Asking your chorus members to re-audition may be the single greatest test of the notion that choruses can create outstanding art and at the same time create meaningful community. Artistic leaders, managers, and singers who have experienced re-auditioning in volunteer choruses large and small talk about its benefits and pitfalls, and explain how they have managed this delicate process.
Looking for a group singing outlet, but unable to commit to a weekly rehearsal? Worried that you need to shake off some rust before joining a “serious” ensemble? Have no fear—relaxed opportunities with smaller time commitments are popping up across the country.
More and more choruses are practicing advocacy inside the concert hall, representing social justice and community issues in their performances. What kinds of steps are they taking to ensure that singers are on the same page so that they can perform as a collective?
Choruses seek to foster an open, welcoming culture, but some practices can exclude and cause pain for transgender singers. Here are some steps your chorus can take to avoid them.
How can choruses foster a more inclusive culture for transgender singers? This list of resources accompanies our article from the Winter 2017-18 issue of the Voice on welcoming transgender singers.
In creating a chorus culture that is welcoming to transgender singers, terminology can be something that some choral leaders may need catching up on. This list of key terms below supplements our article in the Winter 2017-18 Voice on making choruses welcoming for transgender singers.
In addition to enriching musical knowledge and enhancing vocal technique, singing in a chorus can also teach important lessons about life itself. We reached out to the growing network of choruses specifically for older adults, and asked longtime singers about the ways in which singing has informed other aspects of their lives.
Singers are the lifeblood of the choral field. Ensembles from coast to coast are anchored by veterans of school and youth choral programs who found the experience rewarding enough that they continued through adulthood. But as choral leaders know all too well, many choristers can’t or don’t stick with it; they drop out of choral singing when they hit significant life transitions.
When Susan McMane was in high school, she probably spent about as much time chanting “two, four, six, eight” as she did singing “do, re, mi.”
