The International Conductors Exchange Program (ICEP) provides opportunities for the rising generation of choral leaders to represent the United States as ambassadors to the world in the exchange of music, ideas, and cultures. Established in 2010 and coordinated by ACDA’s International Activities Committee, the 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, South Africa, and Germany. Between 2012 and 2024, 69 U.S. conductors have participated in the exchange program, hosting an international conductor and traveling abroad to observe and lead rehearsals (or performances), present lectures and master classes, attend conferences, as well as other activities.
The 2025 exchange with the Philippines is scheduled to coincide with the 2025 ACDA National Conference and culminate with our US conductors’ residencies in the Philippines later this summer and fall.
ICEP is an annual program. The next cohort will seek applicants in the early Spring of 2025 for cohort development during the ACDA Region Conferences in 2026.
Meet the 2025 ICEP Participants for the Exchange with the Philippines:
Corie Brown (she/her) serves as Assistant Professor of Choral Studies and Music Education at San José State University. She leads the SJSU Concert and Treble Choirs, and holds diverse teaching experience in both K-12 public school and community settings. Dr. Brown has taught in Colorado, Oregon, Illinois, Michigan, and in Colombia, South America with the Fundación Nacional Batuta, where she aided in the creation of the organization’s choral area.
As a conductor, Dr. Brown is active nationally and internationally as a clinician and guest artist. She most recently served as faculty at the National University of Colombia’s Encuentro de Orquestas, Bandas y Coros Universitarios, Kula Kākoʻo Choral Conducting Institute in Hawai’i, and presented at the Western American Choral Directors Association Conference. Brown also serves as the Artistic Director for the Mission Peak Chamber Singers in Fremont, a community choir focused on providing access to excellent choral singing for all.
As a mezzo-soprano, Brown has appeared with the Oregon Bach Festival Chorus, under the batons of Helmut Rilling, Matthew Halls, and others, the Ad Astra Music Festival Choir, as well as the University of Oregon Chamber Choir, University of Colorado Boulder University Singers, and the Chicago Chorale.
Dr. Brown is privileged to hold degrees from Alma College, the University of Oregon, and the University of Colorado Boulder. She is an active member of the American Choral Directors Association, and National Association for Music Education, and serves on the board of directors of the California Choral Directors Association.
Alongside the arts, Dr. Brown is fed by time with her black cat Inu, exploring the outdoors, and learning to salsa.
Francis Cathlina, D.M.A. (he/him) is a distinguished Vietnamese-American conductor and educator, known for his innovative programming that seamlessly weaves choral music with narrative. As Director of Choral Activities at the University of Memphis, he oversees the Choral Area, leads the MM and DMA Choral Conducting program, and conducts the University Singers.
A two-time GRAMMY-nominated educator, his work with choral ensembles has garnered international recognition. He is on the Conducting Faculty for the 2025 XV Fimus Festival in Brazil and was selected as a US ambassador to the Philippines for ACDA’s 2025 International Conductors Exchange Program. The UofM University Singers, under his direction, have been invited to perform for national and state conferences.
A recognized authority in vocal pedagogy, Dr. Cathlina’s research on choral tone and conducting gesture is published in international journals. He has presented over 56 interest sessions across the globe, co-leading two Conducting Masterclasses in Greece. He is set to be the Choral Headliner for the 2025 Alabama Music Educators Association Conference. Driven by a passion for human connection, he finds great inspiration as an honor choir conductor. His extensive guest conducting schedule includes honor choirs nationwide.
Dr. Cathlina holds a D.M.A. in conducting with a vocal pedagogy cognate from the University of North Texas, an M.M. from Michigan State University, and a B.M.E. from Baylor University. Before his doctorate, he taught in Texas public schools. Beyond the podium, Dr. Cathlina leads an active life as an avid pickleball player. He, his husband Kyle, and their dog Coco proudly call Memphis, Tennessee, their home. www.franciscathlina.com
Elisabeth Cherland (she/her) is a fourth-generation choral conductor as well as teacher, singer, song leader, violinist, and Lutheran church musician. As Assistant Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Minnesota State University, Mankato she teaches music education courses, conducting, private voice, and conducts the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers. She also serves as Artistic Director of Musicorum, a Mankato-based chamber choir. Prior to her appointment at MSU she taught at Gustavus Adolphus College, and spent seven years teaching middle and high school music in the public schools of South Dakota.
Dr. Cherland earned a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Washington, a Master of Music Education with teaching certification from VanderCook College of Music, and a Bachelor of Arts in Music and English from Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. Her research interests include women in academia, feminist and narrative research, choral settings of Emily Dickinson poetry, song leading pedagogy, and social justice in the choral classroom.
She lives with her partner Kent and their two sons, Elijah and Leif, in St. Peter, MN. She loves storytelling and story-hearing, doughnuts, bubble tea, laughing, knitting, running (when the temperature is perfect and the course is flat), and sunshine when it’s available.
Paolo Debuque (he/him) is a Filipino- and Chinese-American conductor based in Minneapolis, MN noted for his innovative programming and commitment to grassroots, community-centered art. He currently serves as conductor of St. Olaf’s Viking Chorus and Chapel Choir.
Passionate about the advancement of Asian-American voices, Paolo is the Founding Artistic Director of A Thousand Tongues, an arts organization dedicated to uplifting Asian-American experiences through music and stories. Past and upcoming engagements include a weekend residency at Luther College and a choral program presented in collaboration with the Minnesota Chorale.
A proud citizen of the Twin Cities’ vibrant choral scene, Paolo is Artistic Director of Caritas Vocal Ensemble, an ensemble singer with Border Crossing, and section leader, board member, and guest conductor with the Minnesota Chorale.
Paolo studied music at Swarthmore College, earned the MM in Conducting (Choral) at the University of Michigan with Jerry Blackstone, and is currently a DMA student at the University of Minnesota. He has also studied with Simon Carrington, Victor Yampolsky, and Dale Warland.
Reagan G. Paras, serves as Associate Professor for Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts where he teaches in the Music Education Department. Throughout the academic year, he instructs both undergraduate and graduate students in Advanced Choral Conducting, Choral Rehearsal Techniques, as well as conducts the Berklee Concert Chorus.
A passionate conductor, singer, and educator, he has directed performance tours across the United States and abroad. This summer, he participated in a European Performance Tour conducting in the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary. He is the Artistic Director for Many Voices: Mechanics Hall’s Youth Singers, performing repertoire that authentically honors the mosaic of cultures represented in the ensemble. He serves as Music Director for The Salisbury Singers, one of the premier choral ensembles in the state. Throughout the summer, he conducts the Kodály Music Institute Choir, which is comprised of music educators from across the globe. An emerging researcher, Reagan regularly presents at research symposiums across the United States. He is a guest conductor, clinician, and adjudicator for various music festivals across the country.
He is an advocate for choral music, serving on various executive boards for music associations across the northeast. He is a proud husband to his amazing wife Lindsey, and father of three children ages 10, 8, and 5. Reagan immigrated to the United States from the Philippines when he was a child. He is grateful for ACDA’s International Conductors Exchange Program for the opportunity to reclaim his culture and heritage through this opportunity. Filipinos have a term called balikbayan, which means to return to our homeland. As a balikbayan I look forward to sharing all that I learn with those in the United States.
Lindsay Pope is the Director of Choral Studies at UMass Amherst, where she conducts the Chamber Choir and teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting. She previously directed the choral programs at Williams College and Mount Holyoke College, and served as assistant conductor for the Dallas Symphony Chorus. Lindsay completed her doctorate in choral conducting at the University of North Texas. Her dissertation on living composer Reena Esmail received the Herford Prize for outstanding doctoral terminal research in choral music. Lindsay has sung professionally with the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, True Concord Voices, and the Handel + Haydn Society Chorus. She has also traveled to the Republic of Georgia and Corsica to study traditional folk music and chant. She has a master’s in choral conducting from Westminster Choir College and a Bachelor of Arts in Music from Mount Holyoke College. She lives in Williamsburg, Massachusetts with her partner and children. In addition to music, she and her partner own and co-run a yoga studio and community center named sanctuary.
For more information on the International Conductors Exchange Program, visit https://acda.org/resources/icep
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