HONOR CHOIRS
Common Region Training Choir (Grades 9-12)
July 31 - August 1
FUMC-Little Rock
Middle Honor Choir (Grades 5-9)
July 31 - August 1
FUMC-Little Rock
Middle Level Honor Choir Concert
Tuesday August 1, 2023
First United Methodist Church
723 Center Street, Little Rock, AR 72201
2023 Arkansas Summer Honor Choir Auditions
Pay Honor Choir Audition Fees
Arkansas ACDA Middle Level Honor Choir
Arkansas ACDA will host our first-ever ARACDA Middle Level Honor Choir directed by Rashaad Calaham, Director of Choirs at Fossil Hill Middle School. This honor choir will consist of singers, grades 5-9. Information on auditions will be posted at the the beginning of January 2023. Be on the lookout for information for this amazing event!
Rashaad Calaham is one of the co-conductors of the TCC Chamber Chorus, and serves as an Artistic Associate for the Turtle Creek Chorale. He is also the Ensemble Liaison for TCC Coloratura.
One of his greatest passions is Music Education, and he is the current Head Director of Choirs at Fossil Hill Middle School. Prior to teaching in Keller ISD, he was the Director of Choirs at Sam Houston Middle School for the Irving ISD for five years, and at Reed Middle School in Duncanville ISD for one year.
Choirs under his direction have received consistent sweepstakes ratings at UIL Concert & Sightreading Assessments. He has had a number of students earn placement in All-Region Choirs as well as the Texas Choral Directors Association Convention Middle School All-State Choir. During his time at Houston Middle School, the Varsity Treble Choir was named an invited performing choir for the 2021 Texas Music Education Association Convention. Rashaad held the title of 2021 Houston Middle School’s Teacher of the Year as well as the 2021 Secondary Teacher of the Year for all of Irving ISD. He has also received the Mirabeau B. Lamar Award for Education by the Irving Masonic Lodge.
He received his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Arkansas at Monticello, majoring in both Instrumental and Vocal Music Performance and received his Master’s degree from the University of Texas at Arlington, where he studied Conducting.
Rashaad is also frequently asked to perform in various capacities in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex, including membership in the American Choral Prize-winning ensemble, Brothers in Song, as a 1st tenor/countertenor. He is also a specialist of multiple woodwinds, playing in many musical productions and ensembles around the city, including the Cathedral of Hope Sanctuary Orchestra.
Arkansas ACDA Common Region Music Training Honor Choir (Grades 9-12)
Ryan Sullivan, Director of Choral Activities at Arkansas State University will be conducting our first ever AR-ACDA Common Region Music Training Honor Choir (Grades 9-12). Information about the auditions will be posted at the beginning of January 2023. Be on the lookout for information for this game changing event for students and teachers!
Ryan W. Sullivan is the Director of Choral Activities, Coordinator of Vocal Studies, and Assistant Professor of Music at Arkansas State University. He conducts the flagship ensemble Concert Choir, Jonesboro Chorale, and Chamber Singers. He teaches coursework in conducting and music education, and serves as an advisor to students in all three of the university’s undergraduate music degrees. Prior to his time at A-State, Sullivan was the Associate Conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus and served as the conductor of Collegium Singers and Baroque Orchestra, the University of North Texas’ early music ensembles. In 2018, he was awarded the Adams-Nordstrom Award for Early Music Studies. In addition to older works, Dr. Sullivan enjoys bringing new music to life, having conducted two North American opera premieres and world premieres of choral music by Robert Beaser, Derek Jenkins, James Eakin III, and Douglas Helvering.
Sullivan has served as an invited conductor and clinician for choral festivals in Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri, and Texas with additional upcoming engagements in Arkansas, Germany, and Portugal. His credits as a baritone soloist and in professional choral ensembles include the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, San Antonio Chamber Choir, The Cecilia Ensemble (GA), Spire Chamber Ensemble, Boston Early Music Festival, and Austin Baroque Orchestra.
Sullivan serves as current Past-President for the Southwestern Region of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). He was the 2014 recipient of the Prelude Award from Missouri ACDA. In 2023, he will be one of six American conductors to participate in ACDA’s International Conducting Exchange Program with the German Choral Association. He holds a Doctor of Music Arts from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music from Texas Tech University, and undergraduate degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from the University of Missouri – Kansas City Conservatory of Music.
