Dr. Jerry McCoy is Regents Professor of Music Emeritus for the University of North Texas, where between 2000 and 2015 he led the UNT choral program to national and international acclaim while serving as Director of Choral Studies and conductor of the A Cappella Choir. From 1984-2000, Dr. McCoy served as Director of Choral Activities and conductor of the Oklahoma State University Chamber Choir and Concert Chorale, establishing a national and international profile for the choral program. In 2016/17, he served as Visiting Professor of Music at Baylor University where he conducted the A Cappella Choir and taught graduate choral conducting.

2018/2019 marked Dr. McCoy's eleventh and final season as Artistic Director/Conductor of the highly regarded Fort Worth Chorale and Chamber Choir (formerly Schola Cantorum of Texas). He was also founding director of Texas Choral Artists (2001-2006)—a professional choir based in Dallas, and The Stillwater (OK) Chamber Singers (1985-2000), now in its thirty-fourth season.

His publishing history includes a choral music series with Santa Barbara Music Publishers and current service as Chief Consultant for Digital Publishing Inc. (Dallas).

From 2007 to 2015 he served as a member of the National Executive Committee for the 20,000-member American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), serving as the organization’s national president from 2009 to 2011.

Jerry is a graduate of the University of Texas at Austin and UT- Arlington. He is married to singer, voice professor, and choral music artist Julie McCoy.

Workshops

Owning the Poetry We Sing: Creating a Musico-Poetic Impression - Music Education

We'll discuss how poetry and music work together, as well as how poetry might influence a composer. Then we'll sing a short excerpt syllable by syllable/sound by sound to determine the many ways to shape the phrase.

In A Word: The Key to Poetic Singing - Music Education

We will work from the macro- to the micro-, bar by bar, as we learn how to create an Interpretive Analysis of a lovely, expressive piece, revealing how our decisions create the poetic meaning for our audiences.

Well, Imagine That! The Conductor's and Singer's Imaginations - Music Education

This session will explore exercises for conductor and singers that can expand imagination, ultimately linking our imaginations to the music we are studying.

Where E'er You Sit: Linking the Choral Audition to Choral Seating - Music Education

This session will explore why and how our auditions and seating plans either expand or limit how our choirs sing.

Where's the Target? Hints to the Minutiae of Phrasing - Music Education

This session will explore physical and singing exercises that will enhance the unconscious and the conscious decisions we make about how we shape phrases.

Why Doesn't My Choir Sound Like That? - Music Education

We've all heard choirs whose singing we admire. So, what elements comprised their sound? Was it: Tone? Tuning? Resonance? Section balances? Blend/unity? Vibrato/senza vibrato? Rhythmic Intergity? The conductor's gesture? We'll find out and explore some proven, creative vocal exercises, approaches, and concepts.

If It's Baroque Fix It! - Music Education

There is so much new information available to conductors concerning Baroque music that the study of such music can seem very daunting, and yet it is some of history's most joyous music to sing and hear. This session will help us implement core performance practice issues of Baroque music. It's truly not all that hard!

Just Wave It Off! Defining the Physical Metaphor - Music Education

This session will implement and discuss the role of our conducting gestures in developing tone, line, breath flow, rhythmic synchronicity, the melos, and other issues. Members of the audience will also participate in a few imagination building exercises.