About ACDA

Membership

ACDA membership consists of choral directors who represent more than one million singers across the United States. ACDA members teach choral music in public and private schools – kindergarten through senior high school – and at the college and university levels. They conduct a variety of choral groups, including boychoirs, children’s choirs, men’s and women’s choruses, junior and senior high school choirs, college and university choruses, ethnic choirs, vocal-jazz ensembles, and symphony choruses. They also conduct choirs in their communities and in their places of worship. Membership is established by submitting a membership application and annual dues.

Organizational Structure

ACDA is divided into seven geographic regions/divisions, as well as fifty state chapters, each with its own conferences, newsletters, festivals, clinics, and workshops. Whether at the National, Division, or State level, ACDA is structured so that its members can easily involve themselves in the organization’s activities.

Conferences

ACDA offers conferences at the state, division, and national levels. National conferences are offered in March of odd-numbered years; the seven regional conferences take place in February and March of even-numbered years. Through concert performances by accomplished choirs, educational clinics by leading experts, and exhibits by music-industry representatives, ACDA offers its members a diverse and practical forum in which to develop their skills and professional knowledge.

Committees

ACDA has numerous national committees engaged in advancing the choral profession in its many facets. The committees work in several areas of the choral profession, whether through establishing high performance standards, recommending quality choral literature, encouraging research in choral studies, or advocating the importance of choral music in our society.

Repertoire and Resources

ACDA establishes and maintains the highest of choral standards and recommends quality choral literature through the Repertoire and Resources (R&R) Committees. This national structure is the foundation for growth in every Division and State chapter through the organization.

Research and Publications Committee

ACDA is committed to the field of research as applied to choral music and publishes monographs and a composer series in both traditional and digital formats. The committee, therefore, manages several ongoing projects that both support and generate research and publications.

Publications

ACDA has several publications including Choral Journal, ChorTeach, International Journal of Research in Choral Singing (IJRCS), division newsletters, state newsletters, and the monograph series.

Online Communities

The Association also maintains dozens of internet sites providing up-to-the minute information to its members, including a Facebook page, a Facebook group, a YouTube site with several hundred videos, and ACDA’s professional networking site, ChoralNet. All of these publications are intended to connect members, and encourage peer learning and exchange.

The Purposes of ACDA

To foster and promote choral singing, which will provide artistic, cultural, and spiritual experiences for the participants.
To foster and promote the finest types of choral music to make these experiences possible.
To foster and encourage rehearsal procedures conducive to attaining the highest possible level of musicianship and artistic performance.
To foster and promote the organization and development of choral groups of all types in schools and colleges.
To foster and promote the development of choral music in the church and synagogue.
To foster and promote the organization and development of choral societies in cities and communities.
To foster and promote understanding of choral music as an important medium of contemporary artistic expression.
To foster and promote significant research in the field of choral music.
To foster and encourage choral composition of superior quality.
To cooperate with all organizations dedicated to the development of musical culture in America

The last two purposes were added in the 1975 Constitution and Bylaws revision:

To foster and promote international exchange programs involving performing groups, conductors, and composers
To disseminate professional news and information about choral music

ACDA Advocacy Statement

Whereas the human spirit is elevated to a broader understanding of itself through study and performance in the aesthetic arts; and Whereas serious cutbacks in funding and support have steadily eroded state institutions and their programs throughout the country; Be it resolved that all citizens of the United States of America actively voice affirmative and collective support for necessary funding at the local, state, and national levels of education and government to ensure the survival of arts programs for this and future generations.