ND

Melanie Popejoy

NDACDA Collegiate Chair

Teaching Associate Professor

University of North Dakota

melanie.popejoy@und.edu