Dr. Sylvia Munsen
Dr. Sylvia Munsen is Founder & Conductor of the Ames Children’s Choirs (ACC) program and Associate Professor and Chair of Music Education at Iowa State University (ISU). She received degrees from St. Olaf College, where she sang in the St. Olaf Choir, and the University of Illinois. In addition to studies in Dalcroze Eurhythmics, she is a certified specialist in Orff Schulwerk and Kodály. She has served on the faculty of Orff Schulwerk and Kodály Certification courses.
Active as a clinician from Iowa to national and international venues, Munsen has conducted 40 festival and honor choirs including two all-state choirs and a children’s choir festival at Carnegie Hall. She has conducted more than 100 music education workshops. Her choral arrangements are published through Kjos and Santa Barbara. Munsen developed an apprenticeship program for ISU choral music education students with the ACC program.
Munsen was a singer in and arranger for the trio, The Chenilles, which performed for four years on Garrison Keillor’s “A Prairie Home Companion.” She has developed a student teaching site for ISU in Rosendal, Norway, and is the author of Cooking the Norwegian Way. In 2004 she was given the 1st Arts Educator Award from the Ames Community Arts Council.
Misty Renze
Misty Renze has been the Co-Conductor of the ACC Chorale since 2005. She has a music education degree from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and has done additional studies in choral conducting from St. Thomas University. She taught K-12 music in Harris Lake Park and Southeast Webster Community schools (IA) and for the past 11 years has served as a substitute teacher.
Mrs. Renze served as Co-Conductor and later as Artistic Director of the Boone Community Children’s Choirs. Since 2004, she has served on the Curriculum Advisory Committee for the Madrid Public Schools and currently is the religious education children’s liturgy coordinator at St. Malachy’s Church in Madrid, Iowa.
