CHORAL READING SESSION 1: HIGH SCHOOL
Clinician(s): Marciel Riley
Ma Ricel Riley is the Vocal and Choral Activities Director of Los Gatos High School and the Artistic Director of A Sharp Chorus, a Chinese Community Choir based in Los Altos, California. Mrs. Riley made her international conducting debut with the Los Gatos High School Choirs in England, participating in the Harrogate International Festival in 2014. She made her Carnegie Hall conducting debut in 2023, also with the Los Gatos High School Choirs. Her Treble Choir was selected as a featured ensemble at the California Choral Directors Association All-State Conference in San Jose, California, in 2018 and at CASMEC in Sacramento in January 2025. Choirs under her direction have consistently earned Unanimous Superior ratings at the CMEA Large Ensemble Festival, along with Gold and First place honors at the World Strides Heritage Festivals. Her ensembles have also been chosen to perform at the CMEA State Choral Festival in 2023 and in the Spring of 2026. Additionally, her choirs have been invited to perform at prestigious venues throughout Europe, including a special invitation for her community choir to sing at High Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City. They have also performed at two international choral festivals in Italy. Her Treble Choir will be featured at the WACDA Conference in March 2026 in San Jose, California. Mrs. Riley earned her Bachelor of Education in Music, Physical Education, and Health, graduating cum laude in 1991 from the University of San Agustin in the Philippines. She was awarded recognition for her outstanding doctoral dissertation, an experimental study entitled “”The Effects of the Gestalt-Centered Approach in the Learning of Students in Music,”” from the University of St. La Salle, Philippines. She served as a professor for 11 years in the College of Education at the same university and received the Most Outstanding Mentor Award in 1998 for her exemplary contributions as an educator. Mrs. Riley is an active member of the California Music Educators Association, the National Association for Music Education, and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
All choral reading session music will be in a digital packet on JW Pepper’s ePrint platform. NO Books are provided. Attendees are strongly encouraged to bring an iPad, tablet, or other device to use to log into the JW Pepper app and read from during the reading session.