Director:

Nicole Thietje is the Director of the Vivace Choir.  She is also currently serving as Choral Director at New Prague High School, where she directs four curricular choirs, three extracurricular groups, including show choir, and serves as music director for NPHS musical productions. She is a native of Louisiana and has taught Pre-K-12th grade in both Minnesota and Florida.

She enjoys being a choral musician and serving choral communities. She has worked with and directed for community and youth choirs, including Northfield Youth Choirs and See Change Treble Choir, and works with gospel artist Trey McLaughlin to transcribe his original and arranged gospel music. She is also an active member of MMEA and ACDA-MN, currently serving MMEA as a President-Elect. She served as co-chair for the Vocal Jazz Immersion Choir at the National ACDA conference in 2023. She has also served as presenter and honor choir director for ACDA-MN (2019 7/8 TTB State Honor Choir), MMEA (2023-2024 All State Soprano Alto Choir), and SDMEA. She works with students to achieve their goals of singing in state, regional, and national honor choirs and has prepared ensembles for conference performances in 2019 (MMEA) and 2021 (ACDA-MN). She is a co-recipient of the 2024 MMEA High School Music Educator of the Year award. Nicole has also won a Regional Emmy® Award for her work on a pop choral arrangement used on KSTP-TV Fox 9 in Minneapolis.

She received an undergraduate degree in Music Teaching/Performance from the University of West Florida, a Masters of Arts in Music Education Choral Concentration from the University of St. Thomas, and is currently working toward a PhD in Music Education at the University of Minnesota. She received additional training for three years in the performing and outreach group called The Young Americans, teaching and traveling on five national and international music outreach tours, including tours in the U.S., Germany, Luxembourg, and Japan.

She is passionate about reimagining music education in order to better serve young musicians and grateful for the opportunity to work with them because they are the best teachers. Her research interests include student-centered music education practices, collaborative choral ensembles, and the development and fostering of more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and accessible choral environments.

​

 

Philosophy:

The Vivace Choir offers a rich, comprehensive and immersive experience with community, musical expression, and choral basics at its heart.  Through engaging and thoughtfully prepared lessons, young artists will explore diverse repertoire as well as fundamental skills such as pitch matching, breathing, and singing alignment.  Through games and vocal play, singers will also gain knowledge and practice in the areas of music reading and harmonic singing.   

​