by Jeff Selesnick
There was a distinct Concord Community Music School presence in the Midwest at the beginning of March as a team of talented singers represented CCMS at the 2026 Organization of American Kodály Educators (OAKE) National Conference in Chicago. 11 CCMS vocalists winged west to the Windy City for three days of intense rehearsals and the opportunity to perform in one of four choral groups at Chicago’s famed Symphony Center. More than 400 singers from all over the United States participated in this year’s choir festival.
The CCMS group featured a wide range of ages and experiences, from first-timers to seasoned veterans. Clara Selesnick, a first-year participant and youngest of the CCMS cohort at age 9, was thrilled to learn she had been selected for the choir… and appropriately nervous about the pieces she had to learn. The Children’s Choir song list totaled seven works, including an original piece by director Jeremy Howard, two that were in foreign languages, and several that featured song-specific choreography. “I was super happy when I heard I got in,” says Selesnick. “The pieces looked really interesting, being from a couple of different cultures, and I was excited to learn them.”
Eighth-grader Anna Simms attended her fourth OAKE National Conference this year and cites the chance to work with different guest conductors as one of her favorite parts of the conference experience. Simms’ voice caught the ear of the judicators as being particularly mature, and she was given the opportunity to “sing up,” joining the National Concert Treble Choir, usually reserved for high schoolers. “This year’s experience was especially exciting for me because it was my first time singing in the high school treble choir,” says Simms. “It was inspiring to sing more challenging music and work with such talented singers from different schools.”
Bella Messenger, currently in her sophomore year at Concord High School, was one of the senior-most members of the CCMS clan. She started attending the OAKE festival as a fourth-grader, making this year’s trip to Chicago her seventh time taking part in the event. A big reason for her continued participation is the mentorship she received from older students when she was first getting involved, and the chance to pay it forward as an experienced festivalgoer. “The older students were such great role models and included me in many activities,” recalls Messenger. “OAKE is special because you create significant relationships with the students from CCMS that you travel with, as well as with singers from all over the country.”
Leading the group of CCMS participants was faculty and Kodály Certified Instructor Maria Isaak. As director of the Music’s School’s Purple Finches Youth Choir, Isaak started bringing students to the OAKE National Choir Festival in 2004 and has overseen a steady stream of festival participants in the years since. She not only prepares and accompanies the students, but she also attends the conference that coincides with the choir festival, engaging with and learning from Kodály teachers from around the country. “The conferences have four or five presenters every hour, so you get to choose who to listen to and the sessions are usually hands-on and participatory. I bring lots of the ideas I learned from the sessions back to my classroom,” says Isaak.
The Kodály Method was developed by Hungarian composer and musician Zoltán Kodály in the 1930s and is a comprehensive program to train basic musical skills and teach the reading and writing of music. Key components of the method are the emphasis of folk music as a learning tool, the utilization of solfege in music education, and the belief that the voice is the most natural instrument that every person possesses.
Isaak started exploring the Kodály method in 1995 as a student teacher at a high school in San Francisco and attended her first OAKE National Conference in 2000. After earning her Kodály Specialist Certificate from the International School for Kodály Studies in Hungary, she committed to integrating the Kodály method in most of her teaching roles, including as director of the Purple Finches. “I witnessed third graders singing three-part harmonies and playing recorders simultaneously – they were responding to solfege and absolute pitch names,” recalls Isaak of her first exposure to the Kodály method. “I had never seen kids able to read music so well in a classroom setting.”
Students were selected to participate in this year’s festival based on recorded auditions that were submitted digitally in the fall. Acceptance messages were delivered just before Thanksgiving, allowing participants to get travel arrangements in order and ample lead time to learn the demanding musical selections. Through January and February, Isaak led weekly sessions with accepted singers to go through the concert repertoire and help build confidence heading into the performance. “Maria was really helpful preparing us for auditions and performances, helping us fully learn our parts and leaving the fine-tuning to the conductors,” notes Simms.
“Maria has been such an amazing teacher my whole life – she is constantly supporting her students while also letting us learn things for ourselves,” agrees Messenger.
Attending the Choir Festival represents a sizeable commitment, both from the participants and their families. Between travel expenses, accommodations, pre-festival rehearsals and time away from school, the logistics of participating can be daunting. But the experience of meeting new people, both peers and directors, and having the opportunity to sing in such a storied venue makes it all worth it. “The OAKE choir is special because it brings together singers from many different backgrounds,” says Simms. “My favorite part is getting to work with the different guest conductors and how powerful the choir sounds when everyone sings together.”
“The fancy hotel, making a bunch of friends, getting to sing every day in a big group and exploring Chicago made it really special,” says Selesnick.
While the National Conference has rotated locations in the past, OAKE has committed to holding its biggest annual event in Chicago through the end of the decade. And with that in mind, previous participants and future hopefuls at CCMS will continue circling early March on their calendars as a time they may be able to pack their bags for a trip to the Windy City.
Back row (L to R): Anna Simms, Julian Acsadi, Evelyn Cohen, Clara Selesnick, Maria Isaak (director), Hewie Pollard Messenger, Avigayil Fleurant Front Row (L to R): Eowyn Lehrhaupt, Bella Messenger, Audrey Clendenning, Zephyra Lehrhaupt