Guest Clinician
Andrew Dahan
Andrew Dahan is the current head of Music Education at Illinois Wesleyan University, where he teaches courses in music education, including Foundations and Principals of Music Education, Choral Music Methods, Practicum in Music Education, and Seminar in Student Teaching. Dahan also founded and currently directs the IWU Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Unlicensed Syncopation, which performed at the 2016 Illinois Music Education Conference. His research, focused on choral and vocal jazz ensemble rehearsal techniques and vocal jazz education history, has been presented at both state and national conferences, and has been published in Research Perspectives in Music Education.
He was formerly an adjunct faculty member at Miami Dade College (Miami, Florida) as a jazz voice instructor. Prior to beginning his doctoral studies, Dahan was director of Choirs at Addison Trail High School (Addison, Illinois) for seven years, where he directed the curricular choirs and the vocal jazz ensemble, Shades of Blue, and also taught class piano and advanced placement music theory. He has presented numerous workshops and clinics aimed at helping choral music directors with varying levels of jazz education learn how to incorporate jazz into their programs. He has also served as a clinician at many high schools in the Chicago area, and as an adjudicator for IHSA solo and ensemble and organizational contests, as well as for vocal jazz festivals around the midwest.
Dahan had the privilege of serving as director or assistant director for various choral and vocal jazz ensembles at the University of Miami, as well as directing various ILMEA District vocal jazz ensembles. He has also sung the National Anthem at Miami Heat games and performed as a background vocalist for notable performers such as George Benson, Gloria Estefan, Ben Folds, Carmen Lundy, Raul Midón, and Steve Miller. Dahan has sung with the Grant Park Festival Chorus (Chicago, Illinois) under the direction of Christopher Bell and Carlos Kalmar for four seasons. He currently performs with the vocal jazz sextet Central Vocal Time, which is made up of music educators and performers from around the state of Illinois.
Rules
The intention is for this to be simple and nonthreatening. You are free to present whatever music you choose. Each choir will have a total of 30 minutes. This includes both performance time and your clinic.
Please be prepared to supply three original copies of each of your scores, with the measures numbered, for our panel. These will, of course, be returned to you.
Each clinician will fill out the enclosed “rubric.” Numbers and ratings will not be used, nor will they be posted. This is simply a form to help guide our listening and provide you with feedback. In addition, recorded comments, a performance recording, and on-stage clinic will be provided.
We respectfully ask that food and drink be kept out of Fisher Auditorium.
Attire
While it is typical that ensembles wear their performance attire for adjudication, this is not required. Changing facilities/dressing room space will be limited. It is suggested that each ensemble wear what they intend to perform in. This is completely at the conductor’s discretion.
Hosts
Each participating school will have one to two IUP students serving as their hosts. These students will meet you when your buses arrive, escort you through campus, help you stay on schedule, and assist you in any way needed. Expect that they will be contacting you via e-mail prior to the event to establish your ETA so that they are prepared to meet you.