Festival: April 10-11, 2026
This two-day event, located at Plymouth United Church of Christ in Des Moines, IA, brings together singers from throughout the state for an exciting time of learning and fun. An internationally known choral composer serves as the in-residence clinician and conductor for the event.
The composer's own music is the focus of the festival. Our guest composer works with students throughout each day of the festival, and at the end of the day, the singers deliver a public concert. The featured clinician for our 2026 Meet the Composer Festival is Andy Beck. The concerts will include the world premiere of a newly composed work by Mr. Beck which was commissioned by Heartland Youth Choir for this year’s Festival.
Individual singers can register for the Festival Choir at the link below. The Festival Choir is open to singers grades 4-8 with treble (unchanged) voices. Singers will rehearse in the afternoon, and participate in a mass choir performance of 2 pieces on the concert.
For the 2026 Festival, Friday’s concert will feature high school choirs. Saturday’s concert will feature treble choir singers in grades 4 - 8 including singers from three Heartland Youth Choir ensembles, amongst other visiting choirs, and individual singers participating in the Festival Choir.
To register your school, church, or community choir to participate in the 2026 Meet the Composer Festival, please click on the link below. The registration fee for this year’s Festival is $350 per choir.
Past composers at this event include: Jim Papoulis (2008), Stephen Hatfield (2009), Mark Sirett (2010), Z. Randall Stroope (2011), Paul Caldwell (2012), Sean Ivory (2012), Jay Broeker (2014), Dr. Rollo Dilworth (2015), Andrea Ramsey (2016), Ken Berg (2017), Elaine Hagenberg (2018), Jacob Narverud (2019), Tom Shelton (2022), Laura Farnell (2023), Victor C. Johnson (2024), and LeeAnn Starkey (2025).
Heartland Youth Choir
Phone: 515-221-3922
Email: office@heartlandyouthchoir.org
Andy Beck is the Director of Choral Publications at Alfred Music. A prolific composer and arranger, he has over 450 popular choral works, vocal resources, and children’s musicals currently in print, including the highly regarded method books Sing at First Sight, Foundations in Choral Sight Singing and Vocalize! 45 Vocal Warm-Ups That Teach Technique. A quick search on YouTube will confirm that Andy's music is performed by singers worldwide.
Mr. Beck is in demand as a guest conductor, choreographer, adjudicator, and clinician for music educators and students throughout the United States and beyond. In recent years, he has been a commissioned composer and/or guest conductor for honor choirs of all ages, including all-state groups throughout the Southeast.
A fine tenor, Andy enjoys performing in and directing musical theatre, singing with the North Carolina Master Chorale Chamber Choir, and has been an Alfred Music studio singer since 1992.
With a Bachelor's degree in Music Education from Ithaca College and a Masters degree in Music Education from Northwest Missouri State University, Mr. Beck is fully committed to arts education, music literacy, and choral artistry. This passion is evident, not only in his own writing, but also in the high-quality publications available through the catalog he cultivates for Alfred Music.