“We were all asking ourselves, ‘what can we do to counter this, what’s happening in the world? How can I help my singers understand and navigate what is happening in our country right now?’ I made this huge shift in my thinking about what choral music should be and why we should be doing it. It's not just ‘what are you singing and is it gorgeous?’ but ‘how are you making a difference? How are you impacting the world?’”

Dr. Joy Hirokawa is the Artistic/Executive Director of the Mosaic Youth Chorus, established in 2023 to provide an opportunity for diverse youth to create community, build empathy, and affect positive social change through artistic and expressive choral singing. She is a passionate advocate for giving youth voice through the choral medium and is nationally recognized as a leader in youth choral music. She earned a Doctor of Musical Arts in Music Education from Boston University, and both a Master’s degree in Choral Conducting and a Bachelor’s degree with honors in Music Education from Temple University in Philadelphia, PA. Dr. Hirokawa has taught at all levels from K – Post Grad and frequently appears as a clinician and guest conductor. She is a published author and arranger of choral music. She was the ACDA National Repertoire and Resources Chair for Children & Community Youth Choirs from 2019 – 2025. Mosaic Youth Chorus was awarded the Chorus America 2025 Education and Community Engagement Award.

To get in touch with Joy, you can visit the Mosaic Youth Chorus website or Facebook page (@mosaicyouth) or email her at joy@mosaicyouthchorus.org.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

“My mantra for my teaching is: I want to create good humans while also creating good musicians. I tell every ensemble that on the first day of school. What they care about is 'Does Mr. Brown see me? Does he value me? Does he care for me?' Then they'll start singing. I care more about the human heart than I care about the perfection of the music. Yes, I care about the music, but if my students aren't in the right mental headspace, then the music won't come.”

Jeremy Brown is serving his third year at McKinney Boyd as the associate director of choirs. He conducts Lyric and Meistersingers as well as instructs the AP Music Theory course. Before Boyd, he was the associate director of choirs at Haltom High School in Birdville Independent School District. Choirs under the direction of Jeremy Brown have received consistent superior and excellent ratings at UIL Choir Evaluations. He is a product of great choral music, graduating Magna Cum Laude from the Texas Tech School of Music.

Mr. Brown is passionate about choral music education and conducting. He has served as a clinician and adjudicator throughout the DFW Metroplex. In 2020 he served as a student conductor for the 2020 Summer TCDA Convention Choral Conducting Workshop. Also, he served as a conducting fellow for the Atlanta Summer Choral Conducting Institute in Summer 2022. Along with conducting, Mr. Brown performs in three choral ensembles in the DFW area- Brothers in Song, Orpheus Chamber Singers and New American Voices.

In 2025, Mr. Brown published an article within the TMEA Southwestern Musician Magazine titled Emotional Intelligence in Tenor Bass Choirs. Within this article, he provided insight into the tenor-bass choral experience. Mr. Brown is a proud member of TMEA, ACDA and Phi Mu Alpha. Mr. Brown currently resides in Dallas with his wife Nikki.

To get in touch with Jeremy, you can find him on Facebook (@jeremy.brown.797432) or Instagram (@jbrown_legend) or search for McKinney Boyd Choir on Facebook or Instagram (@BoydChoirs).

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

Podcast music from Podcast.co
Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

“Start with the way that you structure your rehearsal, your classroom, your feedback. In terms of feedback, we talk about not giving people more than three pieces of information to work on. Working memory is affected by ADHD in particular. ‘Here's what you're doing well, here's what you can improve on, here's how you can improve it.’ That structure helps with their ability to anticipate what you're going to say and quickly implement that into their own music making.”

Dr. Peter Haley serves as Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Ohio University, where he conducts the Ohio University Singers and Singing Men of Ohio and teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting, choral literature, and music education. He previously spent seven years as a high school choir director in North Carolina where his students were consistently chosen for honor choirs on the local, state, and regional level, while being immersed in a program that stressed collaborative music-making and artistic excellence.

Dr. Haley’s research interests include pedagogy for neurodivergent learners in the choral rehearsal, and Arvo Pärt’s sacred choral music. He has been invited to present at state and regional ACDA and MEA conferences and served as a clinician or adjudicator in Alabama, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina. He has served as a pastoral musician for Baptist, Presbyterian, Reformed Jewish, and United Methodist congregations and held leadership roles on the Executive Board of the Presbyterian Association of Musicians and the Southern Region Conference of the American Choral Directors Association.

Dr. Haley holds the Doctor of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of South Carolina, as well as a B.A. in Music from Wingate University and an M.M. in Church Music from Samford University. He has the honor of being the second-best teacher in his house, behind his wife, Ashley, and is a proud parent to Patrick and Libby Kay.

To get in touch with Peter, you can e-mail him at pahaley@ohio.edu or find him on Instagram: (@peterallenhaley).

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

Podcast music from Podcast.co
Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson