Choral Conducting Symposium

Kyle Pederson (b. 1971) is a Minneapolis-based composer, lyricist, pianist, and educator. Kyle was awarded the ACDA Genesis Prize in 2020 and the American Prize in Choral Composition in 2019. His work has been commissioned and recorded by All State/Honors choirs, and youth, church, college, and professional choirs around the world. In 2025, Navona Records released All is Miracle, the first full album of Kyle’s choral works, recorded by the award-winning vocal ensemble Transept. Kyle enjoys working at the intersection of the sacred and secular, and his lyrics and music invite the choir and audience to be agents of hope, grace, and compassion in the world.  Kyle has an undergraduate degree from Augustana University, a Masters Degree in Education from University of St. Thomas, and an MFA in Music Composition from Vermont College of Fine Art. His work is published by Walton, Santa Barbara, Galaxy, Morningstar, Alfred, Hal Leonard, Beckenhorst, Gentry, Hinshaw, and Carl Fischer music publishers. Additional information and links to Kyle’s music can be found at  kylepederson.com. 

A two-time Michigan Emmy Award winner, a 2017 Sphinx Medal of Excellence recipient, and a 2015 GRAMMY® Award nominee, Eugene Rogers is recognized as a leading conductor and pedagogue throughout the United States and abroad. In addition to being the founding director of EXIGENCE, Dr. Rogers is the director of choirs and an associate professor of conducting at the University of Michigan. Recently, he was named as the fifth Artistic Director of the two-time GRAMMY® Award-Winning Ensemble, The Washington Chorus (Washington, D.C.).

Rogers holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in choral music education from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign and the Master of Music and Doctor of Musical Arts degrees in choral conducting from U-M. He currently serves on the board of Chorus America and is the former national chair of the Diversity Initiatives Committee for the American Choral Directors Association.

Julie Skadsem is associate professor of choral music education and conducting at the University of Michigan where she conducts the Women’s Glee Club and teaches courses in conducting, choral techniques, and vocal methods. Before coming to Michigan in fall 2006, Skadsem was associate professor of music education at the University of Alabama, where she taught courses in choir, conducting, and music education, and was the founding director of the Birmingham Children’s Choir. She taught vocal music (7-12) in Ironwood, Michigan and is an active clinician, adjudicator, and guest conductor.

She is a member of the VoiceCare Network and is certified in Dalcroze eurhythmics, Orff-Schulwerk, and Kodaly. In addition to her choral work, Skadsem is also an active researcher. Her research on choral conducting and rehearsal techniques has been presented at MENC, ACDA, and the Southeastern Music Education Symposium, and is being published at the state, regional, and national levels. She currently serves on the editorial board of the Southern Music Education Journal.

The University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance announces that Matthew Abernathy will join the Department of Conducting as an assistant professor and associate director of choirs in the fall of 2025. Abernathy will conduct the Men’s Glee Club, the University Choir, and teach conducting classes.

“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Abernathy back to his alma mater as he returns to join our choral faculty,” said Eugene Rogers, associate professor of conducting and director of choirs. “His deep passion for students, choral music, and opera, combined with his exceptional talent and experience, make him a perfect addition to SMTD.”

Abernathy previously served as artistic director of the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, the principal chorus for the Florida Orchestra, where he led a 140-voice symphonic chorus that performed major choral-orchestral works. He continued the Master Chorale’s long-standing legacy of supporting the work of living composers and has commissioned music by Nico Gutierrez, Natalie Draper, Joan Szymko, and many others. He further developed a comprehensive community engagement program reaching all ages throughout Tampa Bay.

Abernathy also served as the music director of Minnesota Opera’s youth opera program Project Opera, their Children’s Chorus director, and guest chorus master. Prior engagements include work as the chorus master for the Lakes Area Music Festival and regular work as an assistant conductor/section leader with the Minnesota Chorale, including for their recording of Mahler Symphony No. 8 (BIS Records) with Minnesota Orchestra.

Other notable conducting appearances include the Florida Orchestra, St. Pete Baroque, Wintergreen Music Festival, Bach Society of Minnesota, Dakota Valley Symphony Chorus, Oratorio Society of Minnesota, Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, the Summer Singers, Opera MODO, Arbor Opera Theater, 113 Composer Collective, and the Norfolk Chamber Choir. He has prepared choruses for conductors including Michael Francis, Chelsea Gallo, Michael Christie, Christian Reif, Osmo Vänskä, Jonathan Brandani, Nicholas Kraemer, and many others.

Abernathy was named the 2024 Grand Prize winner of the MidAmerica International Choral Conducting Competition and will make his Carnegie Hall debut in June 2026. Additionally, he was a semifinalist in – and the only American admitted to – the 2022 Fosco Corti International Competition for Choral Conductors in Turin, Italy, out of over 60 international applicants.

“I am truly humbled to be joining the faculty at the University of Michigan School of Music, Theatre & Dance. My time as a student at SMTD was a formative point in my musical education, and I am especially excited to play a role in supporting the next generation of singers, conductors, and educators through the choral program’s creative approach to music-making,” shared Abernathy. “As the new director for the University of Michigan Men’s Glee Club, I’m honored to join the legacy of great conductors who have held this role before me – in particular my teachers Jerry Blackstone and Eugene Rogers – and to continue to build on over a century of musical excellence.”

Beyond his performance work, Abernathy is a devoted pedagogue and champion for music education and art-making at all ages. Previously he was the director of choral studies at the University of Tampa, where he conducted Chamber Singers and Camerata and taught the undergraduate aural skills sequence. Additionally, he has been on the faculty at the University of St. Thomas and the University of Minnesota. His academic research focuses on aural skills and musicianship as well as leadership for conductors, a topic on which he has presented at the ACDA Southern Conference.

“We are very excited to have Dr. Abernathy join the conducting faculty at the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, and look forward to the many contributions he will make to our esteemed choral program,” said Ellen Rowe, chair of conducting and Arthur F. Thurnau Professor of Music.

Abernathy has furthered his studies at the Medomak Conductors Retreat, Chorus America Conducting Academy, and Norfolk Chamber Choir Workshop. He holds degrees from the University of Minnesota, University of Michigan, SUNY Potsdam’s Crane School of Music, and Onondaga Community College.

Jonas Rasmussen (b. 1992) is a Danish conductor, composer, content creator and educator, widely recognized for his ability to combine artistic ambition with playfulness and accessibility. He serves as Artistic Director of Academic Choir Aarhus and Youth Choir Aarhus U, both award-winning ensembles with whom he has achieved significant international success, including victories at the World Choral Championship in Tokyo, European Choir Games and Let the Peoples Sing.

Educated in choral conducting at the University of Cambridge, the Royal College of Music in Stockholm and the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus, Jonas has quickly established himself as one of the most distinctive choral voices of his generation. He has worked with professional ensembles such as The King’s Singers and Ars Nova Copenhagen and is in high demand as a workshop leader throughout Europe.

Beyond performance, he is committed to education and mentorship. Since 2021 he has taught classical choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music Aarhus, and since 2025, he has shared content about choral music online for a wide international audience with a following of 100.000 across platforms and millions of views.

His work combines artistic excellence with accessibility, fostering community and innovation in choral music.