Join NY-ACDA for our New York City Professional Learning Day!
Register Here
New York ACDA is excited to present NYC Professional Learning Day 2025. This event initially launched in 2023 in order to create a space for Choral Musicians and Choral Directors of all genres and age levels to network and learn together. This year we are excited to have renowned Choral Conductor Arreon Harley-Emerson as our Headliner.
This year we are excited to partner with the Young New Yorkers Chorus (Alex Canovas, Conductor.) Attendees of the 2025 May Professional Learning Day will get $10 tickets to their concert on May 3rd titled “From Wilderness.” We will send out the promo code the week before the event!
Schedule:
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8:30AM |
Registration and Coffee |
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9:00AM |
Welcome! |
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9:15AM |
I Want To Do Acappella And Don’t Know Where To Start with Kyle Garcia |
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10:00AM |
The Power of the Silent Rehearsal with Kristen Von Bargen |
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10:45AM |
Headliner Session: The Gospel Truth: Teaching, Singing, and Being in the Tradition with Arreon Harley-Emerson |
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11:45AM |
Lunch Provided On-Site |
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12:45PM |
Sing Free: Empowering Voices for Healing in Rehearsal Spaces with Eric Williamson |
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1:30PM |
Headliner Session: Interactive Conducting & Authentic Performance Practice Workshop on the Music of the Black Diaspora with Arreon Harley-Emerson |
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2:45PM |
Wrap-Up |
Session Descriptions & Bios
The Power of the Silent Rehearsal with Kristen Von Bargen
Discover the transformative potential of silence in choir rehearsal. During this sessions, you will experience the practice of a silent rehearsals—an approach that invites choirs to engage deeply with the music, the score, and each other without the “distraction” of verbal direction. Learn how silence fosters heightened focus, improves musicality, and cultivates a more mindful, collaborative rehearsal environment. Whether you’re looking to refine your ensemble’s technique or develop a stronger connection to the music, this session will equip you with tools and strategies to harness the profound impact of silence in your rehearsals.
Conductor and teacher Kristen Von Bargen has been teaching music and choir to students of all ages for the past 15 years. Originally from New Jersey, she holds a BM from West Chester University Honors College and certifications in Orff and Kodaly methodologies as well as post graduate credits from University of the Arts and West Chester University. She has conducted elementary, middle, high school choirs in private and public schools as well as honors level groups in both PA and NY. She has been a conductor and teacher for the Kennett Symphony Children’s Chorus, Turtle Bay Music School,Third Street Music School and is currently a conductor for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus, and an active member of the American Choral Directors Association as the Repertoire & Resource Chair for High School choral music.
I Want To Do Acappella And Don’t Know Where To Start with Kyle Garcia
Tips on making your group (middle school through professional!) better at performing contemporary acappella
Kyle Garcia is the founder and director of the award-winning Brooklyn Children’s Chorus and the professional a cappella group Echo A Cappella. In his 13th year of teaching, Kyle holds a Bachelor of Music Education from Penn State and a Master of Music and Music Education from Teachers College at Columbia University. He is currently a doctoral student in the Doctorate of Music Arts and Music Education program at Boston University. He is a quarterfinalist for the GRAMMY Music Educator Award for 2026 and is the ACDA-NY Repertoire & Resource Chair.
Sing Free: Empowering Voices for Healing in Rehearsal Spaces with Eric Williamson
This session will explore healing-centered practices that will help ground your singers in rehearsals as well as identify trauma responses & how to respond in the moment.
Eric Williamson (he/him) is the PreK-5 general music teacher at PS 32 located in Brooklyn, NY. PS32 is a community school that serves neurodiverse students in an integrated teaching environment. Mr. Williamson received his B.A. in Music from the Pennsylvania State University and his M.A. in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University. As a National Facilitator for the Human Rights Campaign Welcoming Schools program, he has led workshops on LGBTQ+ inclusion. He has also led workshops centering Anti-racism and Culturally Responsive Teaching at Carnegie Hall and nationwide at various conferences. Additionally, he is the Artistic Director of Lavender Light the Black and People of All Colors Lesbian & Gay Gospel Choir and an adjunct professor at NYU.