2026 Conference Dates: March 4-7, 2026

Student Conducting Masterclass
Undergraduate and Graduate Opportunities

A. Jan Taylor – Undergraduate Clinician

Dr. A. Jan Taylor, conductor, pianist, and educator from Houston, holds music degrees from the University of Houston and Prairie View A&M University. She served as Associate Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Prairie View A&M (1996–2022) and has taught music at all levels in Houston public schools. A respected clinician, adjudicator, and lecturer on the Negro Spiritual, she has conducted nationally and internationally, including with the Houston Symphony Chorus, Houston Ebony Opera Guild, and the “105 Voices of History” HBCU National Choir. In 2023, she received the Texas Choral Directors Association’s prestigious Choirmaster Award.

Jennaya Robison – Graduate Clinician

Dr. Jennaya Robison is the Artistic Director of the National Lutheran Choir and a nationally recognized conductor, educator, and soprano. She has held faculty positions at the University of Missouri–Kansas City and Luther College, and regularly conducts All-State and honor choirs, festivals, and workshops across the U.S., Europe, and southern Africa. An active composer and arranger, she edits choral series with MorningStar and Pavane Publishing. Robison serves as national chair for Music in Worship with ACDA and holds degrees from Luther College, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Arizona. Her work champions sacred, intergenerational 

choral artistry.

Mason Asberry Undergraduate Masterclass Student Conductor Texas State University ​

Matthew Cox
Undergraduate Masterclass Student Conductor
Baylor University

Annie Elmore
Undergraduate Masterclass Student Conductor
University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory

Bryan Aguilar
Graduate Masterclass Student Conductor
Baylor University

Melody Elizabeth Brooks Graduate Masterclass Student Conductor University of Missouri-Kansas City Conservatory

Matt Carlson
Graduate Masterclass Student Conductor
University of North Texas

University of Northern Colorado Chamber Choir – Demonstration Choir

Jill Burgett, Director

 McNeil High School Chamber Singers – Demonstration Choir

Wendi Burwinkel, Director

The Application Window is Closed.
We are in the Audition Review Period

Selected applicants will be notified by email on or before November 15, 2025.

Purpose

The ACDA Student Conducting Awards and Competition were initiated at the 1993 ACDA National Conference in San Antonio, Texas. In 2019, the event was reconceived as a masterclass.

For 2026, this opportunity will again be offered as a Student Conducting Masterclass with Undergraduate and Graduate categories.

Criteria for acceptance include: conducting technique, rehearsal pedagogy, expressive musicality, and the use of appropriate performance practice. Additionally, repertoire selections must include at least one historically underrepresented composer.

Selected student conductors will be honored by having their names and institutions highlighted in ACDA publications and at the Southwestern ACDA Conference in 2026.

Objectives of the Student Conducting Masterclass:

  1. To acknowledge and reward outstanding undergraduate and graduate student conductors.

  2. To encourage score preparation and advancement of conducting and rehearsal skills.

  3. To promote greater engagement of student activity at ACDA conferences.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must:

  • Hold a valid ACDA student or active membership.
  • Be an undergraduate or graduate student at a U.S. college/university or U.S. territory at the time of application and at the time of the Masterclass (March 4–7, 2026).

  • Submit a complete application portfolio that includes:

    • Personal information (video adjudicators will not see this).
    • Verification of status as a student (Student ID card, .png or .jpg upload)
    • Verification of video validity (Name & ACDA membership number of a faculty member/sponsor).
    • Audition video recording (.mp4).
    • Fully marked score of your musical selection (PDF).
    • Résumé of conducting experience (1–2 pages, PDF).
    • Headshot (300 dpi, JPG, labeled: LastName_FirstName).
    • 900-character biography (as you wish it printed).

$20 entry fee (online payment at application; debit/credit card only).
If you are in financial hardship and cannot pay the fee, contact Dr. Julie Yu, Masterclass Chair ([email protected]) by October 15, 2025.