Meet Collin Boothby

ACDA has been a source of inspiration in so many ways for me. I’ve been fortunate to attend two national conventions and two regional conventions. The gathering of so many choral musicians from around the world with different perspectives, ideas about music, aesthetic goals, and performance traditions is such an amazing experience. Catching up with friends over a good meal and talking story about what we’ve heard is a real gift. I’m also reminded me how lucky we are as choral musicians right now. I truly believe we’re in a choral renaissance with so many interesting composers writing music from all corners of the world. Locally, it’s been wonderful to attend the amazing Professional Development days over the last two years. Last year’s PD day was only my sixth day living in Hawaiʻi and to be welcomed with such aloha meant a lot to me during such a big life transition

This year, I seem to keep adding things to my plate! At HPU, I’m directing the International Vocal Ensemble and International Chorale. I arranged several pieces for our fall concert, including the Scottish folk song “Song of the Clyde” in honor of the Falls of Clyde. I’m hoping to publish it in the coming year. I’m very much looking forward to hosting Nā Haku Mele, a composition contest for new arrangements of mele, at HPU in January. We’ll gather with other college choirs to read and record these new works. In addition to HPU, I’m directing the choir at Church of the Crossroads. We’re gearing up for Christmas, of course, but also for our Martin Luther King Jr. Day Peacemaker Award service. Lastly, in April 2026, I’ll be conducting Hawaii Vocal Arts Ensemble in a spring concert featuring works by American composers.

One of my favorite choir memories requires a little back story. One week into my junior year of undergrad, our director resigned with no notice and no explanation. While we ended up getting to work with a fantastic interim, Dr. Ken Davis, for the rest of the year, there were plenty of hurt feelings and tension between members of the choir. There had been a choir tour planned for May of that year, which we thankfully were still able to take, under the direction of the inimitable Dr. Sandra Snow! One concert in particular, in Freistadt, Austria, stands out as my most important choir memory. In this concert, it seemed to me that all the anger and strife of the year had been resolved. The acoustics in the church were such that you could simultaneously hear every individual in the group as well as the collective whole. Every chord tuned perfectly, every phrase shaped cohesively, every breath taken synchronously, every vowel aligned, and every consonant placed precisely at the right moment. That hour passed in the blink of an eye, but I think it is probably as close to perfection that I’ve ever experienced. There’s something magical about a group working together through their difficulties and then traveling, whether just down the hall or halfway across the world, to share their story through song.