AEA State Reps

Chris Cross is teaches at Jacksonville High School in the newly formed Jacksonville North Pulaski School District. He serves as the director of the Jacksonville High School vocal music program known as JHS Vocal Soul. The program features Rising Trebles Chorus, Titan Trebles, Fellas Chorus, Honors Chorus, Chamber Singers, and Vocal Jazz.  JHS Vocal Soul has consistently had scholars placed in the ArkCDA all-region and all-state choirs. JHS Vocal Jazz was the first Arkansas based group to make top 6 finalists of the Voicejam International A Cappella Music Festival where they tied second for the Voicejam Crowd Favorite. e: / ph:

Matthew Swope, Secretary, is the Director of Choral Activities and the Performing Arts Department Chair at Winter Park High School in Winter Park, FL, where he directs two a cappella groups—Take 7 as well as Naughty Scotty and the Octapella. Choirs under his direction have performed at Florida ACDA (2011, 2015, and 2018), NACC (2018), FMEA (2016), and the ICHSA Finals (2012 and 2015). Swope has served on the voice faculty of Rollins College, on the staff of Camp A Cappella, and as a founding member of the Simon Carrington Chamber Singers. He holds B.A. and M.M. degrees from the The Pennsylvania State University. e: [email protected] / ph: 717-830-9255

Amy Branahl graduated from the University of Illinois (Champaign-Urbana) with a BME and MME degrees in Choral Music Education (Voice/Piano).   She has also taken the intensive Choral Conducting Symposium at Westminster Choir College where she worked with world renown conductors such as Kansas City/Phoenix Chorale conductor Charles Bruffy, Dr. James Jordan, and Dr. Bruce Chamberlain. Currently, she is a teacher at Niles West High School in Skokie, Illinois. Prior to coming to Niles West Branahl taught at London Middle School in CCSD 21 for four years. e: [email protected] / ph:

Brandon Wade is ithe choral director at Pratt High School and Liberty Middle School. His select choir, Pratt High Singers, had the opportunity to open for the vocal acapella group, Six Appeal. He also serves as the music director for the Pratt High School musicals each year, which have won multiple Jesters, an award from the Music Theater of Wichita. Brandon has been an active member of the Kansas Music Educators Association and has served as the SW High School Choir Chair and currently serves as the SW District President. Brandon enjoys working with choirs of all ages and is honored to clinic and adjudicate choirs across the state of Kansas. e: [email protected] / ph:

Cameron Weatherford has been Choral Director at Alexandria Senior High since 2012. Mr. Weatherford graduated from Louisiana College in 2009 where he received his B.M. in Church Music. In 2012, he graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi receiving his M.M. in Choral Conducting. He has had opportunities to conduct in Italy, Taiwan, and Jamaica during his time of study. He has also conducted honor choirs in District I, District II, and District VII in Louisiana as well as adjudicated for Louisiana All-State auditions. Mr. Weatherford has been featured as a session presenter in both Mississippi and Louisiana ACDA Conferences. His arrangements have been performed in Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and New Jersey. e: [email protected] / ph:

Michael Brisentine graduated from the University of Maryland College Park with Bachelor degrees in Music Education and Vocal Performance. He was a member of the elite Chamber Singers and performed in such notable venues as the White House, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, and several concert halls in South Korea. They were also the headlining group for multiple ACDA conventions. He also was the music director for UMD’s award-winning a cappella group, Faux Paz, which advanced to the Finals of the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella his senior year. He was also a main arranger for Faux’s set in 2016, which awarded them 3rd place at Finals. He currently directs all choirs at Chesapeake Senior High School including the school’s contemporary a cappella group, Evolve. e: [email protected] / ph:

Ryan Perrotte is president and co-founder of In Tune With the Arts Studios, Inc. in Gibsonia, PA. Ryan is known for his wide range of styles in his choral teaching that consists of barbershop, sacred, secular, contemporary a cappella, jazz, and musical theatre. He directed Rowdy Rhythm, the full ensemble choir at Peters Township HS, in a performance of Wayne Grimmer’s Camptown Races at the Saturday Night Spectacular at the International Barbershop Competition at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh, PA, the summer of 2015. His group was also invited to perform at Carnegie Hall in NYC with Deke Sharon and some of the the cast of the Pitch Perfect movies for Total Vocal II in the spring of 2016. He has coached many high school barbershop quartets, one of which was the only high school quartet to place in the top 5 at the Sweet Adelines International “Rising Star” Competition. e: [email protected] / ph:

Adam Petroski is the choir director at Benilde-St. Margaret’s School in St. Louis Park, MN. He performed in Lake Effect, UMD’s premier vocal jazz ensemble, for three years which included two performances at the International Symposium for Music Education in Beijing, China. Adam is teaches 7th-12th grade choirs. The a cappella group at BSM, the Red Knotes, are already making a mark in the growing Minnesota a cappella scene. Please contact Adam with ANY questions at all! He would love to help get anyone started with a cappella singing! [email protected] 

Jamie Saucier is the Student Involvment Coordinator and director of Milling Around, a cappella group, at UNH in Manchester, NH as well as the choral director of the Merrimack Concert Association Choir in Merrimack, NH. Mr. Saucier has received his B.A. in music from the University of New Hampshire, his M.M. in Music Education from Ithaca College and his C.A.G.S. in Educational Leadership: Arts, Leadership and Learning from Plymouth State University. He also created Voices of the (603), which invites all middle and high schools in the state to learn, sing, and breathe a cappella for a day through clinics and a friendly competition at the states most prestigious arts center. e: [email protected] / ph:

Thomas Paster is the director of vocal music at Northern Highlands Regional High School in Allendale, NJ, as well as director of music at Pilgrim Congregational Church in Warren, NJ. Mr. Paster has been an adjunct professor of music at Kean University and William Paterson University and received a BM from Ithaca College and an MS from the University of Scranton. His a cappella group Highlands Voices has won the ICHSA Mid-Atlantic States A Cappella Championship 3 times. Tom is also an active composer/arranger and writes most of the contemporary a cappella arrangements performed by the Highlands Voices. e: [email protected] / ph:

Justin Glodich is a choral director in the Valley Central School District in Montgomery, NY. After his time as a member of the SUNY Potsdam Pointercounts, Justin would become the vocal percussionist of the award-winning professional vocal rock band, The Fault Line, which garnered national attention as semi-finalists on Season 2 of NBC’s America’s Got Talent, and was also mentioned in the Mickey Rapkin book, Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory, and Brody McDonald’s book, A Cappella Pop. Today, Justin aims to build a growing interest in a cappella geared towards middle school students. e: [email protected] / ph:

Danny Murray has coaches musicians at Lee University in Cleveland, Tennessee. Danny and his wife Debbie Murray founded and directed the ensemble NEW HARVEST; recording some 11 projects and touring internationally for 15 years. He has served as Music Minister for the North Cleveland Church of God, was on the Church of God Music Ministries Board, and has also assisted as the program Director for Teen Talent. Danny is a favorite choral clinician who brings practical instruction, humor and lots of heart to inspire singers to present their musical worship with excellence. His a cappella group, Voices of Lee, placed 3rd on season 1 of The Sing-Off. e: [email protected] / ph: