Kemp, Michael

IN MEMORIAM Michael Kemp, conductor, author, composer, voice teacher, and choral clinician, was the founding conductor of Philadelphia’s Academy Chorale and Orchestra. In his 53 year career, he directed nationally recognized church, school, and community music programs in Texas, Tennessee, and Pennsylvania. He founded the Arlington Choral Society, which critics placed “on the top rung of choral music in the Dallas Metroplex.” He served as a regular church music lecturer for SMU’s Perkins School of Theology. Besides enhancing adult choirs, he created four church youth choirs and two academic high school choirs, conducted 400 choral and orchestral masterworks, and conducted 500 choral workshops and festivals in every state and province, including the national music and worship conferences of 14 different denominations. A published composer with Augsburg, Choristers Guild, and GIA, Michael is also the author of four significant GIA training books for choral directors. Michael’s goal is to pass on accessible and invaluable resources for choir directors. For more information, see Michael Kemp’s website at www.michaelkemp.org.

Workshops

RECONSIDERING "TOO OLD TO SING" - Music Education,Sacred Music

CAN SINGING SKILLS BE REVIVED? This session will help address the following senior singer concerns: wobbling, flating, sharping, blend, spread vowels, scooping, agility, breathiness, no head tone, projecting, singing from a seated position. It will also discuss pitch range changes, choosing appropriate music, and choosing the most effective choral warm-ups for aging singers.

Reconsidering "Too Old to Sing" will be featured as an Interest Session at the ACDA National Conference in Chicago in 2011

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