Ardelle Ries, DMus, MMus, BMus, Associate Professor/Music
An Associate Professor of Music at the University of Alberta Augustana Faculty, Ardelle teaches musicianship, theory, conducting, and choral literature classes. She conducted The Augustana Choir for a decade and founded Mannskor: Augustana’s Men’s Choir in 2006. A staunch advocate for Canadian choral music, Ardelle has commissioned and premiered new choral works from established and emerging Canadian composers that The Augustana Choir has performed in national and international settings. With a strong musical and pedagogical foundation established at the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute in Hungary, Ardelle has been on faculty as an aural musicianship specialist at the Kecskemét Kodály Conservatory, the 2005 International Kodály Seminar, Wilfrid Laurier University, the University of Calgary, and the University of Alberta Faculty of Education. Her dissertation, The Child Voice: A Social Context was nominated for a Governor General’s Dissertation award in 2004 and again in 2005 for the Association of Canadian Choral Conductor’s Dissertation Award. Current research projects include choral improvisation as well as the history and current practice of Kodály-based education in Canada. Ardelle served on the board of the Alberta Choral Federation and was the 2013 recipient of the Richard S. Eaton Award of Distinction in recognition of exemplary service to choral music in the province of Alberta. Ardelle is an advisor for the Alberta Kodály Association, serves on the board of directors for the Kodály Society of Canada, and was the chair of the Singing the Circle: International Kodály Symposium 2017 organizational committee.