Emerging Composers in American Choral Music

Guest speaker A native of Warren, Ohio, Deltrina received her Master of Music degree in vocal performance from the University of Akron. While attending the university, Mrs. Grimes had the privilege of participating in Master classes of Boris Goldovsky, John Wustman, Robert Page, Sylvia Olden Lee, and Dorothy Rudd Moore. Deltrina’s performance credits include the First Lady in The Magic Flute, Sorceress in Dido and Aneas, Isabelle in Face on the Ballroom Floor, the Mother in Hansel und Gretel, which appeared on local television stations in Ohio and Ain’t Misbehavin. Mrs. Grimes has been honored to appear as a soloist in Undine Smith Moore’s Scenes from the Life of a Martyr, Antonio Vivaldi’s Gloria, George F. Handel's Messiah, and Wolfgang A. Mozart’s Requiem. After college, Mrs. Grimes has had a varied career, including serving as vocal instructor at Shore Cultural Center, Northshore Music, Cuyahoga Community College, Elizabeth Seton High School, and the College of Southern Maryland. She has served as choral director for Archbishop Hoban High School and Trinity United Methodist Church, and Director of Music at Goodyear Heights United Methodist Church. Mrs. Grimes is currently on leave as Professor of Choral and Vocal Music at Arizona Western College while she pursues her DMA in Choral Conducting at the University of Arizona. While juggling career and family, Mrs. Grimes has maintained a strong commitment to the community. She has served as a certified lay speaker and camp counselor for the United Methodist Church, mentoring adolescents. Deltrina is the former Youth Advisor and Education Chairperson for the Yuma, AZ chapter of the NAACP. While serving as chairperson, she co-created the Bobby Lane Russell Scholarship. This scholarship was designed to inspire and motivate applicants to continue their educational goals despite life’s challenges. Mrs. Grimes sponsors local libraries by participating as a member of the Friends of the Yuma County Public Library. She has also served as guest conductor for the Yuma County Music Educators' Association Elementary School Honor Choir. Her professional memberships include Delta Kappa Gamma Society, American Choral Directors Association, and the Yuma County Music Educators' Association.

Guest speaker Dr. Elizabeth Schauer serves as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Arizona, where she is recognized for her innovative and inclusive curricular approach. An award-winning educator, Dr. Schauer conducts Symphonic Choir and Arizona Choir, and teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting and choral literature courses with a student-centered focus to an international population of learners. She is in demand as an adjudicator, clinician, presenter and conductor throughout the United States, including for performances at Carnegie Hall and with all-state choirs including Maine, Connecticut, New Mexico and Georgia. Choirs under her direction have been selected by audition and invited to perform on local, state and regional conferences of American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), National Association for Music Education (NAfME), College Music Society (CMS) and American Guild of Organists. In addition, her choirs have been featured on the ACDA National YouTube Channel and the Community Concerts Series of KUAT-FM Classical Radio, and are regularly invited to collaborate, notably with the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Arizona Symphony and the UA Wind Ensemble. Repertoire embraces choral and choral-orchestral works from the Middle Ages through the present, up to and including new works dedicated to and commissioned for her ensembles, as well as the music of our time and from a variety of cultures. She has presented sessions at the national conferences of ACDA, Presbyterian Association of Musicians and CMS; regional conferences of ACDA, and state conferences of ACDA and NAfME. Former students are active as music educators at public and private schools, churches, colleges and universities throughout the world, and have been accepted into respected graduate schools and programs for continued study.

Guest speaker Dr. Michael Murphy is the Director of Choral Activities and Associate Professor of Music at Stephen F. Austin State University where he conducts the choral ensembles, teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in conducting, choral literature, choral techniques, and administers the masters in choral conducting program and choral area. Dr. Murphy is an active clinician, adjudicator, author, and composer. His interests include training and developing the holistic conductor, rehearsal techniques, new choral compositions, and investing in and creating impactful connections in our global community through music. Through his international conducting and teaching experiences, he has made positive and lasting connections through music. Recently, he was awarded the Confucius Institute “Understanding China Fellowship” and served as Visiting Scholar at Sun Yat-sen University, South China University of Technology, and Guangzhou University of Foreign Studies. Murphy is the co-author and editor of Conducting Primer in Practice, published several times in the ACDA Choral Journal, and contributed to volume 4 of Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir. He frequently presents at state, regional, national, and international music conferences. As a passionate champion of music for all, Michael has experience teaching all ages and levels and several auditioned and non-auditioned collegiate, community, school, and church choirs. His choirs regularly perform by invitation for several state and regional ACDA and NafME conferences, and he has held several state and national leadership positions in ACDA, NAfME, and NCCO. Michael is a proud Founding Member of the International Choral Conductors Federation (ICCF) and serves on the Board of Directors and Chair of the Literature Committee.