This second semester has been very busy with numerous choral opportunities for directors and students in District 5 in which to participate. In January, NCDA sponsored a Sing Around Nebraska event for young singers and North Platte hosted the event.

One week later, Lenore Weatherly also hosted the Singing Youth Nebraska clinic in North Platte. Our major February opportunity was the Show Choir Festival Western Site, hosted by Chase County Schools in Imperial. We had 17 groups perform with 3 groups performing for the very first time. A focus for March for several of our District 5 schools was our SPVA Conference music contest this year hosted by Sutherland Schools. Our SPVA Music Contest has a history of strong support for music performances. Of course, as with other schools across the state, April brings District Music Contest and final preparations for all of our “end of year” concerts.

NCDA provides so many opportunities for students to participate in choral activities across the state and offers a variety of resources for choir directors. In addition, each District Representative is working to expand our mentorship program within our individual districts. NCDA is an organization that every choral director should consider becoming a participant in—there is truly something for all levels of choral education. I encourage all directors to come to the summer conference at Doane University in July—it will be a rewarding experience!!