Dr. Darla Eshelman

Dr. Darla Eshelman is nationally recognized as a children and youth choir specialist and Kodaly educator. She has taught every level of music and choir for the past 40 years.  She has been guest conductor or clinician for 128 regional and all-state choirs, including numerous OAKE, NAfME, and ACDA National Conferences, State and Regional ACDA Conventions, Oklahoma Music Educators Conventions and Oklahoma Kodaly workshops.  She has served on the boards of OAKE as Southern Division President, OKMEA as Collegiate Advisor, OkACDA as President, Vice-President, and Elementary Representative.  Currently she serves on the AzACDA board as Children & Youth Community Choir Repertoire & Standards Representative. 

Her community children’s/youth choirs have been invited to sing for National ACDA conventions, National OAKE conventions, Regional ACDA conferences, Oklahoma Music Educators conferences and Arizona Music Educators conferences.  She is Founder and Conductor Laureate of the Central Oklahoma Sol-Fa Children and Youth Chorus which she taught for 20 years.

After earning her undergraduate degree in vocal music education from Grand Canyon University, she served the state of Arizona for 11 years as a PK-8 music and choir director and earned her master’s in choral music from Arizona State University.  Following that she was named Centennial Research Assistant for University of Oklahoma where she earned her Ph.D. in Music Education with Kodaly Emphasis.  During this time she was also a guest teacher for K-8 Whitebead School in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma where she received a grant to implement the Kodaly approach for students there. She then taught music education courses and women’s choirs for both Oklahoma Baptist University, and University of Central Oklahoma, where she was named Emerita Professor of Music.  Finally, she taught K-8 music and choir for the Academy of Classical Christian Studies in Oklahoma City.  

Dr. E is now a full-time composer with works published by Colla Voce, Beckenhorst/ICC, Alliance, Hinshaw and BriLee.  She gladly accepts invitations to be a guest conductor, workshop clinician, and enjoys choral music commissions.  Her music has been performed at Carnegie Hall, International Children’s Choir Festivals, as well as National, All-State and Regional Honor Choir Festivals.  She was invited to be one of the composers for Henry Leck’s Retirement Concert with the Indianapolis Children’s Choirs.  Darla is an avid Kodaly educator and is passionate about sharing the gift of choral music with any age group.