Conducting Workshop
All choral conductors in the Capital Region are welcome to come and explore various aspects of choral conducting techniques under the guidance of internationally acclaimed conductor and clinician, Dr. Pearl Shangkuan.
Date
Saturday, October 26, 9:00 a.m.-4:00 p.m.
SUNY Schenectady School of Music
Workshop Highlights
Participants will have the opportunity to:
- Conduct and receive direct feedback from Dr. Shangkuan
- Collaborate with fellow choral conductors from colleges, community choirs, schools, and churches
- Engage in a unique ensemble singing experience during fellow conductors' masterclass sessions
- Elevate professional development as a conductor
- Network with colleagues and build valuable connections within the choral community
Registration Information
Early bird registration (until October 4): $55
Regular registration (after October 4): $75
Register for the Conducting Workshop
Spots are limited, so register early. All levels of experience welcome!
For more information, please email Dr. Joseph Han at hanj@sunysccc.edu.
About Dr. Pearl Shangkuan
Dr. Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. She is the National President-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), having previously served on the Board of Directors of Chorus America, as well as ACDA central division president and ACDA Michigan state president. She is the chorus director of the Grand Rapids Symphony, a Grammy-nominated professional orchestra and Emerita Professor of Music at Calvin University in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Appointed in 2022 as the Editor of Hinshaw Music, a major choral music publisher in North America, she also has a signature choral series with earthsongs and is the music editor of the Calvin Institute of Christian Worship Choral series published by GIA. She has conducted several times at Carnegie Hall and other major concert halls in the US and was an invited guest lecturer at the World Symposium for Choral Music held in Seoul, South Korea. Her guest conducting engagements regularly take her to Europe, Asia, and across North America.
Dr. Shangkuan has served on the jury of several international choral competitions in Europe and Asia and has led conducting masterclasses for the ACDA national conference, Chorus America conferences, the University of Michigan and the University of Illinois Choral Conducting Symposium among many prominent programs, institutions and organizations in the US. She has conducted numerous All State choirs, ACDA national and division honor choirs, and choral festivals nationally and internationally and has headlined several ACDA state and other professional conferences. She has commissioned and premiered numerous choral works and her choirs have performed at ACDA national, division and state conferences.
The Michigan YWCA honored her with its Arts Tribute Award in 2007. In 2013, Michigan ACDA honored her with the Maynard Klein Choral Award for “artistic excellence and lifetime leadership in choral music.” In 2020, she received a Calvin University Award for Excellence in Teaching. In 2023, the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO) gave her its Honorary Life Member Award for “distinguished leadership and extraordinary service to the choral community, both nationally and internationally.”