"The world wants to assign you a role in life. And once you accept that role, you are doomed."
-Robert Greene
In the 1999 philosophical sci-fi film The Matrix, Keanu Reeves' character undergoes an existential crisis. Throughout the film, he's trying to discover his true self: is he Thomas Anderson, respectable computer programmer, or is he Neo, underground hacker and savior of the human race in the coming war with the machines? The tension of Neo's self-discovery drives much of the film, as we follow him deeper "into the rabbit hole" in search of his true identity. Is he really The One, the messianic individual prophesied to save the human race? The only way to know for sure is to consult The Oracle.
In a pivotal scene in the film, Neo visits The Oracle, who turns out to be a folksy, grandmotherly woman baking cookies. Above the door to her kitchen is posted an aphorism in Latin: Temet Nosce. The Oracle asks Neo if he knows what this means. She tells him: "Know Thyself". She then asks him if he believes that he is truly The One. When he hesitates and asks, "I'm not The One?", The Oracle merely replies, "Sorry, kid. You got the gift, but it looks like you're waiting for something." Neo leaves The Oracle, discouraged. But later in the film, we discover that he really is The One; it was only his uncertainty that had prevented him from realizing his true self.
As choral leaders, we'll inevitably encounter people with conflicting opinions about us and our work. We'll come across those individuals whose sole purpose seems to be to tell us that we're not really as good as we think we are. Temet Nosce is an admonition to avoid placing too much stock in the criticisms of the multitude (in contemporary parlance, "haters gonna hate"). This is not to say that we should close ourselves off to constructive criticism; on the contrary, we should regularly solicit feedback from individuals who know our work and our values, and with whom we share mutual trust. But we also need to have enough sense of our own self that we're able to withstand and disregard criticisms that we don't agree with.
Stephen R. Covey has a wonderful term for this: "the social mirror". The social mirror is the reflection of ourselves given back to us by society. Covey likens this to the warped funhouse mirrors found at carnivals, in which our reflection is shifting, twisted, and out of all perspective. The social mirror is by its very nature inaccurate, because it reflects back so many disparate and conflicting biases. One critic may hail us as a musical genius, while another may denigrate us as a complete hack. The point is, the social mirror will invariably give us a skewed vision of ourselves. Therefore, we must cultivate our own identity from within, an identity that is not subject to the caprices of society.
Music is a competitive business, and we'll all experience setbacks in our careers at one time or another. During those times, it's particularly important that our basic identity and self-worth remain intact. Doubt may creep in, but we must resist the temptation to "throw the baby out with the bathwater" just because we receive a bad review or are passed over for a job.
The bestselling novelist Jodi Picault tells an anecdote about picking up a job application at Home Depot after she had already published several novels. She didn't crack the New York Times bestseller list until her fourteenth novel; before that, Picault went through a long spell where her work simply wasn't sustaining her financially. It would have been easy for her to take the message that the world was giving her: "You're just a second-rate novelist. Don't quit your day job." Her belief in her own value as a first-rate novelist superseded the warped reflection that society was giving her.
This is one of the inherent problems with master classes. A conducting student may spend years cultivating a technique that is clear, efficient, and suited to his or her unique physicality, skills and shortcomings. Then along comes an "expert" who has never seen that individual conduct, who has no investment in the student's development, and that expert proceeds to dismantle the student's technique. We've all seen master classes like this, and they tend to be more about the "master" than about the student's individual needs. Yet the student, who is more often than not a respectful individual sincerely interested in constructive criticism, feels obligated to completely reinvent his- or herself in the model of the visiting expert.
Again, there is much to be said for receiving feedback when it is given with an awareness of your needs, your aspirations, and your limitations. But only by knowing yourself can you efficiently apply what a one-time teacher is giving you. To try to do otherwise is an exercise in futility; you'll be forever re-training yourself, chasing the impossible goal of pleasing everyone.
All of us have areas of psychological vulnerability, and when someone out there in the world touches one of these deep wounds, whether intentionally or inadvertently, it can be particularly painful and difficult to bounce back. Those of us who were middle children in our families may have struggled to overcome the feeling of being unseen or neglected; it can therefore be especially hurtful if we're made to feel that we're not valued in a professional environment. Elder children, on the other hand, may have grown up with the crushing weight of expectations, feeling that nothing they did was ever good enough. These people may find themselves driven to despair in professional situations where their Herculean efforts are greeted with criticism or apathy. We must also remember, then, that our interpretation of criticism and feedback is colored by our own biases; all the more reason for us to be able to accept criticism for what it is: merely one person's opinion.
As we advance in our careers, we're bound to encounter resistance, both internal and external. Developing confidence in our own basic self-worth as musicians and as human beings will help us remain undeterred by the vicissitudes of our profession.
Wednesday, April 27, 2016
Tuesday, April 19, 2016
How To "Unchoir Your Choir"
"The way to be successful in the software world is to come up with breakthrough software. New ideas, surprising the marketplace... so good engineering and good business are one in the same."
-Bill Gates
Some of our readers have asked where the title "Unchoir Your Choir" came from. In conceiving this blog, we wanted to challenge the status quo of choral vision and leadership, which we have generally found to be lacking, even in professional organizations. Some of you may be familiar with the following traits, typical to many choirs:
So in undertaking this blog, we decided to focus less on the artistic aspects of choral music, and to focus instead on the leadership skills that choral conductors need to learn (but that, sadly, are almost never taught).
Because so many choirs embody these undesirable traits, choral conductors often get a bad rap in the larger classical musical world. Often, we're seen as musical lightweights who contribute little more than floofy platitudes; certainly, it's easier to get by as a choral conductor with poor (or nonexistent) training than it is to do the same in the orchestral field (this can be seen as an extension of the paradigm that many of us encounter in some opera singers, where vocal technique is emphasized to the exclusion of basic musicianship).
The approach of "unchoiring" your choir, then, can be seen as a thorough reexamination of the values that govern your organization. Our aim is to convince you to view your choir as you would any other entrepreneurial enterprise, being brutally honest with yourself about where you can afford to cut corners, where you're falling short, and where your greatest strengths are.
**
KIRSTEN: In January, 2016, my friend Carey Shunskis and I founded the South Shore Children's Chorus. As we initiated this brand new venture in Massachusetts- a state with several established children's choruses already, though none located on the South Shore of Boston- the two of us had specific values that we wanted to portray to parents, students, and the general public. We aimed to send the message of professionalism and confidence through our marketing efforts, spending a hefty amount of budget and time on social media, website building, e-blast cultivation, and logo branding. I built our website to include online registration, where parents could easily register their student from a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Additionally, we gave each student that walked in the door several materials with our SSCC logo printed on it in our organization's color (a bright, recognizable teal) including bags, folders, water bottles, pencils, and lanyards. When we were invited to sing on local access television, we immediately rush-ordered matching t-shirts with our logo and slogan, and had them delivered the day before the filming.
These marketing efforts were not easy and not necessarily intuitive. There were several things that we needed to give up in our budget in order to afford all of these efforts. However, we found that these steps worked completely in our favor. We currently have over 65 students registered for our programming after being only established for 4 months. I have had several comments from parents, students, and fellow music teachers who have seen our website and couldn't believe that the organization is brand new.
This is the goal. The goal is to move beyond conformity and low expectations. As a brand new children's chorus organization, the public expects us to be disorganized, or to have specific difficulties (such as an amateurish website). Going against these preconceived limitations has won over several parents in the area, and we continue to grow with new registrations daily! I cannot over-emphasize the need to break out of "what people think" you will be as your chorus organization, and to move beyond that. Surprising people with the unexpected is the best way to get them to remember you.
KRISHAN: One of SACRA/PROFANA's altos and I share an obsession with the TV show LOST, which aired on ABC from 2004-2010. In 2012, the show's producer Carlton Cuse tweeted about how he was working on a project with the author Rob Bell, and they were looking for a band to play two songs during a live event they were producing at a warehouse space in L.A. The band would be a prominent part of the interactive show, which also featured interviews and audience Q & A. At my alto's behest, I sent SACRA/PROFANA's 2012 Payphone video to the production team. A few days later, I received a call from Carlton Cuse's assistant in L.A., and a conference call with Cuse and Rob Bell was quickly arranged. When I got on the conference call, I heard for the first time what was to become a repeated refrain during the next few years: "We're big fans of SACRA/PROFANA".
At the event in L.A., the singers of SACRA/PROFANA were specifically asked not to look like a choir, but rather to "dress like normal people". Given the general demographic of the audience (20s - 30s L.A. hipsters, including at least one LOST cast member), our singers fit right in. We "flash mobbed" an arrangement of "Bright Morning Stars", and then actually taught part of the arrangement to the audience. Conducting these folks (including Bell and Cuse) in a four-part a cappella arrangement was surreal to say the least. When we finished, Rob Bell looked at me and said, "Wow. You really are reinventing the choir."
Cuse and Bell were looking for a rock band to complement their show- not a choir (or, as I like to think, they didn't know they wanted a choir until they met us). But we had begun to position SACRA/PROFANA as a unique vocal ensemble that, while essentially choral-based, is distinctly not your typical choir (and yet, clearly is a choir in the way that groups like the Pentatonix aren't). Defying people's expectations about what a choir can be remains one of my great joys as a choral conductor.
**
We want to hear your thoughts on how you can "unchoir your choir". Every conductor has his or her own strengths or weaknesses. Every organization does certain things well, while they could improve in other aspects. Where could your choir improve, and what is your plan of action to work against the status quo and surprise your audience and community? Please comment below and let us know - we can't wait to hear how you are going to change the choral community by "unchoiring your choir"!
-Bill Gates
Some of our readers have asked where the title "Unchoir Your Choir" came from. In conceiving this blog, we wanted to challenge the status quo of choral vision and leadership, which we have generally found to be lacking, even in professional organizations. Some of you may be familiar with the following traits, typical to many choirs:
- starting/ending rehearsal late
- lack of rehearsal planning
- failing to rehearse concert logistics
- indecisive direction, especially in musical details
- poor quality marketing/advertising
- last-minute communication
- self-imposed limitations
So in undertaking this blog, we decided to focus less on the artistic aspects of choral music, and to focus instead on the leadership skills that choral conductors need to learn (but that, sadly, are almost never taught).
Because so many choirs embody these undesirable traits, choral conductors often get a bad rap in the larger classical musical world. Often, we're seen as musical lightweights who contribute little more than floofy platitudes; certainly, it's easier to get by as a choral conductor with poor (or nonexistent) training than it is to do the same in the orchestral field (this can be seen as an extension of the paradigm that many of us encounter in some opera singers, where vocal technique is emphasized to the exclusion of basic musicianship).
The approach of "unchoiring" your choir, then, can be seen as a thorough reexamination of the values that govern your organization. Our aim is to convince you to view your choir as you would any other entrepreneurial enterprise, being brutally honest with yourself about where you can afford to cut corners, where you're falling short, and where your greatest strengths are.
**
KIRSTEN: In January, 2016, my friend Carey Shunskis and I founded the South Shore Children's Chorus. As we initiated this brand new venture in Massachusetts- a state with several established children's choruses already, though none located on the South Shore of Boston- the two of us had specific values that we wanted to portray to parents, students, and the general public. We aimed to send the message of professionalism and confidence through our marketing efforts, spending a hefty amount of budget and time on social media, website building, e-blast cultivation, and logo branding. I built our website to include online registration, where parents could easily register their student from a computer, tablet, or smartphone.
Additionally, we gave each student that walked in the door several materials with our SSCC logo printed on it in our organization's color (a bright, recognizable teal) including bags, folders, water bottles, pencils, and lanyards. When we were invited to sing on local access television, we immediately rush-ordered matching t-shirts with our logo and slogan, and had them delivered the day before the filming.
These marketing efforts were not easy and not necessarily intuitive. There were several things that we needed to give up in our budget in order to afford all of these efforts. However, we found that these steps worked completely in our favor. We currently have over 65 students registered for our programming after being only established for 4 months. I have had several comments from parents, students, and fellow music teachers who have seen our website and couldn't believe that the organization is brand new.
This is the goal. The goal is to move beyond conformity and low expectations. As a brand new children's chorus organization, the public expects us to be disorganized, or to have specific difficulties (such as an amateurish website). Going against these preconceived limitations has won over several parents in the area, and we continue to grow with new registrations daily! I cannot over-emphasize the need to break out of "what people think" you will be as your chorus organization, and to move beyond that. Surprising people with the unexpected is the best way to get them to remember you.
KRISHAN: One of SACRA/PROFANA's altos and I share an obsession with the TV show LOST, which aired on ABC from 2004-2010. In 2012, the show's producer Carlton Cuse tweeted about how he was working on a project with the author Rob Bell, and they were looking for a band to play two songs during a live event they were producing at a warehouse space in L.A. The band would be a prominent part of the interactive show, which also featured interviews and audience Q & A. At my alto's behest, I sent SACRA/PROFANA's 2012 Payphone video to the production team. A few days later, I received a call from Carlton Cuse's assistant in L.A., and a conference call with Cuse and Rob Bell was quickly arranged. When I got on the conference call, I heard for the first time what was to become a repeated refrain during the next few years: "We're big fans of SACRA/PROFANA".
At the event in L.A., the singers of SACRA/PROFANA were specifically asked not to look like a choir, but rather to "dress like normal people". Given the general demographic of the audience (20s - 30s L.A. hipsters, including at least one LOST cast member), our singers fit right in. We "flash mobbed" an arrangement of "Bright Morning Stars", and then actually taught part of the arrangement to the audience. Conducting these folks (including Bell and Cuse) in a four-part a cappella arrangement was surreal to say the least. When we finished, Rob Bell looked at me and said, "Wow. You really are reinventing the choir."
Cuse and Bell were looking for a rock band to complement their show- not a choir (or, as I like to think, they didn't know they wanted a choir until they met us). But we had begun to position SACRA/PROFANA as a unique vocal ensemble that, while essentially choral-based, is distinctly not your typical choir (and yet, clearly is a choir in the way that groups like the Pentatonix aren't). Defying people's expectations about what a choir can be remains one of my great joys as a choral conductor.
**
We want to hear your thoughts on how you can "unchoir your choir". Every conductor has his or her own strengths or weaknesses. Every organization does certain things well, while they could improve in other aspects. Where could your choir improve, and what is your plan of action to work against the status quo and surprise your audience and community? Please comment below and let us know - we can't wait to hear how you are going to change the choral community by "unchoiring your choir"!
Sunday, April 10, 2016
Consistency Is King
"Long-term consistency trumps short-term intensity"
- Bruce Lee
In our experience as choral singers and conductors, we've come to place an extremely high value on consistency. In fact, we would suggest that consistency may be the single most valuable quality that a leader can possess, trumping many other, flashier qualities like personality and skill set.
We've all worked with that "star player"- the choral singer who's at such a high level that we just can't bear to let them go, no matter how many times they're late or absent from rehearsal. The antithesis of this person is the stalwart chorister of moderate talent, who's always early to rehearsal, who's never missed a single day. As we progress in our careers and begin to observe the long-term trends in organizations, we've come to believe in the supreme value of consistency and reliability, both in choristers and conductors. We can confidently state that organizational trust and long-term, sustainable success follow consistency, as naturally and predictably as day follows night.
**
KIRSTEN: When Krishan and I originally founded the SACRA/PROFANA Summer Choral Intensive program for high school students in 2014, it was successful in that we were able to recruit so many young singers in the area. In 2015, we reached almost 100 students and parents. These families trusted in the consistency of communication from SACRA/PROFANA, and from myself as Education Programs Coordinator.
When other local organizations and teachers began to see how many students were gathered to attend SCI, I began receiving several requests to send out advertisement emails or to hand out flyers to our SCI students and parents on behalf of other programs, choral opportunities, and private studios. Though it struck many as overly protective, I denied all of these requests.
SCI students and parents relied on the consistency of my communications. I would spend hours on a single e-mail, making sure that the information was as clear and concise as possible. Being a rather verbose person, I would begin with e-mails that were pages long, and would slowly whittle down to a few important paragraphs and bullet points. Allowing even one organization or teacher to advertise through my communication would mean that I would have to allow every organization or teacher that same courtesy. Soon, I would have parents and students ignoring e-mails from me, assuming they were spam from other sources.
Relationships with choristers, parents, and audience members are fragile, and completely reliant on trust and consistency. While I didn't necessarily please the numerous colleagues asking me to help them advertise, I did strengthen the relationship between the SCI families, myself, and the SACRA/PROFANA organization as a whole.
KRISHAN: When I was hired for my first full-time Music Director job at a church in Providence, RI, I inherited an Associate Music Director- a middle-aged woman who had been at the parish for decades. She was essentially self-taught, and was fairly opinionated about keeping certain things the way they had always been. As a recent college graduate looking to shake things up, I was initially frustrated by the fact that my Associate was "cramping my style"; I wanted her to enthusiastically get behind my brilliant, unorthodox vision for reshaping the music program at the parish, since I was clearly the expert. Despite our differences in musical taste, we developed a warm relationship within the first few years, based on mutual respect and personal trust. And as time went on, it became abundantly clear to me why this woman was so beloved in the parish. She was never late. She was always prepared, and absolutely refused to "wing it" or to do anything without adequate prep time. She was stunningly consistent.
When I began working on my Masters at Yale, I kept my church job in Providence, commuting from New Haven on the weekends. The drive typically took anywhere from 90 minutes to 2 hours. One weekend, I planned the commute poorly and realized about 40 minutes before Mass that I wasn't going to make it on time. In a panic, I phoned my Associate, who lived about 5 minutes from the church. She was able to cover for me at a moment's notice; it was one of many times that her consistency saved the day. Without showing up, all of my musical expertise and training counted for exactly nothing.
**
It doesn't necessarily take prodigious talent or genius to rise to the level of greatness, if you can be consistent in implementing positive values. Here are some simple steps for choral leaders:
1. SHOW UP. We're consistently dismayed at the number of people in leadership positions who can't even do this reliably. Just showing up- consistently, reliably and on time- puts you in the top 10% of your field.
2. START ON TIME. The subject of timeliness has already been discussed here (ad nauseam!), but it's worth emphasizing. Starting consistently on time creates a culture of productivity and accountability.
3. HAVE A POSITIVE ATTITUDE. We all encounter frustrations in our work, but being able to respond to these with grace and good humor is a powerful way to build trust with your ensemble. When members of your ensemble worry about whether you're in a good mood on any given day, it's a sign that trust isn't really there.
4. TREAT EVERYONE THE SAME. "Star players" don't get special allowances (if anything, they should be leading by example). If there's a policy on lateness or absenteeism, it must apply to everyone (including the conductor!).
5. COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY. E-mail is a great tool for giving your choristers advance notice and reminders of upcoming events. But communicating via e-mail also brings the responsibility of communicating consistently- they need to trust that your e-mails are timely (not last-minute) and necessary (i.e., you don't e-mail them more than once a week).
As we demonstrated in our examples above, consistency is hard. It's difficult to show up on time, every time, and we all fall short occasionally. But the goal is to create a high enough level of consistency that we only miss the mark once in a blue moon (ultimately, we hope that our instances of inconsistency are so rare that our choristers become truly alarmed when we're not on time!). You can begin by setting small goals; start with Step 1, and go from there.
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