Dr. Jenny Bent is Professor of Music and Director of Choral and Vocal Activities at Sonoma State University. With degrees from Boston University and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Dr. Bent's expertise spans voice performance, choral conducting, and choral literature. Described by the San Francisco Classical Voice as “superb” with “excellent diction and well-controlled dynamics,” Dr. Bent’s choirs have earned unanimous superior ratings and command performances at festivals throughout California and have performed under her baton at such venues as Carnegie Hall in New York City and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. Her ensemble SonoVoce was recently honored to perform at the CA All-State Music Educators Conference (CASMEC).

Recognized for her achievements as a choral educator, Dr. Bent received the 2019 CMEA Bay Section Outstanding Choral Educator Award and the 2023 CMEA Pearson/Scott Foresman/Silver Burdett Choral Educator Award. She brings over a decade of high school teaching experience, notably at the Marin School of the Arts.

Beyond her academic work, Dr. Bent contributes to the choral music community as a guest conductor, adjudicator, and conference presenter for organizations including CMEA, ACDA, and Golden State. From 2016-2023, she served on the board of the California Choral Directors Association (CCDA), and she currently holds the positions of Repertoire & Resources Collegiate Choirs Coordinator for National ACDA and Western Region Representative for the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO). From 2007-2014, Dr. Bent shared her passion for choral music as a host of "The Choir Loft" on KRCB-FM. She is also a proud (and semi-obnoxious) baseball mom whose favorite moments are watching her two sons do what they love.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

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“Middle school kids really are very concrete learners. Abstract thought isn’t there yet. Give them the ability to see ‘I’m not the only one having problems on page 10. I must be normal because everybody’s having problems on page 10.’ Or, if it is a kid who’s the only one who’s having a problem, let’s figure out what the problem is. Let the kids have some voice in helping problem-solve rehearsal issues. The teacher is the expert, but that doesn’t mean that you know everything. Sometimes a kid knows a lot of stuff, but it is just sounds different or is coming from a different angle.”

Gretchen Harrison, National ACDA Chairperson for Repertoire and Resources, is a Missouri-born, Kansas-educated, veteran choral educator, conductor and clinician.. Proud to come from a strong choral music heritage, Harrison is the middle generation of a 3-generation ACDA family. She follows in her dad’s footsteps as “teacher-mentor” with joy! She loves a rehearsal based on love, excellence, urgency, laughter, respect, high expectations, silliness and, hopefully, dark chocolate! Harrison has served ACDA as State Chair for JHMS Repertoire and Standards (KS), as the National Chair for JHMS Repertoire and Standards, then Resources, as the first Youth Choirs Coordinator and, now, as the National Chair. Harrison earned degrees from Wichita State University (BME) and the University of Missouri–Kansas City (MME) and has 60+ additional hours of study. Professionally, Harrison retired after teaching public school middle school choir for 34 years. She is the 2023 recipient of the “Harry Robert Wilson Award”, an award by the Kansas ACDA chapter to recognize lifelong achievement. She is the administrator in the Allegro Choirs of Kansas City community choir program. Harrison is married to a retired band director and mom to two wonderful humans and “Gigi” to a wonderful grandson–with another on the way. She loves her family, cooking, baking, her dog and reading.

To get in touch with Gretchen, you can email her at nationalrr@acda.org, follow the ACDA Repertoire Collective Facebook page (@RepertoireResources), or find her on Facebook (@gretchen.harrison) or Instagram (@gretchenharrison).

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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

“Going into high school, I did everything possible to avoid the performing arts. My vice principal called me into the office and said, ‘you can’t have an open period. I’m gonig to put you in choir.’ Within weeks, it became a life-changing experience for me – I discovered a community, a way to express myself. I knew by the end of my junior year in high school that this is what I wanted to do.” - Brandon Elliott

“If you are coming as a conductor to composing, you already have a resource that a lot of composers lack. You know what your singers need. You have already identified a lack in the repertoire that you’re looking for, something that you might fill as a composer. If you can get into that mindset with your own ensemble, you’ll be so ready, so prepared to take that on for other groups.” - Dale Trumbore

Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been called “devastatingly beautiful” (The Washington Post) and praised for its “soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies deployed with finesse” (The New York Times). Trumbore's compositions have been performed widely in the U.S. and internationally by Atlanta Master Chorale, the Chicago Symphony's MusicNOW ensemble, Conspirare and the Miró Quartet, Los Angeles Children's Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, National Youth Choir of Scotland, Pasadena Symphony, Phoenix Chorale, and Seraphic Fire.

Trumbore is the recipient of ACDA’s inaugural Raymond W. Brock Competition for Professional Composers, an ASCAP Morton Gould Award, and a Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant. She has written extensively about working through creative blocks and establishing a career in music in essays and in two books, Composing a Living (cowritten with Brandon Elliott) and Staying Composed. Learn more about Trumbore’s music and writing at daletrumbore.com.

Dr. Brandon Elliott is a conductor, educator, and consultant specializing in creative and strategic leadership in the arts and entertainment industry. He is a Professor of Music at Saddleback College and Founder & Artistic Director of Choral Arts Initiative, an award-winning ensemble dedicated to contemporary choral music. A sought-after consultant and Fulbright Specialist, he advises on artist management, organizational change, career development, and the evolving music industry.

To get in touch with Dale, you can visit her website, daletrumbore.com, where you can also sign up for her newsletter. To get in touch with Brandon, visit his website, brandon-elliott.com, which also provides links to his social media accounts.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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