UW Choirs to Host Choral Music Educator April 14

The University of Wyoming choirs will host a guest artist residency with Jessica Nápoles, professor of choral music education at the University of North Texas (UNT), Friday, April 14, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Buchanan Center for the Performing Arts. 

Activities include a presentation for the choral conducting class and clinics with the Collegiate Chorale, the Singing Statesmen and Bel Canto. Additionally, a presentation for the UW chapter of the Collegiate National Association for Music Education (NAfME) and the public will take place at 4:10 p.m. in Room 2003 of the Performing Arts Center. 

Nápoles teaches undergraduate coursework in choral methods, conducts UNT’s Concert Choir and mentors graduate students in research. Before her appointment at UNT, she taught at the University of Utah for 11 years. A native of Florida with a Cuban American background, she taught middle school chorus in the public schools of Miami and Orlando, Fla. 

Nápoles is an active conductor, clinician and adjudicator, frequently engaging in guest conducting opportunities locally, regionally and nationally. She has conducted All-State and honor choirs throughout the country as well as the Southern, North Central/Central and Western division honor choirs for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). In 2019, Nápoles made her Carnegie Hall debut as choral conductor for the WorldStrides OnStage Honors Performance Series. She was asked to return in 2020 and again in 2021. 

In addition to her conducting invitations, Nápoles is a well-known researcher, with numerous publications in journals such as the Journal of Music Teacher Education and the International Journal of Music Education. She has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education, the premier research journal in music education, and the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, the ACDA research journal. Her research interests include music teacher education, testing practitioner practices empirically, expressive conducting and teacher talk. 

She earned her Bachelor of Music Education, Master of Music Education and Ph.D. in music education, all from Florida State University. 

For more information about the April 14 residency, email Brian Murray, UW’s director of choral activities, at bmurray7@uwyo.edu.