Grace Under Pressure

"It may look like a wreck, but go at it as though it were an opportunity, a challenge. If you bring love to that moment - not discouragement - you will find the strength is there."
                                                                                              -Joseph Campbell

Conducting choirs can be a stressful job. Reconciling conflicting personalities, managing schedules, coordinating venues - these are just a few of the non-musical tasks that can seriously erode one's joie de vivre and get in the way of lofty artistic pursuits. Yet every challenge brings with it an opportunity for growth, as well as a chance to discover unique, synergistic solutions.

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KRISHAN: When SACRA/PROFANA was preparing a concert for an American Guild of Organists Convention in San Diego, we scheduled a rehearsal in the performance venue on the evening before our concert. Unfortunately, when a few of us arrived one hour prior to the rehearsal start time, we realized that all the doors were locked up tight, and the church grounds were totally deserted. I made several frantic phone calls to our contact at the church (who had promised me that one of the doors would be left unlocked), but to no avail. About 30 minutes before the start of rehearsal, choristers began arriving, and we explained the situation. One chorister suggested that we might move the rehearsal to our regular venue, which was about 20 minutes away - at least we knew we'd be able to get inside. Despite my overriding ethos of "always do what you say you're gonna do", I realized that moving our rehearsal was probably our best bet (especially since, in this case, following through with Plan A was literally impossible). The clock was ticking, rehearsal was starting in less that 30 minutes, and choristers were beginning to ask questions. I made the call to move the rehearsal, and as soon as I did, the group came alive: choristers began calling and texting other choristers, organizing carpools, etc. In a matter of minutes, we had coordinated the move to Plan B, and we were able to begin rehearsal at our regular venue only about 15 minutes late. The positive, proactive energy of the group carried over into the rehearsal, and we finished early that night. Although I was embarrassed by the last-minute logistical snafu, I was fortunate in that scenario to have a group of choristers who were able to think quickly on their feet and handle the situation with grace and good humor.


KIRSTEN:  I was teaching a high school choral group, and we entered the auditorium to hold our last rehearsal before the winter concert. Much to my surprise, the Drama Club had bolted down the set for their show (which was scheduled for the weekend after our concert) to the stage. Upon walking into the auditorium with my students and seeing the situation, I immediately had to begin changing my plans to work around what we had. I was extremely frustrated. However, in that moment I also knew that I had 40 high school eyes watching for my reaction. By handling the situation calmly and with grace, I was able to model behavior for the students that I hope they will replicate in future situations. It would have been easy in the moment for me to initiate a rivalry between the Choir and Drama clubs. But by showing the students to make the best out of frustration, I was able to prepare them for real life in the future. Professional musicians have to work around venue difficulties every day - I considered it a part of the students' education!

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Most of us have had moments when we've lost our cool in front of our ensemble, but as we grow and develop as leaders, these moments become rarer simply because we've come to anticipate- even expect- unforeseen challenges. Our singers often look to us to provide an example during these types of situations. As is so often the case, the conductor sets the tone- and the group will respond accordingly.