Thornton Choral & Sacred Music program strongly represented at ACDA conference

Irene Apanovitch, a doctoral candidate in the USC Thornton Choral & Sacred Music program, recently took the podium as a semi-finalist at the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Graduate Choral Conducting Competition. One of only eight conductors selected for this honor, Apanovitch currently serves as the Teaching Assistant and lead conductor for Thornton’s Oriana Women’s Choir. Last year, she was named a Teaching Assistant Fellow with USC’s Center for Excellence in Teaching.

The Graduate Choral Conducting Competition was held at the ACDA national conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, which was widely attended by Thornton Choral & Sacred Music students and faculty. Department chair Jo-Michael Scheibe (DMA ’85, choral music) presented two sessions related to the publication of Teaching Music Through Performance in Choir, for which he served as editor, which alumni, including Saunder Choir (MM’ 16, composition), Jerry Blackstone (DMA ’86, choral music), Noreen Green (DMA ’91, choral music), and Buddy James (DMA ’98, choral music), also presented at the conference.