Ep. 11 - Rebuilding a Culture of Singing - Amanda Sprague Hanzlik

"Let's celebrate the choral art form in all of its varieties. What you do does not have to look like everyone else. Your choir and your community are going to look and feel and sound very different than other communities."Amanda Hanzlik is the Director of Choral Activities at Edwin O. Smith High School in Storrs, Connecticut. She currently serves as Immediate Past-President of the Connecticut Chapter of The American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and was a Semifinalist for the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator Award.  Mrs. Hanzlik is co-chair of the Connecticut CMEA High School All-State Choirs and is a member of the Interest Sessions & Insight Choirs subcommittee for the 2023 ACDA National Conference. Mrs. Hanzlik frequently appears as a clinician and ensemble conductor for regional and all-state music festivals. Under her direction, The E.O. Smith Chamber Singers performed as a Selected Choir at the 2020 ACDA Eastern Regional Conference in Rochester, NY - and in 2016 and 2019, were featured as the Connecticut CMEA Conference High School Showcase Choral Ensemble. 2021-2022 marks Mrs. Hanzlik’s 23rd year as a music educator, teaching in K-12, early childhood, college, community and senior-citizen ensembles, in both urban and rural settings. Amanda Hanzlik is a graduate of the University of Iowa and Teachers College, Columbia University. She resides in Storrs, CT, with her husband, Louis Hanzlik, and their children, Ethan and Grace. To get in touch with Amanda, you can find her on Instagram (@amandahanzlik) or on Facebook (@amanda.hanzlik).Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to get in contact with our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson from Pexels