International Federation for Choral Music

What does it mean to be a conductor in today’s changing world?

Join this IFCM Online Café as we explore how leadership, artistry, and expectations are evolving in choral music and beyond.

An open exchange of ideas, experiences, and perspectives awaits conductors, singers, educators, and all those interested in the future of choral leadership.

This inspiring discussion will also offer another inspiring glimpse into the World Symposium on Choral Music 2026 (WSCM 2026) and some of the voices you will hear in Macau in August 2026.

JOIN our guests for this engaging Online Café on leadership, artistry, and expectations in a changing world.

• Ieva Krivickaitė (Lithuania): Choir Communication and Public Relations
• Brian Murray (USA): Less is More: Economizing Your Conducting Gesture
• Ryan Sullivan (USA): Reimagining Conductor Health

This IFCM Online Café, moderated by IFCM board member Ki Adams (Canada), is open to anyone. Register here.

Biographies and Presentation Summaries

Ieva Krivickaitė (Lithuania) is a culture management and communication professional from Vilnius, Lithuania. The focus of her work is choral singing and the tradition of Lithuanian Song Celebrations. She is currently the head of communication at the Lithuanian Youth Song Celebration, vice principal at “Ugnele” music school - the only private choral school in the country, - and manager at mixed choir “Sonoros”. Additionally, Ieva enjoys challenging herself with managing international collaboration initiatives and serves as an expert at the Lithuanian Council for Culture. The main long-term goal of Ieva’s work is to significantly contribute to increasing the number of Lithuanians participating in collective singing activities.

Choir Communication and Public Relations

This lecture will invite its participants to imagine a future where singing in a choir is trendy. Drawing on the experience of a small European country of Lithuania, where traditional Song Celebrations are performed by a choir of 12 thousand singers, the lecture will offer ways to make collective singing more visible. Participants will walk away with a doable list of initiatives they can take to elevate the public image of their choirs, attract more members and more audiences.

Brian C. Murray (USA) is the Director of Choral Activities & Assistant Professor of Music at the University of Wyoming. At UW, he leads a program of six choral ensembles as well as graduate studies in choral conducting. In addition to individual concerts, the UW Choirs frequently perform choral masterworks including Brahms’ Ein deutsches Requiem (2022), Hagenberg’s Illuminare (2023), Mozart’s Requiem in d minor (2024), & Orff’s Carmina Burana (2025). Notably, in 2024 the UW Singing Statesmen gave invited performances for the Wyoming Music Educators Association & Northwest American Choral Directors Association. Dr. Murray has presented interest sessions for state, divisional, & international choral conferences & he has published in ChorTeach & the Choral Journal. He is a frequent clinician, adjudicator, & guest conductor, & has led professional engagements in 15 states as well as Canada, the Czech Republic, & South Korea.

Less is More: Economizing Your Conducting Gesture

Economy-sized seats, cars, and luggage can often be exasperating, but a sense of minimalism in your choral conducting gesture can exhilarate your rehearsals and performances. Bigger conducting isn’t always better; often less communicates more. Session attendees will explore the psychology of conducting and the application of economical conducting to preparatory gestures, stance, hinges, and use of planes. Through discussion and practice, attendees will reimagine how they can communicate non-verbally with greater nuance and ease of physical conducting. Through subtlety and refinement, conductors can express their musical ideas and empower their singers to create a collaborative environment together.

Ryan Sullivan (USA) is the Director of Choral Activities at Arkansas State University. Under his direction, the university choirs have appeared at the Lisbon International Music Festival (2023), the Music by Women Festival (2025), and concert series across Germany (2026). He has commissioned and debuted many choral works and conducted North American opera premieres of Coronide (Zouhar) and Le mariage d’Antonio (Grétry). Sullivan is a leading expert in the field of conductor injury and involved in other research related to musician health. He is a frequent clinician and adjudicator nationally and has been a guest teaching artist across the United States and Germany. He is an advocate for new music and a scholar of early music performance. Sullivan holds a D.M.A. from the University of North Texas and a M.M. from Texas Tech University.

Reimagining Conductor Health

Conductors face high rates of injury and stress, yet few resources exist to support their health. This session introduces the first-ever occupational health guidelines developed specifically for choral conductors, created in collaboration between choral conductors and medical researchers. Attendees will explore practical strategies—stretches, warm-ups, environmental and rehearsal adaptations, as well as movement techniques—that connect health to stronger musical outcomes. Join us for this unique opportunity to be among the first to engage with these groundbreaking guidelines and reimagine a more sustainable, healthier future for the choral conducting profession.