Dr. Nathan Dame is proud to serve as Director of Choral Activities and Coordinator of Fine Arts at Wylie East High School. A veteran educator, Dr. Dame has conducted choral ensembles of elementary through collegiate singers as a faculty member in the Texas public schools and at the University of Kansas. At Wylie East, he conducts the A Cappella Choir, four leveled tenor-bass choirs (Varsity, Cantus, Select, and Concert), and oversees a thriving choral program of 420 singers in twelve performing ensembles. In addition to his teaching responsibilities, he acts as Vertical Team Lead for the East Choir Team, which consists of over 1000 singers in grades 6-12.
His philosophy on education is simple: Keep the student first and everything else will take care of itself. It is this vision that propels his service to the music education community, having previously served as American Choral Directors’ Association (ACDA) National Repertoire & Resources Chair for Senior High School and Junior High/Middle School Choirs, Texas MEA Region Vocal Chair at both the middle and high school levels, and State Collegiate President of Kansas MEA. He has been featured as a conductor, clinician, researcher, author, and presenter at numerous events, including national conventions of ACDA and NAfME, and several regional and state ACDA and MEA conferences. Upcoming engagements include clinician-conductor for the Arkansas All-State Tenor-Bass Choir, the Colorado Middle School All-State Tenor-Bass Choir, and for region choirs in Texas and Tennessee. His research and pedagogical interests include tenor-bass choirs, recruitment and retention, and cultivating leadership. He is featured in numerous professional resources and his choral resource "Finding Middle Ground," is published through Carl Fischer.
Choral programs under his direction have grown to become some of the largest choral programs in the region and state, have been featured at the Texas MEA Convention (2022), Southwestern ACDA Convention (2024, 2014), have been named two-time winners in the National Choral Honors Contest, and consistently receive the highest designations for choral performance at regional and state festivals. He has been awarded numerous awards for outstanding teaching and leadership, including being named as a National Finalist for the Dale Warland American Prize in Choral Conducting and induction into the Yamaha Class of 40 Under 40 Top Music Educators.
Emily Crile Mescolare Choir
Emily Crile exhibits her passion and enthusiasm for choral music through developing and conducting singers of all ages. In her 25th season with the Colorado Children’s Chorale, she now serves as the Artistic Director conducting Tour Choir and overseeing all aspects of the 50-year-old professional children’s choral organization. During her tenure with the Chorale, she has worked with all choir levels, established the young alumni ensemble, prepared children for appearances with the Colorado Symphony, Central City Opera, Opera Colorado, and Colorado Ballet, and toured throughout Australia, China, Costa Rica, Europe, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United States. With a commitment to equitable access for high quality music education, she crafted, led, and administered School Partnership and Community Choir programs across the Denver Metro area and earned a certification in Facilitating Effective DEI Discussions from Dena Samuels Consulting.
Emily is the Past-President and Treasurer of the Colorado American Choral Directors Association and is an active choral clinician and presenter throughout the United States. Prior to joining the Chorale in 2000, she served as an Assistant Conductor with the Northern Iowa Children’s Choir. She holds a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder and a Bachelor of Music (Choral Education) from the University of Northern Iowa.
Dr. John Wayman Triplo Choir
Dr. John Wayman is the Associate Director of Choral Activities, Associate Professor, and Area Coordinator for Music Education at the University of Texas at Arlington. He conducts the University Singers and helps guide future choral music educators. He is in great demand as a conductor, adjudicator, and clinician. Dr. Wayman has appeared as a guest conductor and adjudicator at numerous state and regional events.
He has given frequent clinics at the state, national, and international platforms on choral pedagogy for the maturing adolescent voice, programming, and rehearsal strategies for choral music educators. Much of Dr. Wayman’s research focuses on the changing male voice and teacher preparation. He has presented at the state (Alaska MEA, Georgia MEA, Louisiana MEA, New Mexico MEA, Oklahoma ACDA, Tennessee MEA, and Texas MEA), national (National Association for Music Educators, National American Choral Directors Association, Society of Research for Music Education, Society of Music Teacher Educators, Southwestern American Choral Association) and international venues (Greece, Brazil, England, Uganda, China and most recently in Scotland and Ireland).
He has published in the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, the Journal of Research in Music Education, the Teaching Music, Texas Music Educator Research, Missouri Journal of Research in Music Education, Kansas Music Review, the Ala Breve: Alabama Music Education Journal, and Georgia Music News. Dr. Wayman also serves on the Editor Advisory Board for the national Music Educators Journal.
In 2019, Dr. Wayman was selected as the 2019 Sunrise Rotary Professor of the Year Award for the College of Liberal Arts. Above all, he loves teaching and inspiring those who love to sing!
