2019 Conducting Intensive: Intensive description coming soon.

GRAMMY®-nominated conductor James Jordan is recognized and praised around the musical world as one of America’s pre-eminent conductors, writers and innovators in choral music. He was described as a “visionary” by The Choral Journal, which cited his book Evoking Sound as a “must read.” The most published musician/author in the world, his 35 books form the canon for teaching of conductors and choirs world wide. At Westminster Choir College he is professor and senior conductor, and conducts Westminster Schola Cantorum and the internationally acclaimed Westminster Williamson Voices.

Dr. Jordan has studied with the legendary conductors and scholars of the past 40 years, including Elaine Brown, Wilhelm Ehmann, Frauke Haasemann, Volker Hempfling and the renowned music psychologist Edwin Gordon. His career as a conductor began as a finalist in the Leopold Stokowski Conducting Competition with The Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy.

This year, Dr. Jordan will make his Carnegie Hall debut conducting the Stabat Mater of Paul Mealor in addition to premiering Mealor’s Symphony No. 1 at St. Machar’s Cathedral in Aberdeen Scotland. Dr. Jordan has been honored as a distinguished alumnus at both Susquehanna University and Temple University. He was awarded the distinguished Doctor of Music by the University of Aberdeen in Scotland in 2014 to honor his artistry and contributions to choral music throughout the world. The University, established in 1485, has awarded degrees throughout its history to only two Americans: Dr. Jordan and Morten Lauridsen. He also shares this honor with Gustav Holst, Benjamin Britten and Dame Joan Sutherland.

2019 Vocal/Cantor Intensive: Discover how any cantor can go to the next level in prayer and song. A number of participants will be invited to lead a psalm, litany, acclamation, or song, and receive personalized feedback, much like a master class.

Diana Kodner Gokce holds a double M.M. in Music from Northwestern University specializing in voice/opera and conducting. As an undergraduate, Diana was a flute major at Northwestern University. From 1977-1979 she was co-principal flutist of the Minnesota Orchestra, performing under Leonard Slatkin, Stanislaw Skrowaczewski, and Jean-Pierre Rampal, to name but a few conductors.

At the age of 17 Diana conducted the Minnesota Orchestra in a young people’s concert as winner of the Urban Arts conducting competition. For six years Diana was conductor and musical director of the Mozart Sinfonia. She has been a conductor of choirs at Loyola University, National-Louis University, and Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago.

Diana has authored several books including Handbook for Cantors and Why Do We Sing?, both published by G.I.A. She was the editor the Gather Comprehensive Hymnal, first edition for G.I.A. and the conductor for the choral recordings: Catholic Classics, V. I and II (G.I.A. Publications).

Diana served as senior editor of Clavier Magazine and the editor of both Flute Talk and Flute Explorer magazines (The Instrumentalist Company). As editor of Flute Talk Diana interviewed the great flutist Sir James Galway and Jazz flutist Steve Kujala.

Diana is currently a music teacher and the Liturgical Music Coordinator at the Frances Xavier Warde School, Holy Name Cathedral Campus, in Chicago, and serves on the Teacher Training Advisory Board for the College of Education at National Louis University, where she earned an M.A. in elementary education.

Keyboard to Keyboard: Tips and techniques to fluently navigate between the organ and the piano in worship, both for pianists who are asked to play the organ occasionally, and for organists who are expected to go back and forth between the organ and piano on a regular basis. Discussion will include keyboard techniques, resources and information on organ registration.

Organ Music at GIA: Explore the vast library of organ repertoire available at GIA, featuring music for keyboard only, music with minimal pedal, music for organ plus instruments, music for organ and brass, as well as wedding repertoire, preludes and postludes for worship, collections of African American music, hymn harmonizations and concert repertoire. 

Marilyn Biery, AAGO, ASCAPlus award winner, was a 1982 finalist in the National Open Competition in Organ Playing, sponsored by the American Guild of Organists. Marilyn has served as Director of Music Ministries at The First Church of Christ in Hartford, Connecticut, Associate Director of Music at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and most recently Minister of Music at Metropolitan United Methodist Church, Detroit, Michigan.

Marilyn holds the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in organ performance from the University of Minnesota. Marilyn is a frequent collaborator with a number of American composers, including Libby Larsen, David Evan Thomas, Stephen Paulus, Pamela Decker, and James Hopkins. A series of her articles on American Organ Music was printed in The American Organist from July 2000 to June 2003; other articles have been published in The Diapason, on composer Harold Stover, organ professor Grigg Fountain, and the late Roy Johnson, former organ professor at the University of Arizona.