Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus has tapped the former associate director of the Flagstaff Youth Chorale to replace its longtime director, Julian Ackerley.
Jordan Rakita, who is finishing his doctoral degree in choral conducting from Arizona State University, will come on board next season to lead the program, which has five choirs that start with the Cadet Choir for boys in first through third grades and goes up to seniors in high school.
Rakita, who led the Flagstaff Youth Chorale while he was earning his master’s degree from Northern Arizona University, has a resume that includes conducting Canto, the Phoenix Children’s Chorus middle school ensemble. He also is director of the Phoenicians Chorus, the premier barbershop chorus in Phoenix, and ASU’s tenor/bass ensemble Canticum Bassum.
The chorus announced the change in leadership on Wednesday, nearly six months after Ackerley said he was retiring after 45 years. His last day is June 30.
Julian Ackerley was in his 20s when he took the helm of the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus. This photo is from 1983, three years after he was named director.
“Gosh, 45 years went by like about 45 minutes, but it’s been quite an honor to have this organization as part of my family’s life,” Ackerley said.
Ackerley led the group for more than half of its 85 years. Eduardo Caso started the choral training and performance organization in 1939.
Ackerley, who was never part of the chorus growing up in Tucson, graduated from Palo Verde High School and went to the University of Arizona on a general music scholarship. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education and voice performance before joining the Boys Chorus staff in 1978 as an associate conductor. He later earned his doctoral degree.
He was named director two years later when John Davis left.
“When I came in, (Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus) had a national and international identity, and even though there are ups and downs in organizations like this, 1980 was a little bit of a downtime in regards to membership and awareness in the community,” he recalled.
Over the next four decades, Ackerley raised the group’s stature internationally with tours to Korea, Japan, China, Eastern Europe, South Africa and several other countries; they are touring Greece in June.
Locally, he collaborated with the UA, Tucson Symphony Orchestra and other area choirs, including the Tucson Girls Chorus.
“We always talk about how Julian is just always so willing to partner with us and with the community in general,” said Marcela Molina, the longtime Tucson Girls Chorus director and director of the Tucson Symphony Orchestra Chorus.
Molina served as a teaching assistant with the Boys Chorus while she was earning her doctoral degree at the UA.
“From the first moment, Julian was an incredible mentor to me. He is a kind leader and really committed to Boys Chorus,” she recalled. “What I have always admired about him is just his deep love and really genuine passion for teaching young kids and his commitment to engaging citizens through the Tucson Arizona Boys Chorus.”
A group from the Boys Chorus will join their Girls Chorus counterparts and Molina’s TSO Chorus this weekend for two performances of Carl Orff’s “Carmina Burana.”
Julian Ackerley, center, will lead the Arizona Boys Chorus in its season finale May 3 at Catalina Foothills High School before the ensemble sets off for a tour of Greece in June.
Ackerley will lead his final Tucson concert with the chorus on May 3 at Catalina Foothills High School before taking the ensemble to Greece. The concert is part of the ensemble’s 85th anniversary weekend, which will include Ackerley's retirement dinner on May 2 and an open house and reception on May 4. For details and tickets, visit boyschorus.org.
