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"Appalachia Sings!" - Embracing Heritage, Community, and Renewal
Join us on October 9-10, 2026 in Asheville, NC! We welcome composer and conductor Jake Runestad as our headlining clinician at First Baptist Church Asheville. Friday night will feature a performance celebrating the Music of Appalachia!
Jake Runestad’s new Mountain Songs will be sung by area high school and collegiate singers led by the composer himself and spotlight local bluegrass artists Josh Goforth and Zoe & Cloyd. The weekend will also highlight fabulous invited choirs and speakers from around the state. You won’t want to miss it!
NC ACDA invites our membership to submit proposals for interest sessions and applications for performing choirs at the 2026 Fall Conference to be held October 9-10, 2026 on the campus at First Baptist Church in Asheville. This year's theme is:
"Appalachia Sings! Embracing Heritage, Community, and Renewal".
The application window for both Interest Sessions and Performing Choirs will be open from April 1, 2026 through June 1, 2026 at 5:00pm. Directors will be notified in early July. To be eligible for selection, all proposals and applications must be completed by a current, paid-to-date member of ACDA. Selected Performing Choir conductors and Interest Session presenters must register for the NC ACDA conference.
Jake Runestand
Jake Runestand
Considered “one of the best of the younger American composers” (Chicago Tribune), EMMY®-winning and GRAMMY®-nominated composer and conductor Jake Runestad has received commissions and performances from leading ensembles and organizations such as VOCES8, Washington National Opera, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Munich Radio Orchestra, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, the Pacific Symphony & Chorale, Kantorei (Denver), True Concord Voices & Orchestra, the National Chorus of Korea, the Bavarian Radio Choir, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Philippine Madrigal Singers, Seraphic Fire, the Santa Fe Desert Chorale, and many more. “The Hope of Loving,” the first album dedicated to Jake’s choral music, recorded by professional American choir Conspirare, received a GRAMMY® nomination. In 2019, Jake became one of the youngest composers ever awarded the prestigious Raymond C. Brock commission by the American Choral Directors Association. “Earth Symphony,” Jake’s ground-breaking choral symphony written with librettist Todd Boss, earned a 2022 EMMY® Award for musical composition. Jake’s visceral music and charismatic personality have fostered a busy schedule of commissions, residencies, workshops, and conducting engagements, enabling him to share his passion for creativity, expressivity, and community with musicians around the world.
Dubbed a “choral rockstar” by American Public Media, Jake is one of the most frequently performed composers of concert music. His thoughtful and compelling works “that speak to some of the most pressing and moving issues of our time” (Star Tribune), have been heard in thousands of performances across the globe. Jake Runestad holds a Master’s degree in composition from the Peabody Conservatory of the Johns Hopkins University where he studied with Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Kevin Puts. Find out more at: JakeRunestad.com
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