2025 Washington DC Information

Click here for the complete registration form for ACC members, GTM members, CA members, and guests. Regular registration rates end on May 31, 2025. The hotel block closes on June 5, 2025. After June 5, rooms and rates are at the discretion of the hotel. After May 31, rates increase to $1,200 for ACC and GTM regular members, $650 for students, spouses and guests, and $450 for retiree/SEG members. No other rates will be available.

Click here for the special Retiree and SEG (Senior Engagement Group) registration form. Regular registration rates end on May 31, 2025. The hotel block closes on June 5, 2025. After June 5, rooms and rates are at the discretion of the hotel. The full convention rate will be $450 for retiree/SEG members. No other rates will be available.

PRE-PAID REGISTRATION INFORMATION

If you have funds on deposit with the ACC, you may use those funds for this convention or any future convention. If you wish to use those funds, please contact the ACC office before registering so we can give you the proper amount and code to deduct your funds on account from your total. Banked funds can be used for registration fees for yourself, your spouse, or children or donations to the scholarship or underwriting funds. Banked funds can NOT be used for hotel deposits or payments. 

Hotel reservation information will be sent in your confirmation email. Each participant is responsible for making their own hotel reservation in our hotel block. Our standard room rate is $230/night plus 15.95% tax. Rooms can be comfortably shared. Children age 17 or younger can stay in their parent's room at no charge. If you choose not to reserve a room in our block, and if you are not local to the DC-metro area or have an immediate family member in the area, you will be responsible to pay a fee of $265. 

Additionally. all registered participants will receive a separate registration form for the Tuesday afternoon Washington, DC tour options. 

Watch your email for this information!

Flying to Washington, DC? The best airport to fly into is DCA--Regan National Airport. Our hotel is only a few minutes drive from DCA. Taking Amtrack? Union Station is less than a mile from our hotel. Planning to drive? Valet parking is $62 per 24-hour period. Less expensive self-parking is available in the area. 

Looking for a discount on flights to DC? Visit this page for more information on flight discounts. 

Micah Hendler is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Jerusalem Youth Chorus (JYC), an Israeli-Palestinian music and dialogue project he has brought from a dream to the global stages of TED and America’s Got Talent to the New York Times and the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Through the co-creation of music and the sharing of stories, JYC empowers young singers from East and West Jerusalem to speak and sing their truths as they become leaders in their communities and inspire singers and listeners around the world to join them in their work for peace, justice, inclusion, and equality. Even in times of war, JYC continues to meet, and its singers’ commitment to each other, and the power of their voices raised in harmony, has only grown.

In addition to his ongoing bridge-building work in Jerusalem, Micah has brought his JYC experience back home, collaborating with several organizations working to depolarize America: Braver Angels, the One America Movement, and Convergence. Music is a powerful access point for Americans to engage with one another differently, and by leading community singing, facilitating deep dialogue, and weaving disparate voices together through collaborative songwriting, Micah is working to build bridges in the US as well.

Micah has a degree in Music and International Studies from Yale and brings decades of musical experience from different global traditions to this work: he has founded, directed, sung with, or played with dozens of musical ensembles of varying styles, ranging from Nava Tehila in Jerusalem to the Yale Whiffenpoofs, and has studied Community Singing and CircleSinging with GRAMMY-winning composers Ysaye Barnwell and Roger Treece, using these techniques to open up the concept of who is allowed to sing and what singers can do together.  He has also been involved in dialogue work for 20 years and has written and presented in many local and global fora about his work with the Jerusalem Youth Chorus, including in a main stage TED Talk with JYC Executive Director Amer Abu Arqub, and the keynote presentation of the East-West Philosophers’ Conference with leading Palestinian intellectual and peacemaker Dr. Sari Nusseibeh.

Micah was selected for the Forbes 30 Under 30 list for Music in 2017 and has written extensively for Forbes.com on music, society, and social change in a global context, using this platform to uplift marginalized voices that are not often heard in mainstream media. He currently lives in Washington, DC, where he leads regular community sings and is the band leader at Adas Israel Congregation.

Martha Randall, (Soprano, B.M., M.M. from the University of Kansas, Fulbright Scholar in Germany), a longtime student of Todd Duncan, taught voice and voice pedagogy at the University of Maryland in College Park for 28 years, retiring in 2020. She has appeared at the Kennedy Center, Constitution Hall, the Phillips Gallery, and performed with the National Symphony, Washington Bach Consort, and Kansas City Philharmonic. She was a member of the quartet at Adas Israel Synagogue for many years. In NATS, she has held chapter, district, and regional offices, served as Vice President for Membership, President, and as Past President and Director of the Intern Program included Physical Therapist Jodi Barth and Gincy Stezar as clinicians in 2009 and 2010. She is a member of the American Academy of Teachers of Singing, serving as chair from 2012-2018 .She has presented at NATS, MTNA, and the Voice Foundation. She was awarded Teacher of the Year 2000 by the Ponselle Foundation and nominated by her students for the 2002 Outstanding Faculty of the Year. In 2019 she received the University of Maryland Provost’s Professional Track Faculty Excellence Award.

ACC-GTM Full Convention: June 29-July 2
Special Retiree/SEG Convention Module: July 1- 2

Our Retiree/SEG Module is not just an event; it’s a celebration of community, collaboration, and creativity. This special pricing and program is open to all retirees from the ACC and GTM!

With a registration fee of just $325 for the ENTIRE conference from Sunday through Wednesday evening, or a special Retiree/SEG rate of $125 for the Retiree/SEG Module on Tuesday and Wednesday, we are committed to making this event accessible for ALL members. Click here to access the online registration link.

The Washington D.C. convention will bring together our diverse group of cantors and professional Jewish musicians for an enriching, joyful and inspiring experience. With programs ranging from maintenance of lifelong vocal health to workshops on music arranging, choral conducting and navigating challenges, this convention will bring us happily all together! There will be ample free time to explore D.C. along with options for group activities, special gatherings and more! This is a convention for all of us, reflected in our broad offerings, and we hope to see you there!

While hotel rooms are available for $230 per night plus tax, we encourage room sharing to foster camaraderie and connection AND to keep costs down. Once you register, you will receive the link to make your hotel reservation. Unless you are local to the Metro DC area or have immediate family in the area, we ask that everyone book a room in our convention block. Filling our block is what allows us to have reduced price or free meeting space in the convention hotel. If you book outside the block, you will be charged a fee of $265. 

On Wednesday evening of the convention, July 2, there will be a formal, festive concert: KOLOT DOROT: Voices of the Generations. We will celebrate 50 years of women in the Cantorate and honor Barbara Ostfeld’s courage and moxie as the first female cantor. Please plan to be there to celebrate and support Barbara and all who have followed in her footsteps. 

We will be invited to lead with OUR voices. All of us who register for the convention will be invited to participate in the "SEG choir."  More information will be provided soon.

Let’s join together for this very meaningful and important celebration. Our presence matters. Please plan to be there to celebrate and to support Barbara and all who have followed her.

Don’t let costs deter you from joining us; our Retiree Scholarship Fund is available for just this purpose. Simply reach out to Rachel Roth at rroth@accantors.org for assistance. You may also reach out to one of the SEG Convention Committee member with any questions or concerns.

Enjoy the comfort and the conviviality of our own Retiree SEG  lounge for meetings, socializing and conversation over shared meals. We will also provide a list of nearby restaurants for your more casual or ad hoc culinary adventures.

Together let us make this SEG Module an unforgettable gathering!

Click here for the latest draft schedule.

We will be populating Guidebook, our mobile app, for the DC Convention. Stay tuned for more information. 

The American Conference of Cantors along with the ACC Retirement Plan Administrator are pleased to offer the new L’Atid Seminar: Looking to the Future

This half-day seminar is for anyone who is beginning to think about their last employment contract, in the midst of their last contract, almost retired or newly retired. 

Come learn about preparing for retirement with Fidelity, negotiating your last contract with Michael Gan, and understanding what life can look like beyond the pulpit. It’s the perfect chance to ask the experts. Join us for an informative afternoon with lunch and friends beginning at 12 p.m. on Sunday, June 29 at our Convention Hotel. 

The cost is $18 per person and registration can be added to your ACC-GTM Convention registration. For more information, email Sheryl Steines. 

Financial assistance is available to ACC and GTM members in good standing. Please download and submit the attached application and return it as soon as possible but no later than February 10. All applications are held in the strictest confidence. Scholarship funds are distributed based on need and the amount of funding collected. The maximum amount of scholarship given is the Early Bird ACC-GTM Member Subsidized Rate ($725) and up to four shared nights of hotel ($520) for a total of a maximum $1,245. 

Separate and additional assistance is available for retirees and members of the SEG community. The maximum for retirees/SEG assistance is $845. For more information on retiree funding, please email Rachel Roth. 

The maximum awards are not guaranteed and are only to be used as guide while filling out your application. 

Once the early bird registration period is closed, assistance information will be provided along with a link to register at the early bird rate if you have not yet registered. 

Convention participation opportunities are an opportunity to showcase the best of the ACC and GTM. Worship at ACC/GTM conventions is integral; spiritual uplift, renewal, community building, and encountering the Divine are goals of Convention worship. Convention worship is envisioned and crafted according to the overall Convention theme. The honor of leading worship precludes singing a concert solo at the same convention. Those who register during early bird are given first priority. Primary t’filah leaders are ineligible to lead t’filah or sing a concert solo at Convention for the following three years.

The T'filah and Programming committees will do their best to include as many participants as possible.

Because of the special nature of the Wednesday evening Kolot Dorot: Voices of the Generations concert, participation is managed outside of the convention registration process.

Every summer, the membership of the  American Conference of Cantors, together with members of the ACC's affiliate the Guild of Temple Musicians join together for our annual convention. This year is special. In addition to the general programming of the convention, the ACC and GTM will be celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Ordination of the First Female Cantor: Cantor Barbara J. Ostfeld, and the generations of female cantors who have followed.

Sponsorship opportunities are available for the programming surrounding the 50th Anniversary celebration, the Gala Concert event, and the exciting programs and workshops for the convention in which our attendees will engage.

We invite congregations to support their cantors across the generations regardless of attendance in person. A special streaming link will be provided to all remote sponsors for viewing either individually or as a group.  

For more information and to make a donation, visit our combined convention and concert underwriting form. 

The ACC-GTM Convention is pleased to welcome exhibitors to our Washington, DC Convention.

This form will allow you to reserve your space in our Exhibitor Hall which will be located on the 2nd Floor of our event hotel. Because the space is open to the public, we will provide overnight security in the exhibitor area.

The tentative schedule for the Exhibitor area is:

• Sunday, June 29: Set up to begin at 9 a.m. Registration opens at 12 p.m. Pre-conference seminar from 12-4 p.m. Dessert and Welcome Reception in Exhibitor Hall at 8 p.m. 
• Monday, June 30: Exhibitors open from 10:30 a.m. to 7 p.m.
• Tuesday, July 1: Exhibitors open  8 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m.
• Wednesday, July 2: Exhibitors open 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. 
• Note: Exhibitor Hall breakdown from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Exhibitors who register by March 1 will receive early bird pricing. The meal package registration will close as of June 1.

Hotel rooms are approximately $260/night inclusive of tax in our room block. Upon receipt of this form, you will be sent the link to register for your hotel room at our convention hotel.

All exhibitors also receive a full slide in our slide show shown throughout the convention. More information will be sent upon registration.

Specific information regarding shipping and electricity costs will be sent upon your registration.

Click here to register.