[Interview] Pearl Shangquan, Vice President of the American Choral Directors Association

Pearl Shangquan, Vice President and President-elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), who is recognized as a world-renowned conductor and a leading figure in the global choral scene, attended the 2nd Gyeongnam International Choral Festival held in Gyeongnam and participated in the International Choral Festival Forum in Changwon.

On the morning of May 14, at the Masan 3.15 Art Hall International Conference Room, where many figures from the international choral community were present, we met with Vice President Pearl Shangquan.

The forum, which was attended by Shinwha Park, Artistic Director of the Gyeongnam International Choral Festival, and Johan Roos, Artistic Director of Interkultur, among other prominent figures in the global choral scene, was conducted seriously for two hours.

Pearl Shangquan, Vice President and President-Elect of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), is being interviewed.
[Photo by The Asia Business Daily]

At the forum, Vice President Pearl greeted everyone warmly and expressed her opinions as a panelist in a friendly and approachable manner.

She also welcomed the reporter with delight and demonstrated her broad insight as an educator, conductor, and scholar.

When asked about her impressions of visiting Korea and the 2nd Gyeongnam International Choral Festival, she explained that she was deeply and surprisingly moved.

As a Chinese-American and a world-class conductor serving as Vice President and President-elect of the ACDA, she maintained her humility throughout the event.

She stated that holding an international choral festival in Gyeongnam, Korea, is highly significant, and reiterated that she believes she can see the future of Korean choral culture through this event.

During her panel presentation, she stood up and explained her views calmly and clearly.

When asked about the state of American choral culture, she said, "The American Choral Directors Association was founded in 1959. Since then, 14,000 conductors have participated, and we hold annual conferences to continually raise the standard of choral music."

She added that, in the United States, basic studies and fundamental training in choral music are emphasized from elementary school, and American choral education is gradually developing through these efforts.

Highlighting the importance of choral training during the voice-changing period in middle school, she stated that there is a crucial mission for excellent leaders to provide strong guidance to elementary and middle school students.

She explained that industry partners are also encouraged to participate in American choral conferences, and that participating organizations are exploring ways to collaborate and dedicate themselves to the choral community together.

Finally, she stressed the need for an international network in choral culture and requested active participation from the Korean choral community in the ACDA National Conference to be held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in 2027.

She remarked that the social function of choral music is also therapeutic, emphasizing the importance of developing various forms of choral music, including therapeutic choirs for dementia patients.

Currently, Vice President Pearl leads the American and global choral scenes, serves as the chief editor at Hinshaw Music, a leading choral publisher in North America, and works as a music editor for various choral series.

She has also served for a long time as a professor at Calvin University and is currently the conductor of the Grand Rapids Symphony professional choir.

Vice President Pearl is scheduled to conduct the joint choir at the opening concert of the 2nd Gyeongnam International Choral Festival, which runs for three days from May 14, observe other festival events, and then return to the United States.

Vice Chairman Pearl is taking a commemorative photo with the International Choral Federation choir team after the performance.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.