Ep. 59 - Making an Impact in the First Year of Teaching - Christina Hall

08/23/23 • 50 min

“As first-year teachers, we have more power than we think we do. Our voice is heard more because we’re the new person in town. As young teachers, I think that our confidence is still growing. We’re still learning to navigate what to ask and how to ask admin... You can always ask for something, and the worst thing they’re going to say is ‘no’ or ‘not yet.’”
Christina Hall is a master's student in Choral Conducting at Arizona State University. Concurrently, she is in her third season as a soprano in the GRAMMY-award winning Phoenix Chorale. Christina served as the choir director at Millennium High School in Goodyear, Arizona, for four years teaching choir and class guitar and founded the first piano curriculum in the district. She is a native of Walla Walla, Washington, and received her Bachelor of Arts in Choral Music Education at Northern Arizona University. While in Flagstaff, Christina directed the Living Christ Lutheran Church Choir for three years and performed at Carnegie Hall in December 2019.

Vocally, she trained with Dr. Judith Cloud and performed as a backup singer for Josh Groban and Sarah Brightman. An active member of the American Choral Directors Association, Christina frequently attends state, regional, and national conferences and recently presented at the AzACDA State Conference on Program Advocacy. She serves her second term as the Youth Repertoire & Resources Coordinator for the Western Region of the American Choral Directors Association and first year as the AzACDA Vocal Jazz Chair.
To get in touch with Christina, you can find her on Instagram (@challmusic) or Facebook (@christina.hall.213), visit her website (https://www.challmusic.com), or email her at [email protected].
Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 2 episode from May 22, 2023, to hear how to share your story with us.
Email [email protected] to contact our hosts.
Podcast music from Podcast.co
Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

Previous Episode

Ep. 58 - Building a Toolbox for Accessible Choral Singing - Tracy Wong

"The timbre of the singing voice [in Malaysian music] is definitely different from singing Western art music mainly because of the language itself. The way the language is being spoken accesses a different space in our whole instrument. If you want sing the music of a different culture or language in that particular tone, listen to how a person would speak the language, and you won't go far from it."
Dr. Tracy Wong is a Malaysian-Canadian choral conductor, music educator, composer, vocalist, and pianist. Dr. Wong is passionate about helping choral leaders and educators to provide unique experiences for their singers and students through collaborative commissions, customized workshops, festivals, and artist residencies. She does this through focusing on the balance of performance practice considerations, vocal and acoustic explorations, and choral artistry and heart.
Currently residing in Ontario, Canada, Dr. Wong is the Assistant Professor of Choral Studies at Western University, where she conducts Chorale and Les Choristes ensembles and teaches choral conducting. Dr. Wong holds Doctor in Musical Arts and Master in Music Performance (Choral Conducting) degrees from the University of Toronto under the tutelage of Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt. She is also a two-time recipient of the Elmer Iseler National Graduate Fellowship in Choral Conducting.
As an active choral artist, Tracy collaborates regularly with choral organizations on conducting events, commissioned projects, and residences, and her compositions are widely published and performed internationally. As a composer/arranger, she advocates for repertoire-based music education by writing pieces that are teaching tools for singers to develop vocal technique, musicianship skills, and artistry. As part of her continued search to define her Chinese-Malaysian-Canadian identity, Tracy’s music also shows the coming-together of different languages and musical elements that continue to influence her composition writing. A large number of her self-published works are on the Tracy Wong Series at Graphite Marketplace.
To get in touch with Tracy, you can find her on her website, tracywongmusic.com, and join her mailing list. You can also find her on Facebook (@tracywongmusic) or Instagram (@thewongnote).
Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 2 episode from May 22, 2023, to hear how to share your story with us.
Email [email protected] to contact our hosts.
Podcast music from Podcast.co
Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

Next Episode

Ep. 60 - Nurturing Choral Expression for the Disadvantaged - Jonathan Palant

“It’s powerful to see [the Dallas Street Choir] perform. It’s powerful to see the invisible become visible. Both the audience reaction to take an invisible, isolated population and see them for the very first time in many ways, but it’s also powerful for them to be seen.”
Jonathan Palant is Associate Dean of the Arts and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at Dallas and is founder and conductor of the Credo Community Choir, a 140-member adult mixed choir, and the Dallas Street Choir, a musical outlet for those affected by homelessness. In addition, Dr. Palant is Director of Music at Kessler Park United Methodist Church, and is employed by the Dallas Independent School District to mentor middle and high school vocal music teachers.

From 2007-2011, he served as Artistic Director of Dallas’ Turtle Creek Chorale. Prior to that, Palant held collegiate teaching positions at Western Kentucky University and Madonna University in Livonia, Michigan. He taught secondary choral music at University School, an all-boys independent school in Cleveland, Ohio, and San Pasqual High School in Escondido, California.
Dr. Palant currently serves as president of the National Alliance for Music In Vulnerable Communities, Repertoire and Standards Chair for the Southwest American Choral Directors Association (SWACDA), and sits on the board of directors of the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses. He has also served on the state board of the Michigan chapter of the American Choral Directors Association and Youth First Texas where he was founder and conductor of Dallas PUMP!, a choir serving at-risk youth.
Dr. Palant holds degrees from Michigan State University, Temple University and the University of Michigan.
Both Palant’s book, Brothers, Sing On! Conducting the Tenor-Bass Choir and Brothers, Sing On! The Jonathan Palant Choral Series are published by Hal Leonard.
To get in touch with Jonathan, you can email him at [email protected] or find him on Facebook (@jpalant).
Choir Fam wants to hear from you! Check out the Minisode Intro Part 2 episode from May 22, 2023, to hear how to share your story with us.
Email [email protected] to contact our hosts.
Podcast music from Podcast.co
Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson