A Cappella Choir at SWACDA

Dear colleagues,

It is my great pleasure to extend heartfelt congratulations to the University of North Texas A Cappella Choir on their appearance at the 2026 Southwestern Conference of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) in Albuquerque, NM. This prestigious invitation reflects the ensemble’s longstanding artistic excellence and its vital role in advancing the choral tradition at UNT.

The A Cappella Choir is the premier choral ensemble of a vibrant program comprising nine choirs. For more than 85 years, the ensemble has been shaped by distinguished conductors including Wilfred Bain, Frank McKinley, Hal Gibbons, Mel Ivey, Jerry McCoy, and its current director, Allen Hightower. The choir’s performance history is extensive, including multiple invitations to the ACDA national conferences and performance engagements across the globe. In 1966, the A Cappella Choir toured Europe under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State. Forty years later, the A Cappella Choir’s 2025 tour of the Czech Republic, Austria, and Germany culminated in a triumphant grand-prize finish at the International Chamber Choir Competition in Marktoberdorf, Bavaria. 

The 2026 SWACDA Conference promises four invigorating days of inspiring concerts, insightful sessions, and important networking among choral artists throughout the region. A Cappella Choir’s participation this year aligns brilliantly with the mission of the UNT College of Music “…to serve our diverse musical culture with excellence, integrity, and imagination.”

To all conference attendees, I wish you days filled joyful fellowship and glorious choral music. May your time in Albuquerque deepen your devotion to the transformative power of choral music.

Sincerely,

John W. Richmond, Ph.D.
Professor and Dean of the College of Music
University of North Texas

Allen Hightower is a seventh generation Texan, and resides in McKinney, Texas with his wife, Dr. Kristin Hightower and their two daughters Caroline and Julianne.  As the director of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas, Allen leads the master’s and doctoral programs in choral conducting, and oversees a comprehensive choral program of eight ensembles. Allen serves as the conductor of the UNT A Cappella Choir, and the UNT Grand Chorus which collaborates annually with the UNT Symphony Orchestra in performances of major choral-orchestral works. As a member of UNT’s Early Music faculty, he leads the vocal ensemble Vox Aquilae and its artistic partner the UNT Baroque Orchestra. 

Since arriving at UNT in 2016, the A Cappella Choir has received invitations to perform for the Texas Music Educators Association in 2020, the National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association in 2021 and 2025, and the Southwestern Division of ACDA in 2022 and 2026. Vox Aquilae and the UNT Baroque Orchestra were featured at the January 2022 conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization. In June of 2025, the A Cappella Choir won First Prize at the Marktoberdorf 19th International Chamber Choir Competition as part of an international tour of the Czech Republic, Germany, and Austria. 

As a teacher and conductor, Dr. Hightower has visited 30 states, Asia, and Europe. His students hold positions of leadership as choral conductors in public schools, colleges and universities, and churches and community choirs throughout the United States. 

Prior to his appointment at UNT, Dr. Hightower held the Weston Noble Endowed Chair in Music at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa, where he served as conductor of the renowned Nordic Choir and artistic director of Christmas at Luther. As Luther’s Director of Choral Activities, he gave leadership to a choral program that included four conductors, six choirs, and over 530 singers. Under Dr. Hightower’s direction, the Nordic Choir performed at the 2014 North Central Division of ACDA, recorded six compact discs, made annual concert tours throughout the United States, and toured Europe on two occasions.

From 2000-2010, Dr. Hightower served as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Studies at Sam Houston State University. During his tenure, the SHSU Chorale toured Europe, performed for the 2007 National Convention of the American Choral Directors Association, the 2010 Southwestern Division of ACDA, and the 2003, 2006, and 2010 conventions of the Texas Music Educators Association. His high school teaching career included tenures at Klein High School in Spring, Texas and at Odessa Permian High School in Odessa, where he led the PHS Kantorei and Satin Strings in performance at the 1996 TMEA convention. 

Outside of his work in the academic setting, Allen has served as the Artistic Director of the Houston Masterworks Chorus and Orchestra, leading an annual concert series of choral-orchestral masterworks. As a deeply committed church musician, he has served Baptist, Congregational, Methodist, and Presbyterian churches in Texas, California, and Minnesota. Allen currently serves on the music staff of Stonebriar Community Church in Frisco, Texas where he leads the Gloria Dei Youth Choir involving well over 100 student singers as part of a comprehensive children’s and youth choir program of almost 400 young musicians . He has served as the Church Music Vice-President of the Texas Choral Directors Association. Dr. Hightower was as an Adjunct Professor of Conducting at the Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. Dr. Hightower served as the interim Chorus Director of the Houston Symphony Orchestra preparing the Chorus for conductors such as Juraj Valčuha, Itzhak Perlman, Matthew Halls, and Jeannette Sorrell. Allen is the Artistic Director of the Plano Civic Chorus, a large community-based ensemble presenting four concerts annually and frequently serving as the chorus for regional orchestras including the Plano Symphony and Richardson Symphony orchestras. 

As a conducting student of the Texas choral legend Bev Henson, Allen earned his undergraduate degree in music education and piano from Sam Houston State University.  He went on to earn a master’s degree in choral conducting from the Eastman School of Music where he was a student of Baroque scholar Alfred Mann, and a master’s degree in orchestral conducting from Baylor University, where he served as assistant conductor to Stephen Heyde and accompanist to Donald Bailey and the Baylor Chamber Singers. Allen earned his doctorate in conducting from the University of California, Los Angeles, where he served as assistant conductor to Donald Neuen. Hightower pursued additional orchestral conducting studies with Jung-Ho Pak at the University of Southern California, additional choral conducting studies with Joseph Flummerfelt at Westminster Choir College, and choral-orchestral conducting with Helmuth Rilling at the Oregon Bach Festival.  After winning first prize in the graduate division of the American Choral Directors Association’s Conducting Competition in 1997, Allen served as assistant to Paul Salamunovich, conductor of the Los Angeles Master Chorale.

Born in South Korea, Dong Hyun Kang is a conductor, pianist, and educator. He is currently studying conducting in the Doctor of Musical Arts program at University of North Texas: Choral Conducting as the major area and Orchestral Conducting as the related field. In 2023, he earned his master’s degree in Choral Conducting with the related field in Orchestral Conducting at the university. As a teaching assistant, he has served various roles: Conducting Associate for A Cappella Choir and Vox Aquilae, Collaborative Pianist for A Cappella Choir, Grand Chorus, Concert Choir, Kalandra, and Camerata, and Coordinator for Grand Chorus and Conductors’ Chorus. He is also Director of Music in Flower Mound Korean Church, where he serves as a conductor for the church choir and the youth orchestra. In 2020-2021, he studied conducting and theology of music in the Master of Music in Church Music program (Conducting Concentration) at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary while shaping theological understandings on music and its related topics. In 2015-2020, he served as a conductor for the church choir and orchestra at Power Mission Baptist Church of Cincinnati. He holds memberships in International Conductors Guild, American Choral Directors Association, National Collegiate Choral Organization, Texas Choral Directors Association, and Society of Pi Kappa Lambda. His conducting teachers include Allen Hightower, Marques Garrett, David Itkin, Clay Couturiaux, Kristina MacMullen, Markand Thakar, Aik Khai Pung, Mark Gibson, Brett Scott, Annunziata Tomaro, Huan Jing, Charles Peltz, and Erica Washburn.

Kang’s musical training is extended to piano performance. He began his musical education with the piano at age 7 and first appeared in a public concert at age 15 with Seoul Symphony Orchestra in Seoul Arts Center. Since then, he has performed in various venues and won prizes in national or international competitions in South Korea and the United States. He holds degrees in piano performance from Seoul National University, Peabody Institute of the Johns Hopkins University, and University of Cincinnati and a graduate diploma from New England Conservatory of Music. He has a particular interest in the Polish composer Karol Szymanowski, which led him to present a lecture recital and produce a document on the composer’s music for his doctoral degree at University of Cincinnati. He served as a graduate assistant to teach piano for undergraduate and graduate students at the university. In his studios, he taught numerous piano students over 16 years. In 2020-2021, he was an Adjunct Professor of Piano and Staff Accompanist at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. His primary piano teachers include James Tocco, Eugene Pridonoff, Gabriel Chodos, Seth Knopp, Hyung Bae Kim, and Young-Mee Yun.