INSPIRE and empower sa festival

“I was interested in a choral-type festival for my SA singers that I think we sometimes take for granted. Covid impacted my program and I wanted something special for my SA singers that would get them excited at the beginning of the year. When I searched for something like this, I found I that it did not exists. I wanted a process-focused, non-auditioned, low-pressure experience for my singers to get excited about the new school year and learn skills that extend beyond music. Since I did not find something like that, I decided to start a festival that met my criteria.”

—David Verdoni, FVA Executive Director

Lesley Maxwell Mann serves as Professor of Music and the Coordinator of Music Education at Belmont University. Her coursework includes Secondary Choral Methods, Middle School Methods, Basic Conducting, and supervising pre-service teachers. She also directs Bel Canto, a large treble ensemble celebrating music of many genres, styles, and origins. She is the Artistic Director of Vocal Arts Nashville, a professional chamber choir. Dr. Mann’s teaching career spans roles at Belmont University, Florida State University, the College of Central Florida. and William R. Boone High School in Orlando, FL. A versatile vocalist, she has performed with Vocal Arts Nashville, Collegium, the Tallahassee Bach Parley, and at Walt Disney World with the Voices of Liberty and Finding Nemo, the Musical! She regularly presents research, directs honor choirs, and leads professional development for in-service teachers around the country. A proud alumna of Florida State University with degrees in Choral Conducting and Music Education, her research focuses on Teacher Education, Conducting Gesture, and Vocal Technique in Choral Settings. 

As an innovative conductor, teacher, and vocalist, McKenna Stenson has built a career inspiring students to sing confidently and motivating communities to create lasting change through song. Her energetic demeanor fosters a spirit of positivity within her ensembles, creating a community grounded in compassion, trust, and resilience.

Stenson currently serves as an Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Florida State University. She conducts Levana, an advanced treble ensemble, and teaches undergraduate choral methods, graduate conducting, and graduate choral seminars.

She is an active guest conductor, clinician, presenter, and adjudicator for choirs across the United States and abroad. Recent engagements include teaching conducting at the Cornish-American Song Institute’s Music Across the Pond in the British Isles, adjudicating choral festivals across Canada, and serving as a guest clinician at high school choral invitationals throughout the U.S., including at Louisiana State University, Tennessee Tech, and James Madison University.

Stenson has held state leadership positions and presented at state, regional, national, and international conferences, including the 2023 World Symposium on Choral Music in Istanbul. She was nationally recognized as a Country Music Association Foundation Music Teacher of Excellence in 2020 and was recently named a National Finalist for both the 2023 American Prize Conducting and Choral Performance Competitions.

Before joining the faculty at Florida State, Stenson was an Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas, where she served as Associate Director of Choral Activities, conducting the KU Glee Club and Oread Singers.

Stenson earned her Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting from the University of North Texas, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and dual Bachelor of Music degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance from The Ohio State University.

Earlier in her career, Stenson was the Choral Director and CFPA Vocal Director at Charles J. Colgan High School. Named “New Faculty Member of the Year” in 2017, she directed five choirs during the school day and three after-school ensembles. Under her leadership, the Colgan Choral Ensembles performed at prestigious venues such as the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage and served as arts ambassadors throughout Virginia. In 2018, the Colgan Chamber Ensemble was selected to perform at the Virginia Music Educators Association Conference, receiving a standing ovation for their performance.

In her free time, Stenson enjoys running, traveling with her son Luka and husband Bryan, and amplifying the voices of women conductors through her podcast conduct(her), which she co-founded with her sister Kyra Stahr.

Student participants will follow a rotating schedule that will include rehearsals with a conducting clinician and workshops with a presenting clinician focused on building community and leadership skills. The day will conclude with a short, informal concert featuring the music that was learned onsite the day of the festival. No preparation needed. No pressure!

Directors of singers will participate in workshops presented by the presenting clinician aimed to inspire and empower their own teaching practices. Directors may want to inquire with their school district about getting Professional Development credit.

There is no need to prepare or audition for this experience. Directors are asked to register students that they believe would benefit from this experience.

• 7:30 am  Coffee & bagels for directors and clinicians
• 8:00 am–9:00 am: Workshop 1 – Directors with Presenting Clinician
• 9:00 am: Student check-in
• 9:30 am–11:30 am: Workshop 2 – Directors with Presenting Clinician
• 9:15 am–11:30 a.m.: Welcome to students, Combined Rehearsal – Singers with Conducting Clinician
• 11:35 am–12:45 pm: Sectionals — Singers (A) with Conducting Clinician
• 11:35 am–12:45 pm: Workshop — Students (B) with Presenting Clinician
• 12:45 pm–1:20 pm: Lunch — ALL
• 1:25 pm–2:35 pm: Workshop — Students (A) with Presenting Clinician
• 1:25 pm–2:35 pm: Sectionals — Singers (B) with Conducting Clinician
• 2:40 pm–3:40 pm: Workshop — Singers (A&B) with Presenting Clinician
• 3:43 pm–4:00 pm: Snack Break
• 4:05 pm—5:05 pm: Workshop 3 — Directors with Presenting Clinician
• 4:05 pm–6:15 pm: Combined Rehearsal — Singers with Conductor
• 6:30 pm: Concert/Informance 

• Dr. Kelly Miller, University of Central Florida 
• Dr. Jennifer Sengin, UMKC
• Dr. Emily Williams Burch, Savannah College of Art and Design
• Ms. Allyssa Jones, University of South Florida
• Dr. Morgan Jolley, Queens College
• Dr Alicia Romero-Sardiñas, Florida International University