🎙️ACDA Podcast – April 2026

This month, Steve reflects on the realities of fatigue in the choral profession—especially in the wake of a busy performance season—and opens an honest, thoughtful conversation about burnout, identity, and sustainability in our work.

🧠Burnout & the Choral Director Identity
Steve is joined by Dr. Peter Steenblik for a deeper exploration of burnout—not just as a problem to solve, but as a signal worth understanding. Moving beyond practical strategies, this conversation examines how passion, expectations, andprofessional identity intersect, and what it means to pursue sustainable joy in a demanding field.

🎶 Why Do We Sing? – Community & Humanity
Continuing the Why Do We Sing? series, Steve speaks with composer and author Jack Curtis Dubowsky about singing as a deeply human, embodied, and communal act. Their discussion explores singing as a vehicle for identity, connection, and even social change—broadening the question beyond music into the shared human experience.

🎵R&R Quick Pick
This month’s selection comes from the Junior High/Middle School Choirs R&R Chair, featuring Crossroads by Reginal Wright—an engaging and meaningful work for developing ensembles.

📚Into the Archives
This segment explores ACDA’s long-standing partnership with Hinshaw Music and the evolution of its publishing efforts—from the practical ACDA Monograph Series to today’s scholarly and historical resources that continue to shape the choral profession.

📢Did You Know?
Updates include:

• A new "Between the Staves" advice column on managing springtime workload
• Final days to apply for performing and insight choirs for the 2027 National Conference
• Applications open for the International Conductors Exchange Program (New Zealand)

🎧Stay Connected
Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and more.
Have thoughts on burnout or Why Do We Sing? Send your reflections or voice memos to [email protected].

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Website: https://acda.org

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LINKS FROM THE EPISODE:

ACDA website: https://acda.org

Choral Journal: https://acda.org/publications/choral-journal

Choral Journal Article from Peter Steenblik: https://acda.org/archives/6586

Repertoire and Resources page: https://acda.org/repertoire/

Virtual Reading Sessions: https://acda.org/archives/events/2025-national-rr-virtual-reading-sessions

R&R Quick Pick: Crossroad by ReginalWright - https://global.oup.com/academic/product/crossroad-9780193433502?cc=us&lang=en&

Jack Curtis Dubowsky: https://www.jackcurtisdubowsky.com/

Hinshaw Music Series: https://acda.org/publications/hinshaw-music-series

Between the Staves: https://choralnet.org/archives/812170

Insight Choir or Performing Choir Application forNational Conference: https://acda.org/archives/events/2027-national-conference

Symposium for Research in Choral Singing: https://acda.org/conferences/symposium-for-research-in-choral-singing

International Conductors Exchange Program: https://acda.org/resources/icep