“In many choirs, the tenors and basses were a minority. The tenors and basses at the middle level are disparate; they’re not like each other in any way. Sometimes there’s a common range of only about a minor third. I made it my goal to see if I could write music for that type of choir. Rule #1: the tenors and basses will have separate parts, and it will be in their range. I thought, ‘why not put altos and basses on the same part, just in octave unison, and do it for the entire song with no exceptions?’ We called it SAB with optional tenor. Now I’ve got 11 songs out with that voicing.”

Dan Davison was the Choir Director at Ballou Junior High in Puyallup, Washington, from 1979 to 2019. In addition to having taught the four ensembles at the school, he had numerous teaching and mentoring responsibilities.

Currently, he sings professionally with Male Ensemble Northwest.

Dan was born in 1956 in Sacramento, California, but he has lived in the greater Seattle area since 1965. Since 1979, he has lived in Puyallup, Washington, with his wife, Cathy, who was also a public school teacher. He attended public schools in the Bellevue School District and then attended Pacific Lutheran University in Tacoma, Washington, where he received his Bachelor's degree, studying under Maurice Skones. He continued his education and received a Master's In Music from Western Washington University, studying with Bruce Pullan.

Dan's tenure as Choir Director at Ballou Junior High School acquainted him well with the complexities of the adolescent voice. His experience ranges from working with treble choirs to tenor-bass choirs to mixed choir, He also worked with vocal jazz ensembles and his Jazz Choir performed at the ACDA Northwest Convention in Seattle in 2010. Dan is an experienced church choir director and has directed choirs at Western Washington University and Pacific Lutheran University. Dan also directed the Northwest ACDA Youth Choir (grades 7-9) for the 2014 ACDA Northwest Convention.

Dan is a published composer, with numerous works available from Walton Music, BriLee Music, Pavane Publishing, and Anchor Music. Mr. Davison received numerous awards for his role in music education, including the 1996 State Of Washington Christa McAuliffe Educator Of The Year, The Educator Citizen Of The Year in 2010 for Communities In Schools In Puyallup, Washington, and also the "Outstanding Choral Director Award" for 2010 from the Washington chapter of The American Choral Directors Association.

To get in touch with Dan, you can email him at dandavison@comcast.net.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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“There were a whole bunch of these women who were publishing music during their liftetime in 17th-century Italy. I find it's important that young women know that they were composers other than Hildegard and Fanny Hensel who were writing. These women's voices were buried for so many years, and yet they were writing in the same styles as their male contemporaries. We can learn about our times now by looking to the past and to think critically about who we're lifting up and whose voices we are amplifying now based on how things have progressed over history.”

Dr. Meredith Bowen is an Assistant Professor of Choral Music at Michigan State University where she teaches graduate choral literature, conducting at both the undergraduate and graduate levels, and conducts the auditioned treble ensemble, Mosaic. Bowen works to expand the choral canon and amplify marginalized voices by editing, restoring, and publishing editions of historical music by women. She is an active guest conductor, presenter, and clinician and is founding singer and Artistic Administrator for mirabai, a professional women’s ensemble dedicated to amplifying women’s voices through commissioning, performing, and recording. Her editions of music by 17th-century composers are published by Boosey & Hawkes and MusicSpoke. Prior to joining MSU, Bowen was the Director of Choral Studies at Radford University in Radford, VA, taught public school in Lansing, MI, and led a variety of community choirs throughout MI. She earned her B.S. in Music Education from West Chester University, and both an M.M., and a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University.

To get in touch with Meredith, you can email her at bowenmer@msu.edu or find her on Facebook (@mybowen), Instagram (@emwhybee), or TikTok (@m.y.bowen).

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

“I remember when I performed at Carnegie Hall for the first time. It was transformative. I remember taking the stage and just being in complete awe. I looked out, and it was just incredible. When I heard the sound, it was even more incredible. I used to say that my favorite part of my job was standing right at the stage door and watching every choir singer come and take the stage for the first time. They would look out and just be in complete awe. Now that I’m production manager, my new favorite part of my job is when conductors come off the stage and I get to tell them, ‘turn around, go back, they’re still clapping for you.’” - Eric Spiegel

“Living abroad gave me a whole new perspective and appreciation for my home country. It taught me a lot about other cultures and how to work with different people and have a certain cultural sensitivity and sensibility. I could not recommend it enough. We’re trying to grow and enhance the kinds of international opportunities that we provide. It’s such a collaborative, educational experience that goes way beyond one or two concerts. We know for many people who travel with us, it might be their first time in Europe. We try to make sure that it’s special in every possible way that we can.” - James Redcay

A native of Allentown, Pennsylvania, James Redcay joined MidAmerica Productions in April of 2015. A graduate of New York University, Redcay spent years in New York City as an accomplished pianist, composer and teacher, performing and composing for numerous concerts and institutions. During this time Redcay also held the position of Composer-in-Residence at Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, NJ. After graduating from NYU, Redcay moved abroad to Macao, where he taught music at the Conservatory of Macao and created and managed large-scale arts and entertainment programs and daily operations for Sands China Ltd., a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands. After six fruitful years, Redcay relocated to the United States and now resides in Michigan.

Eric Spiegel holds a Master of Music Education degree from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami Frost School of Music, with experience teaching middle and high school vocal/general music. As a performer, Eric has sung and acted in choirs, jazz groups, a cappella ensembles, and musicals across the United States and around the world. Eric conducted the Brooklyn, NY chapter of HaZamir: The International Jewish High School Choir for seven seasons, including in performances at David Geffen Hall and Jazz at Lincoln Center, and has served as MidAmerica Productions’ head of production for concerts at Carnegie Hall since 2023.

To get in touch with James & Eric, you can visit midamerica-music.com or find MidAmerica on Facebook (@midamerica.productions) or Instagram (@midamericaproductions)

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

Podcast music from Podcast.co
Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson