Sylvia Munsen

Associate Professor of Music

Dr. Sylvia Munsen is Founder & Conductor of the Ames Children's Choirs (ACC) program and Associate Professor and Chair of Music Education at Iowa State University (ISU). She received degrees from St. Olaf College, where she sang in the St. Olaf Choir, and the University of Illinois. In addition to studies in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, she is a certified specialist in Orff Schulwerk and Kodaly.

Under Munsen's direction, the ACC Concert Choir has performed at festivals and conferences throughout the Midwest, in Canada and in the Czech Republic including American Orff Schulwerk Association and Organization of American Kodaly Educators National Conferences. In 2003, the choir performed the World Premiere of John Rutter's Mass of the Children at Carnegie Hall with the composer as conductor. Munsen established the Midwest Children's Choirs Festival (MCCF), which has featured choirs from Germany, Hungary, the Czech Republic and the U.S. and bass-baritone Simon Estes as soloist. The 2007 MCCF featured Bob Chilcott as composer and guest conductor.

Munsen has been active as a clinician regarding vocal health, vocal/choral techniques, conducting and literature for children’s choirs and as a guest conductor for honor choirs. She has published choral arrangements with Kjos Music Company and Santa Barbara Music Press. She remains active as a singer and flutist and was a singer in the trio, The Chenilles, which performed four years on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion."

Active as a clinician from Iowa to national and international venues, Munsen has conducted more than 45 festival and honor choirs including two all-state choirs and a children's choir festival at Carnegie Hall. Under the auspices of MidAmerica Productions, she has been invited to conduct the 13th Annual North American Chorale at Carnegie Hall in June 2008. Munsen has choral arrangements published through Kjos and Santa Barbara.

Munsen was a singer in and arranger for the trio, The Chenilles, which performed for four years on Garrison Keillor's "A Prairie Home Companion." She has developed a student teaching site for ISU in Rosendal, Norway, and is the author of Cooking the Norwegian Way. In 2004 she was given the 1st Arts Educator Award from the Ames Community Arts Council.

Ames Children's Choir

The Ames Children’s Choirs (ACC) program was founded by Artistic Director Sylvia Munsen in 1995. The ACC program includes boys and girls ages 8-16 singing in three choirs and focuses on the development of self-esteem through artistic experience. Munsen developed an apprenticeship program for Iowa State University (ISU) choral music education students with the ACC program.

Notable performances for the ACC Concert Choir include: the World Premiere of John Rutter’s Mass of the Children at Carnegie Hall with the composer as conductor, solo concerts in Saint Patrick’s Cathedral (NYC), Washington’s National Cathedral and Temple Square in Salt Lake City, a performance with the Des Moines Symphony for the World Food Prize, and a concert for the Meredith Willson Centennial in Mason City.

The ACC Concert Choir has been selected to perform for numerous conferences including: a solo concert for the 2002 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) – North Central Conference, the 60th Michigan Music Educators Conference, the American Orff-Schulwerk Association national conference and the Organization of American Kodály Educators national conference. The choir has been selected to perform a solo concert for and conduct a demonstration session at the Midwest Kodály Music Educators of America Conference in St. Louis (October 2007) and the ACDA-NC Conference in Fargo ND in March 2008.

Annual concert tours have been conducted to the following locations: Ann Arbor, Champaign-Urbana, Chicago, DeKalb and Galesburg IL, Fargo-Moorhead, Kansas City, Lawrence KS, Madison, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Omaha and many cities throughout the state of Iowa. Special tours have been conducted to Colorado & Utah, New York City, Washington DC and the Pacific NW. During tours the Concert Choir has been featured in many festivals including: the Northern Plains Kodály Festival (Fargo ND), “Joy of Singing” Festival at the University of Kansas with Simon Carrington, and “Sing a Mile High Children’s Choral Festival” in Denver with David Brunner. In June 1998, the choir was the only American ensemble to perform in the Mezinárodní Folklórní Festival in Frýdek-Místek, the Czech Republic. In 2001, the choir was one of 48 international ensembles performing in “The World of Children’s Choirs” festival in Vancouver BC, Canada, where they were recorded by the CBC and worked with Bob Chilcott and Jean Ashworth Bartle.

The Concert Choir has performed in ISU concerts during special residencies with composers John Corigliano and Libby Larsen. In 2006 the choir participated in a master class with the vocal ensemble Cantus. All choirs in the ACC program have collaborated with many arts organizations in central Iowa including: Ames Chamber Artists, Ames Children’s Theater, Central Iowa Symphony and the ISU Opera Theater.