MYAC’S CHORAL PROGRAM
The MYAC Choral Program is for passionate students who want the best vocal preparation possible and who wish to be exposed to the finest choral literature.
The MYAC Choral Program includes Maestros, and auditioned ensembles: Voices Rising and VocalPoint.
Each ensemble sings a wide variety of choral literature from classical to jazz and newly composed or arranged works. Students experience professional vocal training, spirited direction, and intensive choral instruction. Students may also participate in sight-singing and vocal musicianship classes.
Maestros
Conducted by Meghan Mullins, Maestros provides a nurturing environment that fosters creative growth and musical development for 1st-4th grade students. Through singing activities and various children's choir repertoire, students will begin learning how to read music and develop healthy singing techniques.
Students also learn how to perform in a group setting and experience the joy and camaraderie of participating in a choral ensemble.
Maestros rehearses on Sundays from 1:00 - 1:45pm.
Kindergartners are accepted on a per case basis - email mya@mya.org if your kindergartner would like to join us!
Voices Rising
Conducted by Elizabeth Weismehl, the talented members of Voices Rising will build musicianship and vocal skills in a nurturing and professional environment by continually seeking excellence in music of diverse styles. Voices Rising accepts unchanged voices beginning in the 5th grade through 8th grade.
This joyous group has taken the stage around the world, most notably at the Symphony Center with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Kennedy Center, Carnegie Hall, International tours to China and Korea, the United Nations, and most recently to the Festival of Lights in Bulgaria.
Voices Rising rehearses on Sundays from 1:00 - 3:00pm.
VocalPoint
Conducted by Andrew Dahan, VocalPoint is a high school chamber choir for high school vocalists.
VocalPoint focuses on a wide range of vocal styles from Classical to Jazz to Broadway, providing performance and growth opportunities for high-school level students.
VocalPoint rehearses on Sundays from 3:30 - 5:00pm.
Meet MYAC’s Choral Faculty
MYAC is excited to welcome Andrew Dahan as our new choral director of VocalPoint! Dahan holds a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Northwestern University (Evanston, IL), and a Master’s in Jazz Pedagogy from the University of Miami (Coral Gables, FL).
Dahan is from Skokie, IL, and the Director of Choirs and Vocal Jazz at Niles North High School. He directs all of the curricular choirs, as well as the award-winning vocal jazz ensemble Take One. From 2014-2018, he was Head of Music Education at Illinois Wesleyan University (Bloomington, IL), where he taught courses in the Music Education program, and also founded and directed the IWU vocal jazz ensembles - Unlicensed Syncopation and Vocal Jazz Lab - during his tenure there. He has also previously served as the Choral Director at Highland Park High School and Addison Trail High School.
Dahan has served as an adjudicator and clinician at various choral and vocal jazz festivals nationally and internationally. In 2017, he had the privilege of serving as the guest conductor for the Glenbrook Festival of Music. He presented a session at the 2019 Jazz Education Network conference (Reno, NV) about effective assessment for vocal jazz ensembles. In 2020, he directed the ILMEA All State Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and at the 2023 Illinois Music Education Conference, presented a session about vocal improvisation in different jazz styles. Most recently, he was an adjudicator at the 2022 Iowa Vocal Jazz Championships. He currently serves as the ILMEA District 7 Vocal Jazz Representative.
In addition to his teaching career, Dahan has also had the privilege of singing the National Anthem for the Miami Heat, and has sung as a background vocalist for notable performers such as George Benson, Gloria Estefan, Ben Folds, Raul Midón, and Steve Miller. He was also a member of the Grant Park Festival Chorus, and has performed with the Final Fantasy Distant Worlds Chorus. You may see him performing around the Chicago area with the American Caroling Company and the Lola Bard Holiday Carolers.
Elizabeth Weismehl is proud to be a part of the MYA choral staff where she directs Voices Rising. A distinguished music educator for over 30 years, Elizabeth is excited about her newest adventure: writing. She recently published a two-part article called “Go and Shine!” in ChorTeach, a national journal of the American Choral Directors Association. Part 1: Nine Strategies for Cultivating a Positive Mindset focuses on one’s well-being through practicing mindfulness. Part 2: Eight Strategies for Cultivating a Positive Rehearsal Space applies mindfulness strategies in choral rehearsals and music classes. The second part is going to be reprinted in the New Hampshire Quarter Notes, a journal of the state’s Music Education Association, and Elizabeth is working on her next article.
She is excited to have been interviewed for a recent episode of the podcast “Boot Camp for Band Directors” with Lesley Moffat and to have presented at a social emotional conference through Northern Illinois University. Elizabeth was selected to take part in a national project called Connected Arts Network (CAN), a professional learning community for K-12 arts educators, focusing on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Social Emotional Learning (SEL).
Elizabeth has been teaching general music and choir to Kindergarten through fifth grade students at Avoca West School in Glenview since 2008. Under her leadership, the choral program has shown tremendous growth. She has also taught elementary music in Highland Park and middle school choir in Kenosha, Wisconsin and Plano, Texas, where her non-varsity treble choir consistently received superior ratings at the annual University Interscholastic League (UIL) choir contest.
Elizabeth received a masters degree in vocal performance from Roosevelt University in Chicago and bachelor’s degrees in music education and vocal performance from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She has taken a variety of post-graduate classes at Depaul University and VanderCook College of Music.
In 2004, Elizabeth was selected to be the Intern Conductor of the Toronto Children’s Chorus in Ontario, Canada under the direction of Founder/Conductor Laureate Jean Ashworth Bartle. Elizabeth has been singing with the Chancel Singers and playing handbells with the Trinity Ringers of Trinity United Methodist Church in Wilmette for many years.
Ms. Meghan Mullins is the director for Maestros at MYAC. Meghan holds a Bachelor's Degree in music education from St. Olaf College in Northfield, MN. She is currently pursuing a Masters in Music Education from VanderCook College of Music in Chicago, IL. Meghan works as the beginning orchestra teacher for North Shore District 112 in Highland Park, IL. In her position, Meghan serves 4th and 5th grade students at 5 different schools in the Highwood and Highland Park areas. She has experience teaching K-5 general music, guitar, and concert band in the Minneapolis/St. Paul school districts. She has also worked with Lutheran Summer Music Academy and Festival in Valparaiso, IN, the Jack Benny Center and Waukegan Symphony Orchestra in Waukegan, IL, and taught vocal and general music to high schoolers in Angoulême, France. Meghan's primary instruments are cello and piano, but she enjoys playing percussion, guitar, violin, viola, double bass, and singing in choir. Meghan is from Libertyville, IL and is an alumni of the MYAC orchestra program (2013-2017).