“We’re often put in positions that make us uncomfortable with the inner struggle of how to keep our job and have our program recognized enough to get support versus how to carry out our true mission with students. If I’m trying to continue to fall in love with the choral art, I think the way to do that is looking for literature that will balance the soul-searching and academic needs of the students and the entertaining needs of the audiences. Looking for literature for all of those reasons often reignites my own curiosity and interest.”

Dr. Kristina Ploeger-Hekmatpanah is a Full Professor of Music serving as Director of Choral Activities and Undergraduate Music Education at Eastern Washington University. She has earned degrees from Edmonds Community College, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, and the University of Kentucky. She was the Artistic Director of the Spokane Area Youth Choirs, and the Director of Spokane Symphony’s Chorale & Chamber Choir. Previously in Spokane, Kristina taught Choral Methods at Gonzaga University, observed student teachers for Whitworth College, and taught Middle School Choir at St. George’s School and High School Choir at West Valley High School in the Spokane Valley. Before moving to the Spokane area, she taught at Everett HS, Ephrata HS, and AC Davis HS. Kristina has served on the WA ACDA Board as an R&S chair in world music, children’s chorus, university, and jazz, and is the current President-Elect of WA ACDA. She has presented numerous times for state and all-northwest MENC/WMEA conventions and twelve WA-ACDA Summer Institutes. Directing Honor Groups and All-State Choirs in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Kentucky, from Elementary through High School levels; as well as presenting at festivals and conferences in WA, MA, OR, ID, FL, and KY has given her the opportunity to work with a wonderful array of choristers and directors. The Spokane Arts Commission of the City of Spokane has awarded Kristina the “Arts in Education Award,” and the “Arts Organization Award” for her work with the Spokane Area Children’s Chorus. Kristina also received Spokane’s “YWCA Woman of Achievement in Arts and Culture Award.”

To get in touch with Kristina, you can e-mail her at kploeger@ewu.edu.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Thank you for listening to our show this season!!

Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the fifth season:
Christmas Oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach

Mass in B Minor, Johann Sebastian Bach (x2)

Trois Chansons Bretonnes, Henk Badings

The Sweetheart of the Sun, Eric William Barnum

Ein Deutsches Requiem, Johannes Brahms

The Music Makers, Edward Elgar

The Ground, Ola Gjeilo

Kalinda, Sydney Guillaume

Measure Me, Sky, Elaine Hagenberg

Messiah, George Frideric Handel

Las Amarillas, Stephen Hatfield

Gloucester Service, Herbert Howells

Where the Light Begins, Susan LaBarr

O Magnum Mysterium, Morten Lauridsen

Symphony No. 2 (The Resurrection), Gustav Mahler

Elijah, Felix Mendelssohn

Vespers of 1610 , Claudio Monteverdi

Exaudi, Jocelyn Morlock

Ave Verum Corpus, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Lacrimosa (from Requiem), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Mori quasi il mio core, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina

The Call, Roxana Panufnik

I Was Glad, Hubert Hastings Parry

Bogoroditse Devo (from All-Night Vigil), Sergei Rachmaninoff

To the Hands, Caroline Shaw

God So Loved the World (from The Crucifixion), John Stainer

If Ye Love Me, Thomas Tallis

Dona Nobis Pacem, Ralph Vaughan Williams

Va Pensiero (from Nabucco), Giuseppe Verdi

Here are the composers that our guests suggested you check out:
Dominick Argento

Johann Sebastian Bach

Benjamin Britten

Saunder Choi

Jennifer Lucy Cook

Rob Dietz

Reena Esmail (our guest on Episode 50)

Rachel Fogerty

Joshua Hines

Kevin Johnson

Susan LaBarr

Andrew Lippa

Ryan Main

Ily Matthew Maniano

Francis Poulenc

Zanaida Robles (x2)

R. Murray Schafer

Robert Schumann

Caroline Shaw

Barbara Strozzi

Tracy Wong (our guest on Episode 58)

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“More competitions are being organized, and it has become a way for these conductors and choirs to work on their skills. By joining these competitions, the rate of their progress accelerated. People join choirs for different reasons. For most of us, we started only because we loved singing, because we found a place where we can share our voice with friends with the same interest. This desire to join competitions would just be a product of years of singing with a choir.”

Mark Anthony Carpio is recognized as one of the most respected figures in choral music today. He is a faculty member of the Conducting and Choral Ensemble Department of the University of the Philippines College of Music, where he earned his Master’s degree in Choral Conducting and his Bachelor’s degree in Piano.

In 2001, Prof. Andrea O. Veneracion, National Artist for Music, chose Mark to succeed her as choirmaster of the Philippine Madrigal Singers, also known as the “Madz.” Since then, he has continuously led the already much-awarded choir to even greater heights, including placing first in several prestigious choral competitions in Europe. Under his leadership, the group has been invited as guest choir in several international choral conferences in the USA and South America, among others.

In 2007, under the baton of Mark, the Philippine Madrigal Singers won, for the second time, the grand prize in the European Grand Prix for Choral Singing in Arezzo, Italy. This victory makes them the first of the only four choirs in the world to win the grand prize twice.

In 2009, UNESCO designated the group as a UNESCO Artist for Peace. This title is given to celebrity advocates charged with the mission of embodying and raising awareness of the UNESCO ideals, which include peace, security, fundamental human rights, and freedom.

In the Philippines, he regularly collaborates with the Philippine Choral Directors Association, the Cultural Center of the Philippines and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts, for music and choral education programs. He heads the Andrea O. Veneracion Sing Philippines Foundation, which spearheads choral music development initiatives including the Sing Philippines Youth Choir, whose singers come from all over the country.

Mark has adjudicated in different choral festivals and competitions and presented around the world, including Korea, Indonesia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Japan, Taiwan, Italy, Latvia and the US. Locally, he has been the chairman of the board of jurors of the biennial Andrea O. Veneracion International Choral Festival and the 1st Asia Choral Grand Prix (2019).

He also directs the Consortium of Voices, a choral society of young choristers, consisting of the Kilyawan Boys Choir, Kilyawan Male Choir and the Voces Auroræ Girls Choir.

​To get in touch with Mark, you can find him on Facebook (@markanthonycarpio) or visit the Philippine Madrigal Singers website.

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“We had 10 sopranos, 4 altos, 2 tenors, and 1 bass, and they were all volunteers. We were spending hours trying to learn this music that we didn’t have the numbers for, so I ended up writing almost 100 church arrangements, and I made the voice leading very stepwise. Being that close to the music made me a better writer because I’m not just writing for ensembles I don’t hear regularly. I’m there in the rehearsal process, and I know what’s hard and what might be easier to grab onto.”

MaryAnne Muglia (she/her) is a composer, vocalist, and educator based in Arizona. She arranges and writes contemporary choral music, vocal jazz, and indie-influenced original songs. Her music has been performed by ensembles across the country, including Lyyra, Chanticleer, The King’s Return, Säje Voices, and more. Recent commissions include works for community choirs, professional vocal groups, and student ensembles of all levels.

​MaryAnne’s arrangements and compositions have been published by Alfred Music, Graphite Publishing, Anchor Music, Hal Leonard, and Shawnee Press, and she has self-published over 25,000 copies of her work to date. She is the founder of Red Letter Daze, a professional vocal group with over 200,000 followers online and multiple Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award (CARA) recognitions. With Red Letter Daze, she has headlined major events including the NAU Jazz Madrigal Festival and the BOSS Festival (Boston Sings), sharing her original work and signature vocal arrangements with audiences nationwide.

Her viral videos—including harmony breakdowns and arrangements of “The Parting Glass,” “The Sound of Silence,” “Carol of the Bells,” —have garnered millions of views across platforms. She also directs the Vocal Jazz and A Cappella programs at Chandler-Gilbert Community College and teaches at A Cappella Academy, a premier summer intensive for young vocalists founded by Avi Kaplan, Ben Bram, and Rob Dietz.

​To get in touch with MaryAnne, you can visit her website (maryannemuglia.com) or find her on Instagram (@maryanne.muglia).

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“We ended up forming a new string orchestra at the high school, and I led every rehearsal and conducted every concert. I remember the very first day. I looked at my teacher and said, ‘how do you start them? Do I breathe?’ I tried something, and it didn’t work. Then I did the sniff, and everyone came in. Now I teach conducting, and what I want to give the students is a sandbox where they can make mistakes and figure out what works for them.”

Conductor Albert Pinsonneault is the Associate Director of Choral Studies at the University of Wisconsin, where he teaches choir, conducting, and the graduate choral literature seminar. He is also founder and artistic director of the Madison Choral Project, a 24-voice professional chamber choir based in Madison, Wisconsin. A fierce advocate for new music, he has commissioned and premiered dozens of new works for choir. He received second place in the American Prize for Professional Choirs in 2020, performed at Midwestern ACDA Regional conferences (2018, 2020), presented at ACDA National in 2017, and headlined the Iowa Choral Directors Association state conference in 2024. His booklet Choral Intonation is published through Graphite and in active use at over 150 high schools, universities, churches, and community choruses.

Dr. Pinsonneault was Director of Choral Activities at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul, Minnesota where he oversaw a large undergraduate choral program involving 200 student musicians, a nationally televised Christmas program, and a history of international travel. From 2015-2019 he was Associate Director of Choral Organizations at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL, where he helped administer a distinguished doctoral program in choral conducting, led two choirs, taught the graduate choral literature sequence, and served on dissertation committees.

A native of Minnesota, Dr. Pinsonneault attended St. Olaf College (BM Piano Performance) and the University of Minnesota (MM Choral Conducting) before completing his studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music (DMA Choral Conducting, minor in Music Theory).

To get in touch with Bert, you can e-mail him at bert.pinsonneault@wisc.edu.

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“Everything changed for the gay choral movement because they had twins: music and mission. They weren’t just there for the music, and they weren’t just there for the mission. I’ve been feeding my twins every day, and I feed them equally. Audiences that are interested in just music for music making are dying out. There are a lot more reasons to get them in: many concerts can reach into the community and be of service.”

Tim Seelig is a conductor, speaker, author and educator. He is the Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and Conductor Emeritus of the Turtle Creek Chorale in Dallas, Texas. He serves as founding conductor of the Portland Sage Singers.

Dr. Seelig holds four degrees, including a Diploma from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria and Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas. He has eight books and DVDs on choral technique published by Hal Leonard Music, several of which are best-sellers. His memoir, Tale of Two Tims, was published in 2020. He made his operatic debut in St. Gallen, Switzerland and solo debut at Carnegie Hall. He has been conducting at Carnegie Hall and Lincoln Center for 30 years, including an upcoming appearance at Lincoln Center in November 2025.

He has conducted over 60 recordings which have been on Billboard Top Ten and iTunes Top Ten classical charts. His choruses have been the topic of three documentaries. The first PBS documentary was awarded the national Emmy for best documentary. The most recent had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, won the Audience Favorite and is streaming on Paramount +.

He has commissioned major choral works for 35 years. Some of these include the first AIDS Requiem, When We No Longer Touch; Sing for the Cure for the Komen Breast Cancer Foundation featuring Dr. Maya Angelou; “Testimony,” by Stephen Schwartz and the 2022 “Songs of the Phoenix” by Andrew Lippa, Stephen Schwartz and Stephen Sondheim.

Aside from guest-conducting, he is often seen trading in his podium for the speaking stage. He won the Moth Grand Slam and his recent TEDx Talk has passed 100K views.

Fun facts: he conducted the Guinness Book of World Records Longest Choral Concert and carried the Olympic torch as a community Hero. He has not run since.

He is the proud grandfather of the amazing Clara Skye, Eden Mae, Cora Rose, and Ivy Hope.

To get in touch with Tim, you can find him on Facebook (@tim.seelig) or email him at tgseelig@gmail.com.

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"I start every morning at the junior high, and we co-teach together. It's great for alignment in the program, for familiarity with the students and getting to know them and hopefully continuing in choir. Our students see that we collaborate. I like that they can see that because it shows them how to go about relationships. People need be modeled how to treat each other and work together and talk to each other.” -Daniel Gutierrez

"It was super rewarding to be so invested in those pieces, and that's something that our middle schoolers are getting with conference performances. They're getting a set of songs for an extended period of time. We try to get our students to really invest so it can have an impact on them and in turn have an impact on the audience. That journey is just something that the kids don't forget, and that's why I keep submitting for conferences." - Blake Richter

Daniel Gutierrez, the head choir director at Nixa High School, is an acclaimed conductor, clinician, and speaker nationwide. He has earned several prestigious awards, including Teacher of the Year for Springfield Public Schools, a finalist for the state award, the Springfield Rotary Award for Community Service, and honors from the Springfield Business Journal’s 40 Under 40. Daniel has received the Missouri Choral Directors Association Podium Award. His choirs are renowned, frequently winning at music festivals and performing at notable conferences, including regional and national ACDA events and the National Conference for MS/JH Choral Music.

Blake Richter is a middle school choir director in his hometown of Nixa, Missouri. Blake directs over 250 seventh and eighth grade students in his various ensembles at Nixa Junior High. Blake’s choirs have been selected to perform at the Missouri Music Educators Association Conference multiple times. In 2017, Blake was named one of Missouri’s 32 Regional Teachers of the Year, in 2019, Blake was awarded the Prelude Award from the Missouri Choral Directors Association for demonstrating exemplary work as a young choral professional, and in 2020, Blake was named a Semifinalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award. In his spare time, Blake runs his Blake Richter Productions business which specializes in video production, audio engineering, photography, and music composition.

To get in touch with the Choir Guys, you can find them on Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok. You can find Danny on Instagram and find Blake on X, TikTok, and Instagram (@drrichternixa).

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“I think during my formative years, shying away from my true self – my authentic self – that's definitely shaped how I approach being in front of choirs, using choir as a platform to really encourage kids to be themselves. I think there's a vulnerability to singing where it really is an avenue to accessing the truest parts of ourselves, and so that's kind of my life mission now that I get to be in front of choirs.”

Chris Maunu is a conductor, educator, and composer dedicated to inspiring young singers and shaping the future of choral music. Based in Portland, Oregon, he serves as Artistic Director of the acclaimed Pacific Youth Choir, Affiliate Faculty at Portland State University, and Artistic Director of the professional ensemble Choro in Schola. Previously, he spent 17 years as the Director of Choral Activities at Arvada West High School in Colorado and 7 years as Co-Artistic Director of the professional Anima Chamber Ensemble.

A four-time GRAMMY® Music Educator of the Year Finalist and two-time CMA® Foundation National Music Teacher of Excellence honoree, Chris is a passionate advocate for music education. Choirs under his direction have received national and international acclaim, performing at over a dozen major conferences, including National and Regional ACDA events. His ensembles have earned prestigious honors such as the American Prize in Choral Performance and the Gold Diploma at the Rimini International Choral Competition.

In high demand as a guest conductor and clinician, Chris recently conducted the 2025 National 11-12 HS Honor Choir at the National ACDA Conference in Dallas, TX to great acclaim. As a composer, his award-winning works have been performed worldwide. He also serves as editor of the Pacific Youth Choir Choral Series with Pavane Publishing. An active member of NAfME and ACDA, Chris is the NWACDA Chair for Community Youth Choirs and frequently presents at both the regional and national levels. His writings appear in the Choral Journal, and he is a contributing author to A Choral Conductor’s Companion.

Chris holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and a Bachelor of Music Education from Northern State University. Most importantly, Mr. Maunu shares his life with his beautiful wife Aleisha, and their children Bodhi and Astraea.

To get in touch with Chris, you can find him on Facebook (@chris.maunu) or Instagram (@chrismaunu) or visit his website, chrismaunu.com.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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