Thursday, September 26, 2024
Dr. Brett Epperson, Director of Choral Activities, Hastings College (Neb.)
Dr. Greg Zielke, director of choirs, Tabor College
Set aside a day for your high school choir leaders. Together we will invite leaders in your choir to dig deeper into the joy of choral music and what it means to be a choir.
- Nothing to prepare
- No fee to participate
- Lunch is included
- We provide the music
- Limited to 100 participants
- Bring 4-6 of your choir leaders
SCHEDULE
STUDENTS
8 a.m… Check-in
8:30 a.m… Introductions, instructions, warm-ups
9 a.m… Session 1: Sectionals
10 a.m… Session 2
11 a.m… Break
11:10 a.m… Session 3
12:10 p.m… Lunch
12:40 p.m… Session 4
1:40 p.m… Break
1:50 p.m… Session 5
2:30 p.m… Wrap-up & performance
DIRECTORS
8 a.m… Check-in
8:30 a.m… Introductions, instructions, warm-ups
9 a.m… Session 1: Dr. Epperson
10 a.m… Session 2: Observe Rehearsal
11 a.m… Break
11:10 a.m… Session 3: Roundtable discussion with Dr. Greg Zielke
12:10 p.m… Lunch
12:40 p.m… Session 4: Observe Rehearsal
1:40 p.m… Break
1:50 p.m… Session 5: Observe Rehearsal
2:30 p.m… Wrap-up & performance
CHOIR MUSIC (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
TBD
HOW TO PREPARE
- Select 4-6 students who are leaders in your choir.
- That’s it. You don’t need to prepare anything or any music. Just come.
About Dr. Epperson
Brett D. Epperson is Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Hastings College, where he directs the Hastings College Choir and Choral Union. He teaches courses in conducting, vocal pedagogy, diction, and studio voice. Epperson also serves as Director of the Chancel Choir and Langenberg Concert Series at First Presbyterian Church of Hastings.
Before his higher education career, Epperson was a public school music educator for nearly a decade, leading high school choral programs in Iowa and Nebraska. Under his leadership, East High School in Lincoln, the choral program tripled in enrollment, East Singers was selected as a featured concert choir at the Nebraska Music Educators Association Conference, and Epperson was the recipient of a Lincoln Public Schools Inspire Award for implementing an Adaptive Music program. Epperson has also served as a Graduate Assistant within the College of Music at Florida State University, was an Adjunct Instructor of Voice at Doane University (Nebraska), and is a previous Artistic Director-Conductor of the Lincoln Lutheran Choir.
Epperson is active as a guest conductor, clinician, adjudicator, and collaborative keyboardist, with appearances across the United States, the Caribbean, and Europe. In June of 2023, Epperson traveled to Nairobi, Kenya where he was a featured conductor as part of AVoice4Peace choral festival. As a vocalist, he has sung with Grammy-nominated choral ensembles and has been a featured soloist in choral-orchestral performances across the Midwest and South. Galaxy Music Corporation released its first published composition, Da pacem Domine, in 2022.
Epperson earned a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Luther College (Decorah, IA), a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and the Doctor of Philosophy degree in Music Education-Choral Conducting from Florida State University.