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CSULA professor to travel to Costa Rica
Belan to teach conducting pedagogy at
Los Angeles, CA --
William L.
Belan,
an emeritus professor of music at
Cal State L.A.,
has recently been honored with a 2012-13 Fulbright award to Costa
Rica for six months.
As a Fulbright Scholar, Belan (Monterey Park resident) will
present workshops on conducting pedagogy at the University of Costa
Rica, in the capitol of San José, and then teach choral conductors who
work for Sistema Nacional de Educación Musical (SINEM), a national
social music program.
“The SINEM conductors/teachers are responsible for leading
choirs in rural areas of the country of Costa Rica,” said Belan. “In
many cases the directors are trained in disciplines other than choral
conducting, so my teaching provides them with a formal pedagogy from
which to work.”
He will also be developing a formal network to better connect
the conductors with materials, and each other, in order to build an
active resource and online community for their work.
“As an emeritus professor this certainly brings general
recognition to my career in choral music, and more specifically, my work
in Costa Rica,” noted Belan. “I have been invited to Costa Rica on more
than 40 occasions to teach, conduct and consult to the country’s choral
development. So, it feels very satisfying to receive this recognition. I
am grateful to Cal State L.A. for the ongoing support I have received
throughout my tenure to do such work in Costa Rica.”
Belan is one of approximately 1,100 U.S. faculty and
professionals who will travel abroad through the Fulbright U.S. Scholar
Program, organized by the United States Department of State and the J.
William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board.
“This award also begins a new chapter in my professional life
that I expect will nurture personal development and lead to greater
service to my craft and the people I serve,” explained Belan. “There is
no more visible international program than the Fulbright organization,
so I am truly honored to be selected for this award.”
At CSULA, Belan also directs the Roger Wagner Center for
Choral Studies, and teaches conducting, literature and graduate
projects. He is a founding director of the Three Summer Master of Music
in Choral Conducting at CSULA, recognized as one of the premiere
master’s programs of choral conducting in the country.
In addition, Belan serves as the national chair for research
and publications for the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA).
Last month, he participated in a national ACDA/ Library of Congress
symposium on American choral music, entitled “The Search For An American
Style,” in Washington, D.C.
Belan has published more than 150 choral editions of Latin
American music in print, as well as three books, including a new
publication on Latin-American rhythms. Belan continues to conduct
regularly in concert and honor choir settings.
The Fulbright Program, sponsored by the U.S. Department of
State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, is the U.S.
government’s flagship international exchange program and is supported by
the people of the United States and partner countries around the world.
For further information about the Fulbright Program or the U.S.
Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, please
visit the website at
http://fulbright.state.gov/grants/scholar-program/us-citizen.html.
# # #
as a Fulbright Scholar
the University of Costa
Rica, SINEM
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