Early Adolescent Vocal Music Education Workshops
Alan C. McClung, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Choral Music Education, University of North Texas
Experience in Mid-Level Music Education: Prior to teaching at the college level, Dr. McClung taught choral music at the middle school and high school level for nineteen years at one comprehensive school in Atlanta. During the last period of each day he taught 90 middle school students (45 boys, 45 girls; 45 seventh graders and 45 eighth graders). Based on his success at the middle level, he was invited to co-edit a focus issue, “Middle and Junior High Choral Music” in ACDA’s Choral Journal, November, 2006. His articles include “Master Teachers in Middle-Level Choral Music: Pedagogical Insights and Practices” and “Wonders of Choral Music in the Middle Level Grades: A Bit of Nature and a Whole Lot of Nurture.” To provide middle school choir conductors and their students with a realistic sound model, a project in-progress includes a the national release of a professionally recorded CD of established and accomplished middle school classroom choirs. An additional in-progress project includes the publication of Musical Games for the Middle School Choral Music Classroom.
His sight-singing book, Movable Tonic: A Sequence Sight-Singing Method was released by GIA, Inc. Publications in 2008. Structured to meet the needs of beginning, intermediate, and advanced students, this publication provides special acknowledgement to the development of choral music reading skills for the middle level student. Conference and in-service workshops, related to sight-singing and early adolescent vocal music, have been presented throughout the country, including presentations at ACDA national, ACDA southern division, ACDA southwest division, as well as the MENC national, MENC eastern division, and MENC southwest division. A frequent adjudicator/clinician and guest conductor, his choirs have performed invited performances for eight MENC state conferences and two ACDA divisional conventions. Invitations to conduct include honor choirs in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Missouri, Texas, and Virginia. In fall 2009 he guest conducted the Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) Region 23 MS/JH Honor Choir in Houston. Research articles by Dr. McClung have appeared in Southeastern Journal of Music Education, ACDA's Choral Journal, MENC's Music Educators Journal, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, and Journal of Research in Music Education.
Dr. McClung is in his eighth year at the University of North Texas, where he conducts the 75-voice Concert Choir, teaches courses in secondary music education and choral conducting, and supervises choral music education student teachers. In March 2009, founder, Dr. Don L. Collins passed the early adolescent choral music baton to Dr. McClung. That spring, the Cambiata Institute of America for Early-Adolescent Choral Music was officially established on the campus of the University of North Texas, Denton. The newly established Board of Advisors include Dr. Don Collins, Founder and Past Director of the Cambiata Vocal Music Institute of America, University of Central Arkansas, Professor Choral Music Education (retired); Dr. Judy Bowers, Professor of Music Education, Florida State University; Dr. Rebecca Reames, Associate Professor of Music, The Crane School of Music, SUNY at Potsdam; Nancy Cox, National Repertoire and Standards Chair for American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Aspirations for the Institute include a variety of comprehensive projects:
To establish a revenue-generating honor choir camp for students in grades 7 and 8.
To initiate, in connection with the honor choir camp, a teacher-training program leading to a Certificate in Early-Adolescent Vocal Music.
To seek external funding (summer choir camp, workshop honoraria and fees, external gifts, and grants) to promote and support the Institute’s interests.
To recruit music educators interested in graduate studies with a concentration in choral music education for early-adolescents at the middle school level.
To fund a graduate teaching assistant position to address needs related to the Institute’s interests, goals, objectives, initiatives, and projects.
To develop and maintain the Institute’s web site through the cooperation of the UNT College of Music.
To promote peer-reviewed research publications (hard copy and on-line) that are related specifically to the interests of choral music educators who work with early-adolescent students.
To encourage the publication of quality materials specifically related to improving instruction in the middle level choral music classroom.
To encourage the composition of high quality choral and solo literature for early-adolescent singers.
To facilitate the above by sponsoring The Cambiata Composition Project, a national level choral composition competition for 2-part and 3-part choral literature for the male changing voice. Five years of competition would yield 25 winning compositions published by as a choral anthology by Cambiata Press.
To promote the Cambiata tenets in teacher-training at all levels: national, divisional, state, region, district, individual schools, and churches.
To write, fund, and produce a DVD that outlines the Institute’s mission, philosophy, and methods.
To influence choral music education curriculum at the college/university level (NASM).
To establish satellite summer programs in different regions of the country.
To host a national convention geared specifically to the needs and interests of middle level choirs, middle level choral music educators, and middle level choral music topics and clinicians.
To value, create, and maintain a meaningful connection with other professional organizations concerned with the education of early-adolescents, i.e., The National Middle School Association (NMSA), Texas Music Educations Association (TMEA); Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA); The National Association for Music Education (MENC), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA); International Society for Music Education (ISME); and the National Association Schools of Music (NASM).
