The American Choral Directors Association is honored to announce it is now the publisher of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing (IJRCS), adding this distinguished research journal to its existing suite of choral publications. Adding IJRCS to ACDA’s supporting cast of online resources and research publications is a partial fulfillment of one of the initiatives outlined for ACDA in 2008: “I envision a twenty-first century ACDA that sets the research and publication agenda for the best thinking, past and present, in choral music."
In its first issue, IJRCS editor Dr. James Daugherty said that the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing “celebrates the uniquely relational character of choral singing by publishing research that contributes to our understanding of choral ensemble practice and pedagogy.” Specifically, IJRCS promotes studies of ensemble singing, choir sound, choral pedagogy, and related areas that employ rigorous, systematic methods, both quantitative and qualitative. Three reviewers from the journal’s international and interdisciplinary board of editors, which includes choral musicians, voice scientists, acousticians, and vocal music educators, referee each manuscript anonymously and independently prior to reaching a decision about publication.
The daily operations and Editorial Board of the IJRCS will remain unchanged by this agreement, including the sole right of the IJRCS Editorial Board to determine research manuscripts acceptable for publication. Serving as transitional liaison will be Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt of the University of Toronto, who is a current member of the IJRCS Editorial Board and ACDA’s Executive Committee. IJRCS will remain an open access journal, free of charge to the choral research community and others.
“The ACDA National Committee on Research and Publication welcomes IJRCS to both the committee's work, as well as to the greater mission of ACDA,” said R&P Committee Chairman, Dr. William Belan “IJRCS's ongoing research in the field of vocal science contributes valuable credibility to our serious pursuit of the choral art.”
To distinguish IRJCS from other ACDA journals (Choral Journal, ChorTeach, monographs, and state and division publications) and to assist each ACDA journal in maintaining its unique contribution to the profession, the IJRCS shall be branded as “The Scientific Research Journal of the American Choral Directors Association.” “It is all together fitting and fortuitous that the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing promises to be an important resource for ACDA's choral conductors, scholars, and nascent conductors currently completing college degrees in music education with an emphasis in choral conducting,” commented Dr. Carroll Gonzo, editor of Choral Journal.
“We are delighted to sing in ACDA’s remarkable choir of publications,” Dr. Daugherty commented. The IJRCS is grateful to Dr. Sharp and the ACDA Executive Committee for their vision in proposing this agreement, and their expertise in shepherding it to fulfillment. We look forward, in concert with Choral Journal and ChorTeach, to serving the members of our profession and thereby the millions of singers with whom they work.”
The ACDA website (acda.org) contains information about submitting manuscripts to IJRCS, and about the journal’s policies. The inaugural issue of the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing as the scientific research journal of the American Choral Directors Association will be available in early September.
Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman says