Congratulations to Mary Kay Geston

MARY KAY GESTON

NCACDA President-Elect Designate

MARY KAY GESTON

Mary Kay Geston is an associate professor of music at Northwestern College (NWC), Saint Paul, Minnesota, where she conducts the Women’s Chorale and Chamber Singers, teaches Advanced Choral Conducting, Secondary Choral Methods, Class Voice, Introduction to Music, and supervises student teachers. Previously she was the director of choral activities at Northern State University, Aberdeen, South Dakota, and taught at the University of Colorado, Boulder. In spring 2008 she directed the Manitou Singers at St. Olaf College.

Geston received the Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral conducting and literature from the University of Colorado, the Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Minnesota, and teaching certification and the Bachelor of Arts degree in vocal performance from North Dakota State University. During her tenure as conductor of the NWC Women's Chorale the choir has performed at the 2006 Minnesota Music Educators Association (MMEA) Midwinter Clinic, the 2004 North Central ACDA (NCACDA) Conference, and the 2001 ACDA of Minnesota (ACDA-MN) Fall Conference. In 2003 the Women's Chorale performed The Planets by Gustav Holst with the Minnesota Orchestra and maestro Edo de Waart.

Dr. Geston is in high demand as a guest conductor and in 2009-10 will conduct the ACDA-MN Anacrusis 7/8 Girls Honor Choir, the Minnesota State Community and Technical College High School Choral Festival, the North Dakota ACDA All-Collegiate Honor Choir, the South Dakota Women's Junior Honor Choir, and serve as a clinician for the Marquette University High School Choral Festival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She will also be a headline presenter for the South Dakota Music Educators Association convention and ACDA of North Dakota's state conference. In 2008 she made presentations at the American Guild of Organists National Convention, the NCACDA Conference, and a Distler Conference at Luther Seminary, and in 2006 she was a panelist at the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) National Conference.

She has been a featured soprano soloist with choruses and orchestras in Minnesota, North Dakota, Colorado, and South Dakota and sang professionally with the Robert Shaw Festival Singers in 1998 and 1999. Geston is a member of ACDA, MENC, MMEA, NCCO, NATS, and IFCM. Geston has served ACDA-MN as president-elect, president, vice president, membership chair, and R & S Chair for College and University. She is a member of the ACDA-MN F. Melius Christiansen Endowment Fund committee and serves on the editorial board for Melisma, the NCACDA journal. She is currently writing a book about Dale Warland and the history of the Dale Warland Singers.