GUEST BLOG: “ACDA Through the Intern’s Eyes” by Taylor Jack Conley

ACDA THROUGH THE INTERN'S EYES by Taylor Jack Conley

 

       I have spent two summers in the ACDA national office, and the time has been profoundly fruitful. Working in the national office of an organization dedicated to the choral art allowed me to grow my knowledge and love of the art. I was able to work with ACDA’s spectacular staff members in their various departments.

       I spent the better part of the summer of 2013 in the archives organizing and cataloging the plethora of resources the national office possesses. The projects I began that summer actually carried over into my second summer internship. When I returned in 2014, I gradually updated the list of conference recordings the archives contain (about 6500). I grew my knowledge of choral repertoire just by listing hundreds of titles on an Excel spreadsheet. Every time a title would interest me, I would look it up and listen. This project will be something I am happy to have been asked to update over time. I will have the pride, and responsibility, of having my name on an ACDA archive project. I worked on a membership drive researching the various resources available to the different membership categories (students, church choir directors, high school directors, etc.). Sifting through all that ACDA has to offer opened my eyes to the staggering amount of resources members have access to. Needless to say, I know where to go to answer choral related questions from now on (Hint: try ChoralNet).

       Not only did I get to work on various projects around the office, I got to see the inner workings of ACDA. Before I stepped foot in the office, I envisioned a staff of 50 working every day to advance the choral arts around the world. On my first day I was a bit surprised when I met twelve staff members. When I see marvelous work ACDA does with only twelve people at the helm, I can only imagine what this great organization could do with my previously imagined staff of fifty.

       What would be the greatest thing I took away from my time at the ACDA national office, you might say? I would say that I see a great future ahead for ACDA, and the choral art. From the Choral Journal and ChoralNet, to the ACDA Career Center, there are a, sometimes overwhelming, amount of resources ACDA has to offer. Members do not merely belong to a group, they use the tools provided to grow, and encourage the betterment of choral music. I’m extremely grateful for the opportunity to get to work closely with the ACDA staff. I built friendships, gained mentors, and obtained a wealth of knowledge I hadn’t expected. Devotion to the idea that choral music, all music, can make the world a better place is what drives the American Choral Directors Association, and is why I’m am thrilled, and always grateful, to have spent two summers working towards that idea. “To foster and promote choral singing…”