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Elizabeth Daly
Elizabeth Daly
Elizabeth Daly is a conductor, soprano, and music educator based in Durham, North Carolina. Elizabeth has served as Director of Music Ministries at Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church in Durham since 2024. Since starting at Trinity Avenue Presbyterian Church, she has started a concert series In Durham as it is in Heaven benefitting eviction diversion efforts, reinstated the children’s choir, has put on multiple choral orchestral works, and works to make further ties between TAPC and the Durham community through the power of music. She is also an Associate Conductor with the Cary-Apex Youth Choir, conducting their high school ensemble, ENCORE, is a staff soprano with Duke Chapel’s Evensong choir and Bach Cantata series. In addition, Elizabeth serves as a choral clinician in the Triangle area, sings as Soprano with the Taylor Festival Choir, and is a member of the American Choral Director’s Association where she was recently selected to conduct in the NC invitational masterclass. Elizabeth is a recent graduate of Georgia State University’s MM in choral conducting where she studied with Dr. Deanna Joseph, and graduated with a Bachelor of music in Music Education and performance honors from Syracuse University. Recently, Elizabeth co-artistic directed a concert with the Amethyst Baroque Ensemble, attended the Norfolk Chamber Music Festival with the Yale school of Music as a conducting fellow, served as conducting intern with the Georgia Festival Chorus, and appeared in the opera chorus of the Atlanta Baroque Orchestra’s production of Dido and Aeneas. As a music educator, Elizabeth was instructor of record for Fundamentals of Aural Skills at Georgia State University, and will be substituting for the Director of Choral Activities at Meredith College this coming fall. Elizabeth also has experience as a researcher of choral music, having served as a member of the research team for the Empowering Silenced Voices Database with Chorosynthesis, and presented her research on Nun-Composers of the Italian Renaissance at multiple conferences including the University of Toronto Graduate Music Conference.
Session Abstract
Session Abstract
Intended for: Middle School, Senior High School, Community Choir, College & University, TTBB Choirs, Treble Choir, Music in Worship
Intended for: Middle School, Senior High School, Community Choir, College & University, TTBB Choirs, Treble Choir, Music in Worship
Has early music ever felt out of reach? Many choral conductors love early music but hesitate to program it because of questions surrounding tuning/temperament, questions of performance practice, and the stylistic distance between the repertoire and the music most singers encounter in their daily lives. This session seeks to make this part of our choral heritage more accessible to choirs of a wide range of ages and levels through an exploration of historical performance practice, repertoire suggestions from composers of diverse backgrounds, and rehearsal techniques that cater to a wide range of choirs.
Drawing on experience conducting high school, church choirs, and professional ensembles, I will share rehearsal techniques that consistently and efficiently help singers develop stylistic understanding and excitement for early repertoire primarily in the Renaissance and Baroque eras. Session attendees will hear how to differentiate instruction for diverse ensembles, introduce historical performance in approachable ways, and cultivate listening skills that support stylistic and expressive singing.
This session will also center repertoire selections that choirs love by composers from diverse cultural and social backgrounds. We will examine musical examples from that move beyond the most commonly performed composers in these eras, making way for more voices that have shaped our choral heritage to be heard. Recommendations will include many different voicings, include choral-orchestral works and a cappella repertoire, and will provide practical options for choirs of all levels.
Using resources including Dr. Steven Plank’s book Choral Performance: A Guide to Historical Practice (2004), conductors will explore key concepts in historical performance practice, and learn what to listen for in rehearsals to level up their choir’s stylistic literacy. Conductors will also experience guidance on how to teach choirs to sing this music in a way that opens up artistic possibilities, rather than simply listing and following rules. Session attendees will leave equipped with practical rehearsal strategies, repertoire recommendations, and ideas for further study to bring back to their schools, churches, and communities.
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