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Irene Apanovitch-Leites (she/her/hers) is the Director of Choral Activities at Black Hawk College in Moline, Illinois. Her responsibilities include serving as Assistant Chair in the Department of Art, Design & Performing Arts, conducting the auditioned Chamber Singers and non-auditioned Concert Choir and Community Chorale, and teaching coursework in theory, music literature, and applied voice and piano lessons. She received her doctorate in Choral Music from the University of Southern California with specializations in Music Teaching and Learning, Educational Psychology, and Instrumental Conducting. Apanovitch-Leites has led collegiate, community and children’s choirs and has conducted in choral and orchestral masterclasses in Italy, Argentina, Canada and the United States. She has published in the ACDA Choral Journal, Choral Canada’s Anacrusis, as well as GIA Publication’s Teaching Music Through Performance series. Her current research investigates the role of empathy and perspective-taking in choral music education.