Joy Hirokawa

Breakout Session Speaker - Online Event

Dr. Joy Hirokawa is the Founder and Artistic Director of The Bel Canto Youth Chorus of The Bach Choir of Bethlehem. Under her direction, Bel Canto has appeared on ACDA, NAfME, and PMEA conferences, and has toured nationally and internationally. She is a passionate advocate for creating musical spaces in which youth can express themselves through the choral art as they navigate and learn about a complicated world. Dr. Hirokawa is a frequent guest conductor and clinician, has presented at ACDA, NAfME and PMEA conferences, and  has conducted numerous honor choirs nationally. On an international level, she was a judge and clinician for the 7th Bali International Choir Festival in 2018, was an invited clinician for the 2020 Hong Kong Youth Music Camp (postponed), and will be presenting at the 2022 IFCM World Choral Expo Exchange in Lisbon, Portugal. Her published choral arrangements focus on making vocal jazz accessible to young singers and authentic arrangements of culturally based music. Publications include a feature article in the April 2019 Choral Journal as well as several columns, and a book chapter included in the 2020 publication Relevance in the Choral Art: A Pathway to Connections. She is co-author of the newest volume of Inside the Choral Rehearsal: Method and Rehearsal Guide for Tom Shelton’s “Shady Grove” (in publication.) Dr. Hirokawa is the ACDA National Repertoire and Resources Chair for Children and Youth Choirs. She formerly led the music education program at Moravian College for ten years, was an adjunct instructor at Temple University, and was the Director of the Lafayette College Concert Choir. She taught in public schools for 20 years prior to teaching at the collegiate level.