About the Clinician
Jessica Nápoles is an associate professor of choral music education and conductor of the Concert Choir and interim chair of the Division of Conducting and Ensembles. A native of Florida with a Cuban-American background, Dr. Nápoles taught middle school chorus in the public schools of Miami and Orlando, FL. She received her bachelor of music education, master of music education, and PhD in music education from the Florida State University under the tutelage of Judy Bowers, Cliff Madsen, and André Thomas. Prior to her appointment at UNT, she taught at the University of Utah for 11 years in a similar hybrid teaching position, also serving as Director of Undergraduate Studies.
Dr. Nápoles is currently serving on the Steering Committee as Assistant Conference Chair for the national conference of the American Choral Directors Association where she previously served as Honor Choir Coordinator.
Dr. Nápoles is an active conductor, clinician, and adjudicator, frequently engaging in guest conducting opportunities locally, regionally, and nationally. She has conducted All-State and honor choirs in California, Delaware, Florida, Idaho, Maine, Massachusetts, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and Utah, as well as Southern division and Western division honor choirs for the ACDA.
In addition, she is a well known researcher, with numerous publications in journals such as the Journal of Research in Music Education, Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Journal of Music Teacher Education, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, and the International Journal of Music Education. She is currently serving a 6-year term on the editorial boards of the Journal of Research in Music Education, the premier research journal in music education, and the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, the ACDA research journal. Her research interests include music teacher education, teacher feedback, perceptions of effective teaching, and teacher talk; she has presented at conferences on these topics nationally and internationally.
