The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), headquartered in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is a non-profit organization with the stated purpose of promoting the field of choral music. Its membership comprises approximately 22,000 choral directors representing over a million singers.
ACDA is organized in six regions: Midwestern, Eastern, Northwestern, Southern, Southwestern, and Western. Every year, conferences with topics pertaining to choral conductors are held. In even numbered years, a region conference is held in each region, and in odd numbered years, a national conference takes place in a major U.S. city. In 2021, ACDA organized its first virtual national conference in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the organization returned to an in person conference, with Cincinnati serving as the host city. Each year, a different university hosts the yearly ACDA chapter.
Their official publications are the Choral Journal, as well as the research journal International Journal of Research in Choral Singing.
As of 2020, Robyn Hilger was serving as the organization's executive director.
Brock Commission Since 1991, the ACDA awards the "Raymond W. Brock Memorial Commission" to "a recognized composer to write a choral composition in an effort to perpetuate quality choral repertoire."
Year Composer Title Orchestration Duration Notes 1991 Theron Kirk O For A Thousand Tongues 1993 Carlisle Floyd A Time to Dance 1994 Daniel E. Gawthrop Sing a Mighty Song 1995 Daniel Pinkham Alleluia for the Waters 1996 James Mulholland That I Shall Never Look Upon Thee More 1997 Stephen Paulus God Be With Us 1997 Gian Carlo Menotti Jacob’s Prayer 1998 Samuel Adler A Psalm Trilogy 1999 Gwyneth Walker I Thank You God 1999 Adolphus Hailstork The God of Glory Thunders 2000 David Brunner The Circles of Our Lives 2001 Eric Whitacre Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine 10 min 2002 Richard Nance Psalm 36 2003 René Clausen Memorial 2004 Z. Randall Stroope We Behold Once Again the Stars 2005 Morten Lauridsen Nocturnes 2006 Mack Wilberg Dances to Life 2007 David Conte The Nine Muses 2008 Eleanor Joanne Daley Life's Mirror 2009 Dominick Argento Cenotaph 2010 Joan Szymko All Works of Love 2011 Steven Sametz Three Mystical Choruses 2012 Chen Yi Distance can’t keep us two apart A capella mixed choir 5 min Text by Wang Bo 2013 Steven Stucky Take Him, Earth SATB choir and 9 instruments13 min 2014 Alice Parker The Definition of Beauty SSAA, unaccompanied4:45 min 2015 Jake Heggie Stop this Day and Night with Me SATBBB, unaccompanied 2016 Ola Gjeilo The River choir, piano and string quartet 2017J.A.C. RedfordHomingMixed chorus and orchestra28 min2018Tarik O'ReganAll Things CommonAcapella SATB5 min2019Jake RunestadA Silence Haunts MeSATB choir and piano11:30 minText by Todd Boss2020Ivo AntogniniThere is that in me2021Bob ChilcottSongs My Heart Has Taught Me2022Ēriks EšenvaldsStopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening2023Jennifer HigdonThe Absence2024Andre J ThomasIn Time of Silver Rain
See also John B. Haberlen, a past national President of the Association
References
External links Official site International Journal of Research in Choral Singing