CONGRATULATIONS to our invited performing ensembles of the 2020 ACDA Southern Region Conference!

The choirs below were selected from over one hundred Performing Choir applications received in the spring of 2019. Several additional choirs from throughout the region will be participating in the conference in events such as Cantaré, Spotlight, President’s Concert, Masterclass, Music in Worship Event, and other opportunities. Additional information about their exact performance date/time will be released later in fall 2019. Plan now to hear these fantastic choirs at the Southern Region Conference in Mobile, AL from March 11-14, 2020!

• Atlanta Women’s Chorus – Melissa Arasi
• Cane Bay High School Cobra Chorale – William Bennett
• Center Hill High School Select Women’s Chorus – Catherine Feazell
• Coral Reef Senior High School Rose Singers – Shanpatrick Davis
• East Carolina University Chamber Singers – James Franklin
• Georgia State University Singers – Deanna Joseph
• Jacksonville Children’s Chorus Touring Choir – Darren Dailey
• Kennesaw State University Chamber Singers – Leslie Blackwell
• Leon High School Capital Singers – Tabitha Peck & Peter Pursino
• Marsteller Middle School Bass Choir – Philip Keirstead
• Montgomery Bell Academy Chamber Choir – Matt Smyth
• Olympia High School Bella Voce – Janet Le
• Palmetto Voices Spiritual Ensemble – Sonja Sepulveda
• Red Shift – Trey Davis
• Roanoke Valley Children’s Choir – Kimberly Davidson
• Universidad de Puerto Rico en Arecibo Contoria – Joamel Gonzalez-Soto
  Universidad Veracruzana Vox Populi Project – Julio Morales Pineda
• University of Alabama at Birmingham Concert Choir – Brian Kittredge
• University of Mississippi Concert Singers – Don Trott
  University of Montevallo Concert Choir – Melinda Doyle

The primary conference hotel for the 2020 conference of the American Choral Directors Southern Region in Mobile, Alabama has been recognized with a prestigious award for its service, accommodations, and guest satisfaction. Marriott International says its Riverview Renaissance Plaza hotel in Mobile has won top internal honor among Marriott’s North American properties.

According to a Marriott announcement on March 25, the Mobile Marriott Renaissance Riverview has been picked as the 2018 Marriott Franchise Hotel of the Year among Marriott’s Distinctive Premium Hotels in North America. That means it ranks highest among several Marriott brands, including Autograph, Renaissance, Gaylord, Westin, Le Meridien and Tribute Portfolio. Read more about this prestigious honor here.

A 30-year teaching veteran, Connie Drosakis is currently in her sixteenth year at Bak Middle School of the Arts in West Palm Beach, FL. She received the Bachelor and Master of Music Education/Choral Conducting degrees from Florida State University.

Her choruses have been selected to perform with the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra, at Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center in New York City, and at Southern Region and National Conventions of ACDA, state, regional and national ACDA conventions, including the 2011 (Chicago) and 2017 (Minneapolis) national conferences. In 2003, Ms. Drosakis was a Founding Director of the Young Singers of the Palm Beaches, a children’s choral organization that is not constrained by school boundaries, religious affiliations, racial bias, socio-economic barriers, or funding cuts to arts education.

Ms. Drosakis is an active adjudicator and clinician for district evaluation festivals and county honor choirs throughout the states of Florida and Alabama. She has conducted All-State Choirs in North Carolina, Alabama and Missouri. She has served as the State Middle School Chair for the Florida Vocal Association and Membership Chair as well as President for the Florida State Chapter of ACDA. Ms. Drosakis holds membership in several professional organizations, including NAfME and ACDA.