The Conductor’s Experience

Dr. Eric Posada

Eric Posada is a vibrant and diverse conductor, choral educator, and mentor with eighteen years’ experience at the elementary, middle, high school, collegiate, university, community, church, and professional levels. In August 2021, Dr. Posada was appointed Director of Choral Activities at Angelo State University in Texas. Previously, he held academic appointments at the University of North Carolina Charlotte, Tyler Junior College, Texas A&M University, and Texas Tech University. A native of McAllen, Texas, Posada founded the Rio Grande Valley’s first professional chorus, Pasión, and is the ensemble’s Artistic Director.

Since 2020, Dr. Posada has presented interest sessions for twenty-five national, regional, or state music conferences. These invitations have included the National Collegiate Choral Organization; Southwestern American Choral Directors Association; The College Music Society; Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia; the Choral Directors Associations of Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas; the Music Educators Associations of Oregon, Alabama, Utah, Ohio, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, North Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Texas, Washington; and the Texas Orchestra Directors Association. In addition to his work in academia, Dr. Posada has served fifteen years as a Director of Music in liturgical settings, the highlight of which was a performance at Notre-Dame de Paris. Additionally, Posada has held conducting posts with community choruses such as the East Texas Symphony Chorus, Brazos Valley Chorale, The Lubbock Chorale, and his newly founded San Angelo Chorus is presenting its inaugural season. A champion of philanthropic work, Dr. Posada’s non-profit organization Pasión provides the highest artistic product and administers to the counties of South Texas. The professional chorus recently won third place in The American Prize for two categories, Choral Performance and the Performance of American Music, and was selected through refereed audition as Performing Choir for the 2021 Texas Choral Directors Association Summer Conference.

Throughout his career, Dr. Posada has been honored and privileged to collaborate with esteemed colleagues and ensembles across the world. Forthcoming in 2024 are two projects: a Carnegie Hall Masterwork Series performance with Manhattan Concert Productions and The Music of Mari Esabel Valverde at Cadogan Hall with Vox Anima London. Recently, Dr. Posada and Pasión worked with composers Dominick DiOrio, Dan Forrest, Kyle Pederson, and Mari Esabel Valverde to offer the program Light Shines in the Darkness to the Texas Choral Directors Association. In 2017, the ensemble performed the Concert World Premiere of and recorded composer Michael John Trotta’s Light Shines in the Darkness. At Angelo State, Posada has fostered the engagement of guest artists and scholars to enrich the learning of his musicians through a summer conducting symposium featuring composers Victor Johnson and Mari Esabel Valverde, roundtables with composers Kyle Pederson and James Knox, and the World Premiere of Knox’s Personent Hodie. While at UNCC, the choral department hosted sessions with Stacey V. Gibbs, Tim Sarsany, and Craig Courtney. Dr. Posada’s students from Tyler Junior College had the opportunity to perform under the direction of two-time GRAMMY award winner Craig Hella Johnson and GRAMMY award nominee Eugene Rogers. During his tenure at Texas A&M University, Posada’s choruses performed at Carnegie Hall and toured across Germany and Canada. Noteworthy partnerships during that time included projects with the internationally acclaimed Nordic Choir and composers Ola Gjeilo and Shawn Kirchner, as well as the World Premiere of Michael John Trotta’s Tu Sola Remedio.

Postdoctoral work for Dr. Posada has included study with GRAMMY award winner Jerry Blackstone and Dan Bara. He earned his Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting from Texas Tech University in 2015 and served as graduate assistant under the tutelage of Richard Bjella. Prior to his doctoral studies, Posada was a graduate assistant of Allen Hightower and completed his Master of Music degree in choral conducting at Sam Houston State University. In 2003, Dr. Posada received his Bachelor of Music degree with concentration in Teacher Preparation, also from Texas Tech, at which his conducting teachers were John Dickson, Pamela Elrod, and Gary Lewis.

Marques L. A. Garrett

A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett (he/him) is an Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Glenn Korff School of Music. His responsibilities include conducting the auditioned Chamber Singers and non-auditioned University Chorale (soprano-alto) as well as teaching graduate choral literature. Before earning his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University, he was the Director of Choral Activities at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he holds an MM from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BA from Hampton University.

An active conductor, Dr. Garrett is the artistic director of the Omaha Symphonic Chorus and founding conductor of the Nebraska Festival Singers. He serves as a guest conductor or clinician with school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNL, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences. His formal conducting studies were with Dr. André J. Thomas, Dr. Carole J. Ott, Dr. Carl G. Harris, Jr., and Mr. Royzell Dillard.

A versatile voice that performs both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as both a chorister and soloist. He was the baritone soloist for the Germantown Concert Chorus’s performance of Haydn’s  Missa in Angustiis . His premiere as a countertenor in Dan Forrest’s  Jubilate Deo served as the work’s European premiere in Limerick, Ireland. Additionally, he performed the role of Lil Lud in Bernstein’s  White House Cantata with the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Currently, he sings with First-Plymouth Congregational Church, Festival Singers of Florida, and the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers.

Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. His music is available through more than ten publishers. He has been commissioned by organizations such as Harvard University and Westminster Choir College. Among his latest commissions is his largest work to date,  Dreamland: Tulsa 1921 . This collaborative work with librettist Sandra Seaton for tenor-bass chorus, soloists, and chamber orchestra was commissioned by the Turtle Creek Chorale to tell the story of the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma.

As a researcher, his most advantageous topic is the non-idiomatic choral music of Black composers. His lectures at state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and at other local and national venues afford him the opportunity to showcase this underrepresented area of music. He serves as co-editor of the “Out from the Shadows” Series with Gentry Publications.

Dr. Garrett holds membership in the American Choral Directors Association; American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers; National Association of Negro Musicians; National Collegiate Choral Organization; and Pi Kappa Lambda. For more information, visit Dr. Garrett’s website.

Christi Jones

Christi Jones has been teaching Choir for 23 years, 22 of which have been at Young Junior High in Arlington, Texas. Choirs under her direction have performed at TMEA (2015 and 2022), SWACDA (2014), National ACDA (2019), the MS/JH National Convention (2012), and for the State Board of Education (2015).

Christi has had pieces published by Carl Fischer, BriLee Music, RBC, and Excelsia (UIL Sightreading pieces), with many inclusions on the Texas UIL Prescribed Music List. Most of her compositions came about due to a need for one of her own ensembles, or a need/interest of her other choir director friends!

She is a member of TMEA, TCDA, ACDA, and TMAA, and is sought after as a Region Clinician and UIL Adjudicator. Christi is also on staff as a Worship Ministry Assistant at First Baptist Church in Arlington, where she directs the Youth Choir and the Praise Team Vocalists.

Christi comes by the choral music profession honestly, being the proud daughter of two choral directors, Charles and Toni Worley, also of Arlington. She was fortunate to study under her mother during her years at Lamar High School, where she was selected for the TMEA All-State Choir.
She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Wayland Baptist University. While at Wayland, she was listed as Who’s Who Among America’s Colleges and Universities, named International Choir Outstanding Freshman, selected as a Sears Directors Cup National Finalist as a Sports Information Assistant, and played Volleyball for the Sooner Athletic Conference Champions, the Lady Pioneers.

Christi was named Teacher of the Year at Young in 2011, and also received Runner-Up for the district’s AWARE award in 2011, 2014, and 2016.

Christi is happily married to her High School Sweetheart, Scott (whom she met in choir when she was in junior high)! Scott teaches math at Young, and they reside in Arlington with their sons, Neal and Carson.