Repertoire and Resources committees provide support, vision, and resources for every major area of choral works within the ACDA. They play an important role in serving their respective choral genres, providing
- Leadership
- Information
- Networking
- Excellence among colleagues
- Professional growth
- Choral music in the lives of people
R&R Co-Chairs for Elementary Choral Music
Desmond Moulton made his debut as a professional singer when he was 8 years old. He has taught choir, applied voice, music theory, music history and world music at Penn State University Abington College as well as at the University of Southern Mississippi and has also taught music at public schools in New York City and Los Angeles. He has also conducted choirs and orchestras internationally successfully in major works such as Mendelssohn’s Elijah, Handel’s Messiah, Faure’s Requiem, Vivaldi’s Gloria and Orff’s Carmina Burana.
Desmond holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Conducting Performance and Pedagogy, a Master of Music degree in Music Performance, a Bachelor of Science (honors) degree in Management, a Diploma (with distinction) in Singing and Certificates in Piano and Music Theory from the Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, United Kingdom. He also holds Professional Certification from New York and New Jersey to teach music to K-12.Â
He released an album of his original songs called Happiness is Priceless which debuted on the Nielsen SoundScan Reggae Chart and which Pop Magazine named one of the 50 Best Albums of 2020.
R&R Co-Chairs for Middle School/Jr. High Choral Music
Mr. D’Agostino is currently the Junior High Choir Director at Victor Central School District in Victor, NY. D’Agostino teaches 7th Grade Chorus, 8th Grade Chorus, and General Music Classes. He also serves as the Music Director for the Junior High Musicals of which include: Seussical: The Musical (2018), Annie (2019), School House Rock (2020), and Spongebob: The New Musical (2021). While under his direction, Mr. D’Agostino’s students have earned high marks at NYSSMA Solo Festival Adjudications and have earned Superior ratings at Music in the Parks festivals.
Before coming to Victor, Mr. D’Agostino served as the 7-12 Choral Director at Dansville Central School District. While at Dansville, Mr. D’Agostino conducting the 7/8 Junior High Chorus, High School Mixed Chorus, Treble Chorus, and Chamber Singers. The Chamber Singers, a select acapella group performed an Annual Madrigal Dinner (January) in full Renaissance Garb, and a Vocal Jazz evening entitled Pop Night at the Bistro. Students of Mr. D’Agostino have been invited to perform in the Junior High School Area All-State, Senior High Area All-State, Conference All-State, and ACDA Summer, Eastern Divison and National Honor Choirs. Students have also been invited to sing with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra as part of the Gala Holiday Pops Chorus under the direction of Mrs. Amy Story, Mr. Harold McAuliffe and Mr. Jeff Tyzik. They have also worked with renowned conductors such as Eric Whitacre, Dr. Jo-Michael Scheibe, Dr. Peggy Dettwiler, and Dr. Anton Armstrong, Dr. Jonathan Babcock, Dr. Emily Elsworth among many others.
In 2014, Dansville High School Mixed Chorus was invited to perform at Carnegie Hall as part of the Performing Arts Educators Carnegie Hall Invitational Festival.
Mr. D’Agostino resides in Canandaigua, NY with his loving husband Jacob and his two dogs Louis V. and Armani.
James Ludwig teaches choral music in the Herricks School District on Long Island, where he works with both middle and high school singers. He grew up singing as a chorister at the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Garden City on Long Island, where he learned to read music, sing Renaissance polyphony, tie a tie, and play ultimate frisbee. He has served as guest conductor for district and county festivals and has presented workshops for NYSSMA, NYSCAME, and NY-ACDA about subjects including strategies for changing voices and ensemble classroom management. His choral compositions are available through GIA, Hinshaw, and a self-published catalog. His works have been performed in the United States and Great Britain, including by eVoco, the FSU Choral Union, and the Phoenix Chorale under the direction of Charles Bruffy. He holds degrees from Queens College and Berklee College of Music.
R&R Co-Chairs for High School Choral Music
Conductor and teacher Kristen Von Bargen has been teaching music and choir to students of all ages for the past 13 years. Originally from New Jersey, she attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania Honors College and graduated summa cum laude. She has conducted choirs of all levels including elementary, middle, high school, and honors level groups in both PA and NY. Currently, she is a conductor for the Brooklyn Youth Chorus as well as the middle school choral conductor at The Hewitt School in Manhattan and is honored to be serving as High School R&R co-chair for NY-ACDA.R&R Co-Chairs for Collegiate Choral Music
Dr. Nils Klykken is an assistant professor of choral music at SUNY Potsdam. He holds degrees from the University of Michigan (BM in Music Education) and the Eastman School of Music (MM and DMA in Conducting).
Dr. Klykken’s conducting and creative work is centered around evolving choral-music practices for the 21st century: He is interested in how historical performance-practices in Western Art Music can serve as referents for 21st-century improvisation, the exploration of notationless-music traditions in choral settings, and the intersections between music performance, music education, democratic processes, and social justice.
Dr. Klykken has served as a guest conductor for Regional All-State Choirs in the State of New York and has presented at regional and national conferences, including the American Choral Directors Association, The Society for Music Teacher Education, and the New York State School Music Association.
Dr. Esther Liu Harris serves on the faculty at the Juilliard School in the Pre-College Division, conducting the Youth Chorus since 2004. The Juilliard Pre-College Choral Program has flourished under her direction, where Dr. Harris has greatly encouraged both the growth of interest in choral artistry over the years and the quality of musicianship in choral singing. Additionally at Juilliard, she teaches rhythm and movements to classically trained singers, and music education pedagogy to master instrumental students. Dr. Harris is currently developing a curriculum for the Tianjin Juilliard School (Juilliard’s campus in China), where she leads a development team to author and guide a music teacher-training program launching in Asia with a comprehensive music curriculum.
Dr. Harris is an adjunct professor and on the faculty at the Kodaly Summer Institute at Steinhardt New York University where she teaches choral conducting, methodology, and conducts the adult teacher choir. She has taught in the music department at the Steinhardt New York University for a number of years, where she was also the master thesis advisor and supervisor for student teachers. At Teachers College, Columbia University, Dr. Harris taught private choral conducting for the music department and was a Visiting Assistant Professor at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, teaching conducting level I & II, elementary and secondary methodology, and introduction to music education courses.
Dr. Harris began her teaching career at the Spence School in Manhattan and is thrilled to be back at Spence currently as the Director of Choral activities there. Dr. Harris also worked at the Trevor Day School in Manhattan. For 14 years, she was the choral director at the Packer Collegiate Institute in Brooklyn, New York. While at Packer, Dr. Harris was awarded the Babbott Chair of Literature and the Arts, for recognition of scholarly pursuits and teaching excellence of faculty members at Packer in the fields of literature and the arts. Dr. Harris has toured her choirs internationally at festivals throughout Europe, leading performances in Italy, the Czech Republic, Ireland, Germany and Austria, and often creates cultural exchanges for her choirs and their international choral counterparts.
Dr. Harris earned a Doctor of Education degree from Teachers College, Columbia University. She earned her Master of Music in Music Education with Kodaly Emphasis at Holy Names University in CA, and a Bachelor of Music at San Francisco State University. She had received training at the Kodaly Pedagogical Institute of the Liszt Ferenc Academy of Music in Kecskemt, Hungary and holds a certification from the Creating Artistry Choral Conductors Program at Butler University, Indiana. She received her Orff Schulwerk Certification in Music and Movement Education in New York. Dr. Harris’s research and publication focus is on motivation and movement related to engagement in choral education. Dr. Harris is a regular presenter at national and regional conferences and at workshops for teachers in the New York area.
R&R Co-Chairs for Lifelong Community Choral Music
Cyndi Feinman has been teaching music for over 12 years and currently teaches chorus at Roslyn Middle School, where she has three choirs. In addition to teaching chorus, she directs the musical theater production there. She also adjudicates NYSSMA levels 1-6 during NYSSMA season. Cyndi Feinman received a BA in Music Education from the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College and a Masters of Music Education from Boston University. Additionally, Cyndi has received Orff levels from Trevor Day School and Hofstra University and Kodaly levels through the Hartt School of Music in Connecticut. Her studies also include “Music and the Brain training†and World Drumming Level I. Ms. Feinman has performed with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at the Kodak Theater as well as on the stage at Lincoln Center. Cyndi is a mezzo-soprano and continues to perform professionally.
Sean Linfors is in his fifth year as the Associate Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Ithaca College School of Music, and is currently serving as Interim Director of Choral Activities. He holds a Ph.D. in Choral Music Education from Florida State University, and is an active conductor, clinician, and educator, as well as being an advocate for access to music education. At Ithaca, Linfors has taught conducting, choral literature, and rehearsal techniques, as well as choral ensembles. He is the Artistic Director of the Syracuse Chorale, and was recently named conductor of the Cayuga Vocal Ensemble.
R&R Co-Chairs for LGBTQIA+ and Choral Music
Dr. Eric Rubinstein is Assistant Professor of Choral Music and Coordinator of Undergraduate Music Education at the Aaron Copland School of Music, Queens College (CUNY), where he directs the select Treble Choir and teaches undergraduate and graduate coursework in conducting and choral music education.
Under his direction, the Queens College Treble Choir has been honored with invited performances for local and regional chapters of NAfME and ACDA, including the 2022 Eastern ACDA Regional Convention in Boston, MA. The choir has also inspired collaborations with such composer-musicians as Joanne Metcalf, Eric Davis, Faith Morgan, and the Brooklyn-based Black Sea Hotel.
Rubinstein’s scholarship and creative activity focus on the advancement of twenty-first century, progressive practices in choral music education. His work has appeared in such publications as Music Educators Journal, SmartMusic, ChorTeach, and Anacrusis (Choral Canada), as well as through state and regional conventions of NAfME, ACDA, and the International Society of Music Education (ISME).
As a secondary school choral director, Dr. Rubinstein amassed a decade of high school teaching experience in Monticello and Westhampton Beach, NY, where he concurrently served on the music education faculty at Brooklyn College. His school ensembles have received numerous awards and honors, most notably giving invitational performances at the 2015 New York-ACDA State Conference as well as Carnegie Hall, Chautauqua Institute, and abroad. Dr. Rubinstein is also on the artistic faculty at the New York State Summer School of the Arts School of Choral Studies.
Dr. Rubinstein holds a D.M.A in Choral Conducting from Louisiana State University, a M.M. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and a B.M. in Music Education from the State University of New York at Fredonia.
Evan Montemayor is co-chair of the NY-ACDA LGBT+ Repertoire & Resources Committee. He is a graduate student and clinician pursuing degrees in choral conducting and speech pathology from California State University, Los Angeles and from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York.
Evan has worn many hats, including organist at St. Catherine of Siena parish in Franklin Square, New York, vocal director of the youth summer programs at Broadway Sacramento in California, and cast member at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. He holds bachelors degrees in both music and speech pathology from Hofstra University, where he currently serves as assistant to the chair of graduate music education.
R&R Co-Chairs for Jazz/Show/A Cappella
Kyle Garcia is the director of NYCs award-winning Echo A Cappella. He has written, arranged, and held workshops for choirs in Germany and all over the United States including California, Pennsylvania, and New Hampshire. In 2011 he led Penn State’s NOTA to place 2nd in the International Collegiate A Cappella Competition Quarterfinals and advance to the Semifinals – the only group to represent Pennsylvania and ranked among the top 20 groups in the US, Canada, and England.
Jameelah Taylor is a Choral Director & Vocalist based in New York City. She holds a Master of Arts in Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University as well as a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Vocal Performance from The New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.
Jameelah has performed in venues across New York City which include The Stone, Joe’s Pub, Carnegie Hall, Webster Hall and the historic Kings Theatre during New York Fashion Week.
R&R Co-Chairs for Research
Andrea Maas is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at the Crane School of Music, SUNY Potsdam. Maas holds an Ed.D. in Music and Music Education from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she served as the Director of Student Teaching in Music. While in NYC she worked as Director of Curriculum for MusicFirst designing curriculum and professional development opportunities integrating music technology in PK-12 classrooms. Maas taught fifteen years of PK-12, public music education in general music, choir, beginning instruments, theory, and musical theater. These experiences, coupled with her research interests in musical expression drive her to challenge students toward more meaningful musical encounters prioritizing culturally sustaining teaching approaches and flexible musicianship. Additional research interests include the intersections of curriculum, policy, and accreditation on music teacher education, specifically as they pertain to breaking down barriers to admission and diverse curricula.
Maas’s work has been presented at the International Symposium for Music Education, International Conference on Music and Emotion, National Symposium for Research in Music Education, The Conkling Forum on Social Justice in Music Teacher Education and the National ACDA Research Symposium in Choral Singing.
Dr. Wendy Moy is an Assistant Professor of Music Education and the Director of Crouse Chorale at Syracuse University and the Co-Artistic Director of Chorosynthesis Singers. They released Empowering Silenced Voices, a 2-CD collection of new socially conscious music, and established the ESV Database for Socially Conscious Choral Music. Wendy is a frequent clinician and guest conductor and recently made her international conducting debut in Pessoa, Brazil, and Shenzhen, China. She also performs with Chorosynthesis Singers and 21V.
Wendy’s research focuses on the culture of singing communities and the cultivation of social capital in successful choral organizations. Her ethnographic study of the Seattle Men’s Chorus, the largest gay men’s chorus and community chorus in the world, was recently published by Oxford University Press in Together in Music: Coordination, Expression, Participation. She has presented this research and on fostering equity, diversity, inclusion, and culture through socially conscious music at national conferences sponsored by NAfME, ACDA, Chorus America, and the College Music Society. Wendy serves as Co-Chair of Research for NY ACDA and on the ACDA Standing Committee on International Activities. www.wendymoy.com
R&R Co-Chairs for Student Collegiate Activities
Morgan Beaton is a conductor, educator, and performer. Currently, she is pursuing a Master of Music in conducting at Syracuse University. There, she serves as the teaching assistant for Setnor Sonority (a TTBB choral ensemble) and the Hendricks Chapel Choir (an SATB choral ensemble). She holds a Bachelor of Music with a choral music education emphasis and a minor in music history from Nazareth College of Rochester.
Currently, she serves as the New York American Choral Directors Association (ACDA)
Resources and Repertoire Co-Chair for Collegiate Student Activities. Prior to this, she served
three years on the Collegiate New York State School Music Association (NYSSMA) Executive
Board as the Web Editor and Secretary-Treasurer. Prior to this, Beaton was elected Nazareth
College’s NAfME Chapter President for two years. Under her leadership, the Nazareth Chapter
won a national Chapter of Excellence: Recruitment award, which recognized the chapters hard
work in increasing its membership from 20 to 65 students. Simultaneously, she served as the
Nazareth College ACDA Chapter President for two years where she brought in guest speakers
and organized professional development events for its members.
Her most recent awards include the National Association for Music Education (NAfME)
Professional Achievement Award, Excellence in Choral Conducting and Choral Music Education
from the Nazareth College School of Music, and is an honorary inductee of Phi Kappa Lambda.
In 2019, she won second place in her category, Second Year Women’s Classical Division, at the
National Association of Teachers Singing (NATS) Eastern Regional Competition.
Beaton has an active presence at conferences as well. Most notably, she spoke on behalf of
collegiate NAfME members at the NAfME National Leadership Assembly at the request of
President Mackie Spradley. This past summer, she was selected as a conducting masterclass
participant in Vermont ACDA’s 2021 Virtual Summer Conference where she worked with Dr.
Amanda Quist. Also she organized and presented a panel discussion for Pennsylvania ACDA’s
2021Virtual Summer Conference called Practical Advice for Graduate School Auditions and
Job Interviews with Dr. Joy Meade, Dr. John Warren and
presented two sessions at the NAfME 2021 Virtual Eastern Regional Conference. Along with
this, she organized a panel about the student teaching experience during COVID-19 for the
NYSSMA Virtual Winter Conference in 2020.
She also regularly performs as a vocalist. Her most recent roles in opera include Dido (Dido and
Aeneas by Henry Purcell), Gretel (Hansel and Gretel by Englebert Humperdinck), and Mrs.
Nolan (The Medium by Gian Carlo Menotti). She was the soloist at The Baptist Temple in
Rochester and is frequently hired as a chorister for Faith Lutheran Church in Penfield. On two
separate occasions, she sang as a back-up vocalist for Josh Groban.
Outside of her studies, Beaton enjoys reading, cooking, and spending time with family. She loves
finding and listening to new music as well as making music with others. In the future, she plans
to pursue a doctorate in the choral arts and teach at the collegiate level to inspire young
musicians and encourage personal expression through musical creativity.
Morgan Jolley serves as an Assistant Professor in Music Education at Ithaca College in the Vocal/General area. She previously served as the Interim Director of Choral Studies at the University of South Florida. Dr. Jolley began her career in 2007 at the middle school level (which she loved!) and was then tasked with opening the brand new Weeki Wachee High School, where she served as the Director of Vocal Music for six years. Dr. Jolley has experience in conducting and teaching from the elementary to the university level, and even beyond with community choirs and life-long singers. She is an active choral clinician, adjudicator, and provides professional development to music educators. Dr. Jolley earned her Ph.D. in Music Education at the University of South Florida in Spring, 2020. She has a Master’s in Music Education from Florida State University and a Bachelor of Science in Music Education from the University of South Florida. Her research interest is in vocal health and pedagogy across genres, music cognition, curriculum development, the democratization of music education with informal and popular music education in addition to traditional western canon, and student leadership. Morgan is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, NYSSMA, Chorus America, The Voice Foundation, NATS, and PAVA. She serves as the Student Collegiate Activities R & R Chair for NY ACDA and is on the Diversity Committee for PAVA. She has three adult children who live in Florida, and Morgan loves to hike, read, and play golf.R&R Co-Chairs for Gospel Music
Darryl Jordan, Ed.D. conductor/singer/songwriter, holds an M.Ed. and an Ed.D. from Teachers College, Columbia University, and a B.S. and M.M. in Music Education from NYU and Boston University, respectively. He has spent the better part of his career training multi-faceted young singers for a new generation as a Choral/Vocal Director at LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts, the “FAME” school, where he conducts their historic Gospel Choir. Armed with the desire to develop singers for every stage, he has spent the past twenty years conducting choirs and training singers in Maryland, D.C., and New York for everything from classical to gospel to jazz. An Assistant Conductor of the NYC All-City High School Chorus, he regularly facilitates workshops for the Citywide Professional Development Conferences under the NYC Office of Arts and Special Projects. He is Director of Music Education and an Adjunct Professor of Voice and Ensembles at Nyack College School of Music. He is an Adjunct Instructor in Voice and Choir at Teachers College, Columbia University. His students have performed everywhere from Carnegie Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center, Apollo Theater, and a host of churches, community centers, and public events! He regularly conducts Nyack College’s Off-Broadway productions and choral performances at David Geffen Hall. Thanking God for his own musical gift, he seeks to empower the community through the gift of song as a baritone/tenor singer in and outside of the Tri-State area. He is a member of the Grammy-nominated and Tony-honored Broadway Inspirational Voices. Along with his music group FreeMind, he brings his own unique brand of neo-gospel-soul music to the world! He will release his new album,TIME, in 2022!R&R Co-Chairs for SSAA
Liz Geisewite is a public school music teacher at Edward R. Murrow High School in Brooklyn, NY where she teaches music theory and piano and conducts several choirs. Growing up in rural central Pennsylvania, Liz was heavily influenced by the music of the church. She learned to read music and sing harmony on four part hymns at an early age and became the church pianist at age 12. After moving to NYC in 2005 and singing with a variety of choral ensembles, Liz met Akiko Fuchisawa and co-founded Accord Treble Choir as an outlet for their shared love of treble voice choral music, especially the music of Hungarian, Estonian, and Finnish composers.
A student of the Kodaly music education philosophy, Liz has taught Kodaly musicianship classes for the National Children’s Chorus (NYC) and studied Kodaly methodology in NYC, the UK, and Hungary. In addition to directing Accord, Liz is also Artistic Director for Brooklyn Treble Choir in and has worked with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus as a conductor and Musicianship teacher for their training division. She earned a BA in Peace Studies and studied music with Dr. Debra Lynn at Manchester College. Always driven by a dual passion for social justice and music, Liz later completed an MA in Vocal Performance at Truman State University and an MS in Education at Long Island University.
R&R Co-Chairs for Culturally-Centered Music
Antoine Dolberry, made his debut on the stage as a young artist. Musical Director, Performer, and Vocal Coach are just some of the hats he wears. Receiving his early training in the world famous “Boys Choir of Harlem Inc.” and obtaining his Bachelor of Music at the Hartt School of Music, Dolberry has performed in numerous countries around the world including Israel, Japan, China, and Germany! He has also toured tremendously throughout the United States for over 15 years. He has worked with such great artists as Estelle, Aretha Franklin, Donald Lawrence, Brooks & Dunn, Luciano Pavarotti , and Sean “Diddy” Combs. His eclectic style of singing ranges from Opera and Spirituals to Broadway/Show-tunes and Gospel. Mr. Dolberry has also appeared in many productions ranging from “Man of La Mancha”, with Commonwealth Opera, to several productions with Tiny Star Productions and is currently Assistant Musical Director for the “Alumni Ensemble of Harlem”. Currently a Music Teacher in the public school system , Mr. Dolberry continues to give back to his community by teaching and mentoring over 500 youth per week in New York City.