Stephen Caldwell, assistant professor of music, has been selected as an American Choral Director's Association 2018 International Conducting Exchange Fellow. He is one of six conductors chosen from a highly competitive nationwide application pool.

The fellowship program seeks to provide opportunities for the next generation of choral leaders to represent the United States as ambassadors to the world in the exchange of music, ideas, and cultures. In summer 2018, ACDA will send the ICEP fellows to Kenya for a seriese of workshops, lectures, and concerts. In turn, the ICEP fellows will host visiting international conductors from Kenya to engage in official residencies with institutions, including the University of Arkansas.

Caldwell is in his sixth year as the director of choral activities at the University of Arkansas, where he conducts the Schola Cantorum and the Women's Chorus. He is the first ACDA ICEP conducting fellow chosen from Arkansas, and the first chosen from an SEC school.

"It's a very exciting opportunity," says Caldwell. "Vocal and Choral music in Africa, specifically Kenya, is so different from what we experience in our culture. I hope to be able to bring back a fresh perspective on how music engages and unites communities, and I hope to teach some of my Kenyan collagues how to call the hogs!"