Festival di Voce

Michael Lysinger currently serves as Artist Liaison for the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and as Chorus Administrator for the Dallas Symphony Chorus. Prior to these positions, he taught choral music in Texas public schools for 30 years. For the last 14 years, he was Head Choral Director at J. J. Pearce High School and for five years directed the Youth Choir at First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas. Michael also taught at Plano East Senior High School, Jersey Village High School (Houston), North Shore High School (Houston) and Bradley Middle School (San Antonio). For six seasons, he was the Artistic Director of the Houston Boychoir.

Choirs under his direction have appeared at the 2008 and 1996 Texas Music Educators Convention, the 2001 American Choral Directors Convention and at the 2010 Southwest Convention of the American Choral Directors. He has prepared his choruses for performances with the Houston Symphony, the University of Houston Choruses and the UH Opera. His choirs have toured throughout the USA and abroad to Austria, Hungary, France, The Netherlands, Italy and Mexico. In competition, Michael’s choirs earn consistently high ratings and awards for their performances. As a member of TMEA, he has served as Region Chair, Area Chair, Region Choir Organizer and as a section leader for the All-State Choir. In 2013, Michael was selected as STARS Teacher of the Year for Pearce High School. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas and is a member of ACDA, TMEA, TCDA and TMAA. Michael has two children, Abby, a vocal performance major at University of Michigan and Zach, a 9^th grader in Plano ISD.

Kristina MacMullen serves as an Associate Professor of Choral Conducting at the University of North Texas where she conducts the University Singers, Kalandra, and instructs both undergraduate and graduate students in conducting and rehearsal pedagogy. Prior to her appointment at UNT, Kristina spent eight years on the faculty of The Ohio State University. While at OSU, her interdisciplinary work earned her the Sir William Osler Award for Humanism in Medicine.

MacMullen believes that great potential lies in choral performance and creative communication. She strives to guide her students, as they desire to impact the world they will inherit for the better. Creative projects include interdisciplinary performances addressing human trafficking, the Kubler-Ross stages of grief, play theory, Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, female archetype exploration, American song, civic engagement, and the nature of tears.

As an active adjudicator and clinician, MacMullen has conducted All-State and honors choirs throughout the United States. She has presented and co-presented interest sessions at state, regional, national and international conferences. Recent and upcoming engagements involve students in New Mexico, Michigan, South Carolina, Kansas, Montana, North Dakota, and Texas. Her teaching and conducting is featured on the DVD Conducting-Teaching: Real World Strategies for Success published by GIA (2009). Her editions for treble choir are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Musicatus Press, and MusicSpoke.

MacMullen earned both the Bachelor of Music Education and Master of Music degrees from Michigan State University. She completed the Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Texas Tech University. Kristina has enjoyed a diverse career as a public-school teacher, interacting with students in rural, suburban, and urban settings, elementary through high school. She also sings with the professional ensemble Mirabai.