Application opens September 16
Deadline for submission is 11:59 pm Eastern Time, November 5
The ACDA Student Conducting Awards and Competition were initiated during the 1993 ACDA National Conference in San Antonio, Texas. In 2019, the event was reconceived as a masterclass.
For 2026, this opportunity will again be offered as a Student Conducting Masterclass with Undergraduate and Graduate categories.
Criteria for acceptance will be conducting technique, rehearsal pedagogy, expressive musicality,and the use of appropriate performance practice.
Additionally, the student conductor’s repertoire selections must include at least one historically underrepresented composer. We will honor the student conductors chosen by highlighting their names and their institutions both in publications and at the Eastern Region ACDA Conference in 2026.
The objectives of the ACDA Student Conducting Masterclass are three-fold:
(1) To acknowledge and reward outstanding undergraduate and graduate student conductors
(2) To encourage score preparation and advancement of conducting and rehearsal skills
(3) To promote greater engagement of student activity at the ACDA East Conference.
I. Eligibility Requirements
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
A. Hold valid ACDA membership (student or active).
- Need to know if you are a member or find your ACDA membership number? Go to www.acda.org and click “sign in” in the upper right corner.
- Need to join? Go to www.acda.org/membership to join online.
- Need help? Email us at [email protected].
B. Be a student actively pursuing and enrolled in a music degree program at a college or university in the United States or US Territory at the time of application and at the time of the Masterclass (February 25-28, 2025). Proof of current enrollment must be provided by a copy of your student ID card and faculty verification.
C. Submit a complete application that includes the following materials:
● Personal information (this will not be seen by Video Adjudicators)
● Verification of video validity. This will be verified by you providing the name and ACDA membership number of a faculty member/sponsor. You will want to have this information on hand, in advance, of filling out your application.
● Verification of status as a student (Student ID card, .png or .jpg upload)
● Audition video recording (.mp4)
● Fully marked score of your two selections (.pdf)
● One to two-page résumé of conducting experience-(.pdf)
● 900 character biography as you wish it printed
● Headshot; minimum 300 dpi; Label Last Name_First Name; .jpg files only
● $20 entry fee; online payment only at the time of application*
*If the student applicant is in financial hardship and is unable to pay the $20 entry fee, please contact Dr. Jason Max Ferdinand, Collegiate Activities Coordinator ([email protected]) by September 26, 2025.
II. Audition Video Information
Applicants will prepare and upload an audition video that meets the following criteria:
A. Musical Submission Requirements
1. Applicants will rehearse and conduct two compositions for chorus in the video audition.
2. Applicants will upload one fully marked color PDF of the score analysis of the two compositions conducted and rehearsed in the video audition (pdf file only).
3. Students must select one work by a historically marginalized or underrepresented composer. There are several resources to use to source repertoire that might help the application meet this request. A few of those resources are:
● https://www.composerdiversity.com/
● http://chorosynthesis.org/esvdatabase
● https://guides.library.yale.edu/music-diversity/repertoire
(This is not an exhaustive list of resources or the only resources available to you. Listing these resources is not an endorsement of the committee. This is simply provided as a starting point to aid students.)
4. Graduate conductors only: one selection must be conducted with the baton.
B. Musical Parameters
1. Applicants will rehearse and conduct two compositions for chorus in the video audition, including:
a. a 17th, 18th, or 19th century work, and
b. a 20th or 21st century work with asymmetrical meters
2. The compositions should be of contrasting tempi and style.
3. Selections may be unaccompanied or accompanied.
4. Excerpts of longer works may be selected.
5. Keyboard reductions may be substituted for orchestral accompaniments.
C. Camera Angle
1. The camera angle will show a full-frontal view of the applicant and all conducting movements.
2. The choral sound must be clearly audible on the video recording.
3. The applicant will begin each selection by announcing the title and composer of the work to be presented.
D. Personal Identification
1. The applicant will not identify themselves, nor the institution of higher learning in the recorded audition.
2. Ensure that you are not wearing clothing that indicates your institution or signage in the video does not reveal the institution. You should ensure your name is not used or referenced in the recorded section.
E. Audition Video Format and Duration
1. The video recorded selections will be presented consecutively without stopping the recording device between selections. One video uploaded; .mp4 file
2. The video recording will not be edited in any manner, including the enhancement of sound or any post-production editing.
3. The length of the video recording featuring the two selections will show the applicant conducting for a minimum of 10 minutes and a maximum of 12 minutes.
4. The applicant should attempt to balance rehearsal time between the two selections.
5. Please be advised that the maximum upload file size is 2GB. You are encouraged to adjust your recording settings prior to recording or to use any number of available resources online to ensure your file size meets this maximum requirement.
F. Verification
1. Please list one ACDA Member “Sponsor”. This must be a professor at your institution who has either been present at the recording of or viewed your video submission and will verify that you have followed the application criteria. You must include the Sponsor’s name, email and ACDA membership number.
2. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that they comply with the rules and regulations specified in these guidelines.
The completed application, verifications, all supporting documentation, and video upload, must be completed no later than 11:59pm EST on November 5, 2025. Late applications WILL NOT be accepted. You are encouraged to plan ahead to be able to seek support if you have any technical difficulties.
Help desk support for technical issues will be available until 5pm CDT on November 5, by emailing [email protected]. After 5pm on November 5 CDT, technical support will not be provided. Late applications will not be accepted even if the applicant experiences technical difficulties. Please plan ahead to ensure you are able to meet the deadline and access support if you need it. An incomplete or erroneous application will disqualify the applicant.
All application materials become the property of the American Choral Directors Association.
III. Audition Review Process
A. The Student Conducting Masterclass Committee, will appoint a review panel that will review all submissions with the goal of selecting a maximum of four undergraduate and four graduate students to participate in the Student Masterclass. These review panelists will not be permitted to evaluate their own students.
B. The review panel will place primary emphasis on gestural language, score study, and rehearsal technique – please see rubric for further clarification.
C. Applicants for the ACDA Student Conducting Masterclass will be notified by email on or before December 5, 2025 of the student conductors selected to participate in the ACDA EAST Conference Conducting Masterclass.
IV. Conference Session Information
● The 2026 Student Conducting Masterclass will feature Dr. Sandra Snow, Dr. Kimberly Dunn-Adams, Dr. Ed Maclary, and Dr. Anthony Trecek-King.
● The Masterclass Sessions will be held on February 27 and 28, 2026 in Providence, Rhode Island.
● Each selected conductor will have a pre-conference coaching with a Masterclass Clinician.
● Masterclass Clinicians will provide students feedback on gesture, rehearsal technique, and score study.
V. How to Submit your Application
- The application is only accessible by logging into your ACDA membership account.
- There are two ways to access the application:
- Option 1: Go to https://my.acda.org/s/calls and log in using your ACDA credentials
- Option 2:Go to www.acda.org and click in the upper right to Sign In.
- Once logged in, click My Profile in the upper right. Then click “Calls” in the left navigation menu
- The application will open on September 16. It will not be visible before this date. Once available, you should only see the items available to you in your region.
- Need help, not seeing the right thing or can’t log in? Email us a [email protected]
*Disclaimer
No person connected with the selection of masterclass participants may be involved with any decision involving that person’s student (over the past three years) who has applied or been selected as a participant in the ACDA Student Conducting Masterclass.