UCC Musicians Association upcoming events

Improving Congregational Singing: Best Practices (May 30, 2026)

Sat, 30 May 2026 17:00:00 GMT

Please note: This session will take place at 1 pm ET / 10 am PT

SATURDAY SHARING

Improving Congregational Singing: Best Practices

Guest: Brian Hehn, Director of SING! The Center for Congregational Song, an outreach of The Hymn Society
Host: Amanda Udis-Kessler, UCCMA Board Member for Education and DEI

Brian Hehn joins Amanda in a free-flowing conversation about how to cultivate good singing in your congregation. Brian will share resources along the way. Questions are always welcome.

Brian Hehn is an inspiring song-leader equally comfortable leading an acapella singing of “It Is Well” as he is drumming and dancing to “Sizohamba Naye.” Experienced using a variety of genres and instrumentations, he has led worship for Baptists, Roman Catholics, United Methodists, Presbyterians, and many more across the U.S. and Canada. He received his Bachelor of Music Education from Wingate University, his Master of Sacred Music from Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University, and is certified in children’s church music (K-12) by Choristers Guild. He has articles published on sacred music and congregational song in multiple journals and co-authored two books under the title “All Hands In” published by Choristers Guild. While working for The Hymn Society as the Director of The Center for Congregational Song he also serves as adjunct professor of church music at Wingate University in Wingate, North Carolina.

Saturday Sharing is an occasional free, one-hour conversation on ZOOM. All are welcome. Saturday, May 30, 2026 at a new time of 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT

Please register for the event to receive the Zoom link.

Can't attend? Register anyway and we'll send you a link to the recording.

UCCMA Conference 2026: United in Spirit, Diverse in Sound (July 08, 2026)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Hint: To start the registration process, click on the red button first.

Join us in person for workshops, worship services, concerts and networking with your colleagues. We will be hosted by the First Community Church of Columbus, Ohio, a Disciples of Christ and United Church of Christ congregation. From Wednesday evening through the Saturday morning closing worship service, we provide a plethora of activities that will enhance your music skills and give you resources and ideas for new ways of expressing God's Spirit in these challenging times.

For complete conference information go to Conference 2026.

Registration and payment Information:

Pricing includes all events plus continental breakfast, lunch and dinner. For cancellations, refunds are available until June 24, 2026 minus a $25 processing fee. After that date refunds cannot be guaranteed. Contact the registrar, Jim Boratko, at registrar@uccma.org for help.

To receive members' rates, UCCMA members must log in with the email address we have on file and your password. DOC/ADM members should register using the registration code supplied to you. If you do not have the code, contact Brad Burnham.

Forgot your password? You can reset it when you log in.

If you wish to pay by check, select the invoice option. It will be immediately emailed to you with instructions on how to pay.

Questions? Write to Jim Boratko, Registrar, at registrar@uccma.org.

UCCMA 2026: Local Singers & Ringers Choir Tracks (July 08, 2026)

Wed, 08 Jul 2026 20:00:00 GMT

Sing and Ring with the Conference 2026 Choirs

The United Church of Christ Musicians Association (UCCMA) invites interested local singers and handbell ringers to join the choral or handbell choirs at Conference 2026, our biennial national conference of worship, workshops and concerts for church musicians. This is a great opportunity to sing under the direction of our choral clinician, Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt or ring with our handbell expert Jarod Ogier. There are five rehearsals and a performance at the closing worship service on Saturday at 11:00 AM. Handbell and choir rehearsals are at the same time. You will be joining conference attendees and helping to fill out both choirs as well as learning from our experts.

Dates: Wednesday through Saturday, July 8 to 11, 2026

Location: First Community Church, North Campus, 3777 Dublin Rd., Columbus, Ohio

Cost: $25 includes music. (Does not include meals.)

By registering, you agree to attend all rehearsals and perform in the closing worship service.

Rehearsal Schedule:

Wednesday at 4:00 PM – Rehearsal
Thursday at 10:55 AM – Rehearsal
Thursday at 3:20 PM - Rehearsal
Friday at 10:55 AM – Rehearsal
Friday at 3:20 PM – Rehearsal
Saturday at 9:45 AM – Choral Choir Dress Rehearsal
Saturday at 10:15 AM – Handbell Choir Dress Rehearsal
Saturday at 11:00 AM – Closing Worship Service

Other options: Check out the conference offerings! If you would like to attend Dr. Apfelstadt’s interest session on Canadian choral music on Friday or Jarod Ogier's workshop on Thursday or other conference events, you are welcome to register to attend a full day or two. Meals are included for those days. However, you still need to return here to sign up for the choir as well. This is a separate event for registration purposes.

If you opt to attend the entire conference, then the choral and handbell choirs are included in your registration fee and you won’t need to sign up here.

We welcome your participation at any level!

Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt is Professor Emerita of Choral Studies at the University of Toronto where she held the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting. From 2013 – 2018, she was artistic director of Exultate Chamber Singers, a semi-professional ensemble in Toronto. After retiring from U of T, she served as Interim Executive Director of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) for a year. Previous full-time university teaching appointments in the U.S. were at the Ohio State University and the University of North Carolina at Greensboro.

A native Canadian, she has led her university choirs in performances at ACDA conferences and at Podium, the national professional conference of Choral Canada. She has guest conducted numerous honors choruses and festivals throughout North America and internationally, including 40 all-state choirs and the National Youth Choir of Canada. Her teaching experiences range from public school to community ensembles to church choirs. She has worked in Lutheran, Episcopal, United Church of Canada, and United Methodist Churches, including Linworth UMC in Columbus where she was Director of Music for 14 years. She has presented at the Alleluia conference at Baylor University, at three Summer Institute for Church Music conferences in Canada, and at the Duke University Sacred Choral Clinic in North Carolina.

Jarod Ogier has been ringing and directing handbells for nearly 20 years. He was introduced to bells as an undergraduate music assistant at North Broadway United Methodist Church in Columbus, under the direction of Carol Ann Bradley. Since then, he’s been a member of two community ensembles, served on the board of Area 5, Handbell Musicians of America (OH State Chair and Area Chair), and participated in further training and advanced ringing opportunities at many HMA National Seminars. Jarod is the Artistic Director of Columbus Rings; an auditioned community handbell ensemble composed of ringers from all over Central Ohio.