About

Dr. Micah Bland is Lecturer of Choral and Music Education at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, where he directs the Concert and Symphonic choirs, and teaches courses in choral music education and conducting. As an accomplished choral musician and educator, Bland has directed ensembles at the University of Southern California, University of Texas at San Antonio, The University of Toledo, Ranger College, James “Nikki” Rowe High School, and Gainesville Middle School, in addition to professional leadership positions in community and religious organizations.

During his three-year tenure as Director of Choral Activities at The University of Toledo, the Chamber Singers were invited to perform at the Ohio Music Education Association’s Professional Development Conference, the ensemble’s first conference invitation in twenty-eight years. At the University of Southern California (USC) Thornton School of Music, Bland served as the choral department’s Senior Teaching Assistant and Associate Conductor of the USC Chamber Singers, the university’s premier choral ensemble. His work as a conductor can be heard on their recent album, Gregorian Meditations: Choral Works of Forgotten French Masters.

Bland is an active author and clinician with nineteen articles published in academic and practitioner journals including Psychology of Music, Choral Journal, Music Educators Journal, The Choral Scholar, International Choral Magazine, The Journal of Film Music,and Tactus. His passion for music educator training led to the creation of ChoralEd, a video podcast on YouTube, which is also a monthly blog feature on the American Choral Directors Association’s (ACDA) Choral.Net. Bland currently serves ACDA as editor of the “Student Times” column for the Choral Journal and member of the Education and Communication National Standing Committee. Additional honors include first place at the Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Chorus Competition (2003) with the Vocal Majority Chorus, with whom he has recorded three albums, recipient of the Music Teaching and Learning Award from the Thornton School of Music, and first place in the ML Daniels Composition Competition.

Bland holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from the University of Southern California, a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from the University of Texas at San Antonio, and a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Music Education from Abilene Christian University. He has studied conducting with Jo-Michael Scheibe, Cristian Grases, Tram Sparks, John Silantien, Michael Scarbrough, Vance George, and Craig Hella Johnson, and choral arranging with Nick Strimple and Morten Lauridsen. He is an active member of ACDA, NAfME, NCCO, WMEA, and WCDA.

Short Bio

Dr. Micah Bland is the reason the mute button was invented.

Publications

  • Monthly blog contributor on ChoralNet, American Choral Directors Association (2022–Present).
  • Bland, Micah. “The Life and Choral Works of Jester Hairston.” Choral Journal, 66, no. 3 (2025) 16–32.
  • Bland, Micah. “A Guide to Audio Recording your Choral Ensemble.” Tactus (2025). Accepted, pending release.
  • Bland, Micah. “Preparing for a Career as a Professional Session Singer: An Interview with Sally Stevens.” Choral Journal, 65, no. 9 (2025) 35–38.
  • Bland, Micah. “Idea Bank: The Flipped Clinic.” Music Educators Journal, 111, no. 2 (2024) 14–15. https://doi.org/10.1177/00274321241296854.
  • Bland, Micah. “Jester Hairston’s Film Music Career.” The Journal of Film Music 11, no. 1 (2024) 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1558/jfm.23542.
  • Bland, Micah. “Implementing the Flipped Classroom in Collegiate Choral Methods and Conducting Courses.” The Choral Scholar and American Choral Review 61, no. 1 (2024) 30–39.
  • Bland, Micah. “The International Choral Ensembles of Hollywood Film Music.” International Choral Magazine 42, no. 1 (2023) 40–42.
  • Bland, Micah. “The Published Choral Works of John Williams.” Tactus (Fall 2022) 27–30.
  • Bland, Micah. “Your Teacher Identity.” The Chorister 33, no. 1 (2022) 6–7.
  • Bland, Micah and Eun Cho. “The effect of physical movement on observers’ perception of musical quality in a choral performance.” Psychology of Music 49, no. 6 (2021) 1449-61.
  • Bland, Micah. “Incorporating Student Creativity in the Choral Ensemble.” Tactus (Fall 2021) 32-36.
  • Bland, Micah. “Student Times: Graduate School Auditions for Choral Conductors.” Choral Journal 61 no. 1 (2020) 77-79.
  • Bland, Micah. “Mouthing the Text: The Advantages and Disadvantages.” Choral Journal 60 no. 10 (2020) 63-68
  • Bland, Micah. “Developing Appropriate Teacher-Student Relationships.” ChorTeach 12, no. 3 (2020) 7-10.
  • Shirah, Bo and Micah Bland. “The Missing Link: An Intermediate Step for Introducing New Music to Your Choir.” ChorTeach 11, no. 4 (2019) 11-13.
  • Bland, Micah, ed., Choral News 11, no. 1 (2019).
  • Bland, Micah. “Voices in your Head: A Method for Teaching Audiation in the Secondary Choral Classroom.” ChorTeach 10, no. 4 (2018) 5-7.
  • Bland, Micah. “Changing the Expressionless Faces that Sing in Your Choirs.” ChorTeach 9, no. 3 (2017) 4-7.
    • Reprinted in Choral Journal, September 2017, pp. 59-64.

Discography

  • Gregorian Meditations: Choral Works of Forgotten French Masters Desenclos and Langlais (2021), University of Southern California Thornton Chamber Singers, Centaur Records Inc., Conductor and Chorus Member
  • Michael John Trotta: Light Shines in the Darkness (2018), Pasion & Eric Posada, Hampton Roads Music Group, Recording Engineer
  • Come, Ye Thankful People, Come (2008), Abilene Christian University Alumni Chorus, Chorus Member
  • You Raise Me Up (2005), The Vocal Majority Chorus, Chorus Member
  • The Vocal Majority with Strings Volume II (2004), The Vocal Majority Chorus, Chorus Member
  • VM X: 10 Gold Medal Contest Performances (2003), The Vocal Majority Chorus, Chorus Member