The development of functional reading skills through ear training and the development of sight-singing skills for novice choirs can sometimes be a challenge for new directors, especially those who lead developing programs. However, ear training through solfege, rote observation, and simple notation exercises can be incorporated into most class meetings if it is part of the lesson plan. This session will focus on ear training and practical ways of incorporating notational literacy into the choral classroom. Participants should leave the session with strategies that will help them incorporate basic notational literacy into choral lesson plans.
Target Audience
HIgh School Choir, Middle School Choir, Elementary Choir
Additional Notes
Clinician Info
Nicolas Alberto Dosman
UC Davis
Dr. Nicolás Alberto Dosman is Director of Choirs, Associate Professor of teaching at the University of California Davis (UC Davis) and Barbara Jackson Chair in Choral Conducting. He is the conductor of the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers and mentors graduate conducting students. Dosman is also the Music Director of the Grammy nominated Pacific Edge Voices.
Dosman has worked with singers from a variety of backgrounds, skill level, and ages and has a track record of rehabilitating, revitalizing, and expanding developing choral programs. He has held positions as a collegiate choral director, church musician, community choir director, and K-12 educator.
Prior to his appointment at UC Davis, he was associate professor of music-choral conducting and Director of Choral Studies at the University of Southern Maine (USM), Osher School of Music. Under his leadership, the USM Chamber Singers performed at the 2022 American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) Eastern Region Conference and the Osher Choral Union at the University of Southern Maine made its Carnegie Hall debut. In 2023, USM Chamber Singers tied for 3rd place for the American Prize in choral performance.
In addition to his academic responsibilities, Dosman frequently guest conducts honor choirs and All-State choruses as well as adjudicates choral festivals. As a choral professional, Dosman has served as the Chorus Master for the Portland Symphony Orchestra’s Magic of Christmas series and was Chorus Master for Opera Maine. On the international stage, he was a headliner at the Encuentro Latinoamericano de Música Coral in the Republic of Panama, the Canta Cantemus Festival Chorus in Mexico. Under his direction, the UC Davis Choirs made the Austrian premier the André Thomas Mass and will make their Carnegie Hall debut in 2026 performing Rosephanye Powell’s Cry of Jeremiah. He has presented his research internationally most recently at the Athens Institute for Research Education STEAM conference.
Prior to his career in academia, he was the director of Casita Sings Children’s Chorus (Bronx, NY). He formally began his teaching career at a Title I middle school in the Miami-Dade County public schools and subsequently taught high school within that school district. Dr. Dosman is the author of Growing Your Choral Program: A Practical Guide for New Directors (2024) published by Bloomsbury. He currently resides in Sacramento, California.