Choir Festivals

Abby Martinez

Abby Martinez is a teacher, performer, clinician, and conductor from Grand Junction, Colorado. A 2006 Boettcher Scholar, she earned her Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Colorado Boulder and a TEFL certificate from ACLE Italia. Abby’s true passion lies in directing the Erie Middle School Choir program, where she has been teaching since 2010. There, she conducts nearly 400 students daily in three mixed, non-auditioned grade-level choirs and four varied extracurricular choirs. She is a two-time St. Vrain Valley School District Teacher of the Year (2017, 2023) and was recognized as a 2025 GRAMMY Music Educator Quarterfinalist and a 2026 GRAMMY Legacy recipient. In 2026, she was the first music educator to receive the University of Colorado’s “The Best Should Teach” Award. Under her direction, the Erie Middle School’s Choir program has shared music across the nation, with recent performances in Nashville, Orlando, Chicago, and New York. The EMS Choirs have been featured as an Honor Performance Group at the 2026 CMEA Music Education Convention and 2023 Convention for the National Association for Secondary School Principals.  

As an active member of NAfME and ACDA, Mrs. Martinez regularly attends and presents at conferences and clinics, and often appears as a guest clinician and festival adjudicator across Colorado. Martinez’s recent conducting engagements include the Colorado ACDA Middle School, JeffCo School District, Cherry Creek School District, and Northern Colorado Patriot League Honor Choirs, along with the Colorado Middle All State Directors’ Choir. She has adjudicated the Northern Colorado CHSAA Festivals and Colorado West Festival at Colorado Mesa University, and recently appeared as a soprano soloist and clinician for Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo with the Colorado Springs Philharmonic, Air Force Academy Cadet Chorale, and Academy District 20 Honor Choir.  She is a member of the St. Vrain Valley School District Music Leadership Team and is the Middle School Repertoire and Resources Chair for the Colorado American Choral Directors’ Association. Abby is Chair Emerita of the Colorado Middle All State Choir Governing Board, where she has served since its inception in 2011.

More than anything, Abby believes that every child deserves the space to be their authentic self, and that together we can use music to make a positive change in our communities and our world.  A proud Erie resident, Mrs. Martinez enjoys paddleboarding, running, traveling, dancing, and spending time with her husband, Jeremiah, and their two children, Charlotte and Asher.

Prior to teaching at Fort Collins High School, Mr. Ecker held a music position at Weld Central Middle School, building the program from 35 students to 225 over 6 years. In 2013, he became a founding board member of the Colorado Middle School All-State Choir. William Ecker has served many roles in the Colorado All-State Choirs, namely as co-chair of the Colorado Middle School All State Board as well as Onsite coordinator for both the High school and Middle School All state Choirs for many years.

Clelyn Chapin and Wyatt Davis

Dr. Clelyn Chapin serves as Associate Director of Choirs at the University of Northern Colorado, where she conducts choral ensembles and teaches courses in choral music education. A frequent presenter and clinician throughout the country, she specializes in collaborative rehearsal practices and in making individual vocal technique accessible and efficient within the choral rehearsal setting. Her scholarly and creative work centers on building student-centered rehearsal spaces and amplifying the work of women composers. Her writing appears in The Choral Literature of Women Composers, and her performances with the professional treble ensemble mirabai can be heard on Spotify. An emerging composer, you can find her pieces published with Santa Barbara and Hal Leonard. 

Before joining the faculty at UNC, Chapin spent fourteen years teaching and conducting secondary, collegiate, and community ensembles in Texas, Colorado, and Michigan. She holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University and a Master of Music Education degree from University of Northern Colorado.

Wyatt Smith is pursuing a Doctor of Arts degree in Choral Conducting at the University of Northern Colorado where he studies with Dr. Jill Burgett and Dr. Clelyn Chapin; he also holds a Master of Music degree in choral conducting from the University of Colorado Boulder where he studied with Dr. Coreen Duffy and Dr. Elizabeth Swanson. During his tenure at CU Boulder, he conducted the University Choir, Treble Chorus, and Festival Chorus and presented his poster session, “The Correspondence and Thought Processes of Robert Schumann in Der Rose Pilgerfahrt,” at the National Collegiate Choral Organizations National Conference in 2025. Smith received his Bachelor of Music Education degree- instrumental emphasis (summa cum laude with honors) from Pittsburg State University and worked in the public education system in Kansas for seven years as a Music and Theater Teacher/Director. He currently serves as the Choir Director for First Unitarian Society of Denver, and recently as director of the Denver Public Library- All Seasons Choir, as well as singing with the Boulder based professional choir Ars Nova.