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Dr. John McDonald to Participate in International Conductors Exchange Program in 2023

by Tina Tebbe

Lebanon, IL (09/26/2022) — Dr. John McDonald, assistant professor of music education and director of choirs at McKendree University, has been selected by the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and the International Conductors Exchange Program to be a Conducting Fellow for 2023. He, along with five other conductors across the nation, will be hosting a German conductor early next spring, who will be official guests at the ACDA National Conference in Cincinnati, Ohio. In return, Dr. McDonald will then travel to Germany at the end of May.

Dr. McDonald's residency in Germany will involve two events: the Marktoberdorf Choral Competition in Marktoberdorf, Bavaria, Germany on May 26-30, and the Deutscher Chorwettbewerb in Hanover, Lower Saxony, Germany on June 3-11.

At McKendree, Dr. McDonald teaches undergraduate courses in vocal and general music education, directs the Chamber Choir and Concert Choir, and chairs the faculty committee on Student Affairs. He also serves as the conductor of the St. Louis Children's Choir Young Men's Chorus and is frequently invited as a guest conductor and adjudicator for honor choirs and festivals, including events in Idaho, Illinois, Kansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Utah.

A native of Knoxville, Tenn., Dr. McDonald is no stranger to traveling abroad for the sake of music. He traveled to Spain in 2013 with the East Carolina University Chamber Singers to compete in the Tolosa Choral Contest and had the opportunity to conduct a piece of music in the exhibition performances around the Basque region. This will be his first time traveling to Germany.

"I'm looking forward to gaining insight and perspective from someone who has the same passion and inspiration for vocal and choral music that I do, but lives and works in a very different culture and environment. I am excited to share that with my students and singers here and hopefully open their eyes to the bigger world of our art - how music and singing are universal and can connect us across borders," Dr. McDonald said. "I am also looking forward to exploring Germany's rich history and culture in relation to music and singing, especially since many of my favorite composers were German or Austrian."

Dr. McDonald plans on having the German guest conductor work with the McKendree choirs and provide feedback and suggestions to the students for successful chorus performance, along with sharing some insight and experience to the music education majors, offering a lecture or masterclass for area choral directors, and working with the St. Louis Children's Choirs Young Men's Chorus.

Established in 2010 and coordinated by ACDA's International Activities Committee, the ICEP program has connected choral conductors in the United States with counterparts in Cuba, China, Sweden, South Korea, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico, Uruguay, Kenya, and South Africa. Between 2012 and 2019, 63 U.S. conductors have participated in the exchange program, hosting an international conductor and traveling abroad to observe and lead rehearsals, present lectures and master classes, as well as other activities.

ACDA's International Conductors Exchange Program represents an opportunity for a new generation of choral specialists to affirm that choral music-making transcends national borders, ideologies, religions, and all those demarcations that too often divide us.

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Dr. John McDonald, assistant professor of music education and director of choirs at McKendree University.

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