Northwestern music professor to present at conference

Dr. Thomas Holm, professor of music and department chair at Northwestern College, will present at the 2016 North Central Division–American Choral Directors Association (NC–ACDA) conference Feb. 17–20 in Sioux Falls, S.D.

Holm will present an interest session, “Vocal Warm-Ups That Serve Both the Singer and the Music,” that will provide participants with insights into how posture, breathing, resonance, vowel uniformity, chord intonation and stylistic traits can be used to produce a better vocal warm-up session. Several types of exercises will be offered as preparation to perform different styles of music. The Sioux Falls Lincoln High School Chamber Choir, under the direction of Linda Conrad, will serve as the demonstration choir during the session.

The North Central ACDA is one of seven geographic divisions of the American Choral Directors Association and includes approximately 3,000 members from Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Minnesota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. Founded in 1959, the nonprofit music education program seeks to promote excellence in choral music through performance, composition, publication, research and teaching. Members are granted access to diverse and practical conference forums to develop their skills and professional knowledge, in addition to concert performances, educational clinics and exhibits by music industry representatives.

A member of Northwestern’s faculty since 2000, Holm directs the college’s A cappella Choir and Heritage Singers chamber choir. He also has served as the conductor of the Sioux County Oratorio Chorus since 2000. Prior to serving at Northwestern, Holm was the director of choirs at The King’s University in Edmonton, Alberta, and was also the chair of the fine arts department and music professor at Prairie Bible College in Three Hills, Alberta, Canada. His choirs have toured nationally and internationally to the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland. Holm will lead Northwestern’s choir to tour in Taiwan this spring.

A graduate of Big Sky Bible College, Holm earned master’s degrees from the University of Alberta and the University of Idaho, and holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral music from the University of Illinois.