National Leaders Appointed to Research & Publications Committee, National Board

ACDA has announced two new appointments to national positions, one to the Research & Publications Committee and another to the National Board.

Dr. Elizabeth Parker, Associate Professor of Music Education at the Boyer College of Music and Dance at Temple University, has been named to ACDA’s Research & Publications Committee. The committee, chaired by Dr. Jessica Nápoles, focuses on the encouragement, promotion, and dissemination of choral research. It oversees all publications and research projects of the association.

Elizabeth Cassidy Parker, Ph.D., teaches undergraduate choral and general music methods, and graduate research, sociology, and history and philosophy courses. Prior to her work at Temple, Elizabeth taught choral and general music education at the Schwob School of Music at Columbus State University, Georgia.  Her research interests include the social, vocal, and philosophical development of adolescent choral musicians and issues of preservice music educator identity. Parker presents her research regularly and is widely published nationally and internationally, including as the sole author of Adolescents on Music published by Oxford University Press. She currently serves on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education and the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, and recently served as associate editor of the Journal of Music Teacher Education. As a PreK-12 educator, Parker has held school and community music appointments in New York, Nebraska, and Georgia, specializing in the vocal development of young people through both general and choral music. An active youth choral conductor and clinician, Parker is co-artistic director of the Commonwealth Youthchoirs, a community choral program that serves 600 singers in the greater Philadelphia area. She holds degrees from Oberlin Conservatory of Music and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Oliver Scofield, Vice President at KI Concerts, has been appointed Industry Representative to ACDA’s National Board. The Industry Representative is appointed by the ACDA Executive Committee, and serves in an ex-officio capacity on the board, ensuring industry industry experiences and perspectives are represented. Scofield notes, “I hope to be a dynamic voice for the various business interests that surround, support and benefit from their association with this exceptional organization. Let’s look to innovate these relationships for the benefit of all involved, facilitating change, speaking clearly and listening intently.”

Originally from Melbourne, Australia, Oliver Scofield, along with his husband Michael Clohesy, started in the business world establishing the company Present Australia, handling visits to the country from sport, education, and music ensembles. They eventually purchased Kingsway International and moved to Colorado Springs to manage that business, which would eventually become KI Concerts. Scofield notes that he lost much of his Australian accent working around the United States meeting with ensembles that toured six continents. He has traveled all over the world creating opportunities for choirs, bands, and orchestras. Scofield has been involved with ACDA from the late 1990s as an exhibitor at national conferences. His relationship has grown as KI Concerts became a sponsor and understood more of what ACDA undertook and delivered year round. He offers strategic organizational skills and years in business and profit sectors, coupled with his sense of the current and potential reach of the industry sectors around ACDA.