Mission

The Cambiata Institute of America for Early-Adolescent Vocal Music at the University of North Texas, Denton, is dedicated to the promulgation of the Cambiata Concept, a comprehensive philosophy and methodology for teaching vocal music to early-adolescents.  Special emphasis is placed on the unique qualities of the male changing voice and on the development of music literacy skills. The Institute engages in research, projects, and materials that promote reliable pedagogical practices in the middle-level choral music classroom.

Cambiata Institute’s Projects, Agenda, and Aspirations:

  • To establishment of the Cambiata Institute of America for Early Adolescent Vocal Music on the campus of the University of North Texas and to announcement my appointment as Director. 
  • To establish a National Board of Advisors. 
  • To establish a revenue-generating summer choir camp for students in grades 7 and 8 on the campus of University of North Texas.
  • To initiate, in connection with the summer choir camp, a teacher-training program leading to a Certificate in Early Adolescent Vocal Music.
  • To seek external funding (summer choir camp, adjudicated choral festivals, workshop honoraria and fees, external gifts, and grants) to promote and support the Institute’s interests.
  • To transfer, develop, and maintain the Institute’s web-site through the cooperation of the UNT College of Music webmaster.
  • To promote on-going research, related specifically to vocal music making for early-adolescents. To collaborate with my colleague, Dr. Donna Emmanuel, UNT’s Ph.D. Music Education Program Coordinator, and to promote her biennial conference, the North Texas Symposium for Research in Music Education.
  • To develop national exposure of the Institute through state, regional, and national music association presentations.
  • To initiate, develop, and facilitate, and host a national conference designed specifically to reflect the needs and interests of middle- level choirs, middle-level choral music educators, and middle-level choral music topics and clinicians. 
  • To encourage the composition of high-quality choral and solo literature for early-adolescent singers. 
  • To facilitate the above by sponsoring The Cambiata Composition Initiative, a national- level choral composition competition for 2-part and 3-part choral literature for the male changing-voice. Winning compositions would be presented at the MS/JH National Conference for Choral Music. Five years of competition would yield 25 winning compositions published as a choral anthology.
  • To create and maintain on-line articles related specifically to the interests of choral music educators who work with early adolescent students.
  • To promote the Cambiata concepts in teacher-training at all levels: national, divisional, state, regional, district, and individual schools and churches.
  • To recruit graduate students into the UNT Music Education Degree who have an interest in choral music education for early-adolescent students.   
  • To fund from Institute activities a graduate teaching assistant position to address needs related to the Institute’s interests, goals, objectives, initiatives, and projects.
  • To fund and produce a DVD that outlines the Institute’s mission, philosophy, and methods.  
  • To value, create, and maintain a meaningful connection with other professional organizations concerned with the education of early-adolescents, i.e., the National Middle School Association (NMSA), Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA); Texas Choral Directors Association (TCDA); the National Association for Music Education (MENC), American Choral Directors Association (ACDA); the International Society for Music Education (ISME); and the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM).

Longer range aspirations 

  • To promote hard copy and on-line publication of research-based articles, related specifically to the interests of choral music educators who work with early-adolescent students. 
  • To help train choral/vocal clinicians who demonstrate strong pedagogical insights into the middle-level Cambiata concepts. 
  • To publish The Cambiata Composition Project, a choral anthology of 25 awarding winning compositions for 2-part and 3-part male changing voice. 
  • To influence choral music education curricula at the college/university level.
  • To establish satellite summer programs in different regions of the country.
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