Pop Music ≠ Bad Technique

"There can be nothing exclusive about substantial art. It comes directly out of the heart of the experience of life and thinking about life and living life."
                                                                                           -Charles Ives


Perhaps you've seen a middle school choir dance. You've probably heard a middle school choir sing.

What is more rare, however, is a 6th grade choir singing a pop song from the radio in a beautiful, light head voice with perfectly blended vowels and exquisite technique - each performer totally engaged in the song and dance moves.

Andrea Squires from Desert Canyon Middle School is doing it right with her 6th grade chorus - so much so that after their concert, their performance video went viral. In this news clip, Ms. Squires states that prior to singing the arrangement of the popular Silentó song, her choir performed an aria from a Handel opera. Her students, obviously well rounded in their education and singing technique, performed "Watch Me" complete with dance moves - which sparked conversation between choral educators and conductors nationwide on social media and in forums. We've decided to take this opportunity to discuss the benefits of performing pop music with healthy choral technique.

https://www.facebook.com/FOX10Phoenix/videos/1037333936315153/

Modern pop music offers an unprecedented array of musical challenges. Complex syncopated rhythms, dramatic register shifts and close harmonies are just a few of the difficult aspects inherent in this repertoire. As choral conductors, we need to be fluent in a variety of musical styles: everything from 16th century madrigals to 19th century church anthems, to gospel, 21st century minimalism and beyond. Ideally, we have respect for all of this repertoire, bringing the same healthy technique and professionalism to everything that we perform. Many of us will find ourselves serving as Chorus Master for a Symphonic Pops program, prepping a choir for a film score, or leading a gospel anthem at church. It's essential for us to have proficiency in all areas of the repertoire, so that we can convincingly "sell" it to our choristers with solid, healthy vocal technique (regardless of our individual areas of specialty).

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KIRSTEN: In the 2014-2015 school year I was working at two different high schools with their respective choral groups - one during the day, and the other after school. It was quickly evident in the fall that each group had very specific and unique strengths. My after school group was comprised of excellent readers and sight singers, eager to rehearse challenging classical repertoire and expand their knowledge of music theory. My in-school show choir was comprised of students with outstanding natural talent and intuitive musicality. The show choir was always ready to perform, and several of them could make up interesting harmonies on the spot.

Each choir, regardless of their strength, also had to learn a piece that challenged them in their weakness. I taught my after school choir pop arrangements despite their resistance, in order to challenge them in rhythmic and stylistic aspects. For the same reason, my show choir learned important pieces of classical repertoire, and participated in classical choral festivals. Regardless of their strengths, I also needed to ensure that their education was well rounded, and give them a taste of a new style to broaden their technique and overall understanding of music.


KRISHAN: When I started SACRA/PROFANA in 2009, I knew that pop music would be a small but important part of our repertoire. Because so much of the group's repertoire is incredibly esoteric and challenging (Ligeti, Schoenberg, etc.), I felt that it would be important to balance that with music that is fun and bright, and keeps the vibe of the group fresh and down-to-earth (I talk about that duality at length in this interview).  So from the very beginning, about 10% of our repertoire was comprised of pop arrangements. In creating these arrangements, it has always been my goal to infuse the original pop song with as much thick choral texture as possible.

A great example of this is the video that we shot last summer, an arrangement of Madonna's hit "Into the Groove" from 1984. I wanted the opening of the arrangement to feel like a piece by Steve Reich or Philip Glass- something outside the vocabulary of 80s pop music. So even though the arrangement is fun, even goofy at times, putting a strict "choral" frame around it ensured that it would be sung with the same rigor and technique that SACRA/PROFANA brings to all of the music that they perform.

**

We live in a society of eclectic tastes. The replacement of the CD by the iPod and by services like Spotify has radically changed the way that people listen to music. It's not uncommon to find opera, hip-hop, heavy metal and country music all on the same electronic device. Today's pop music itself is incredibly diverse- so much so that one might be intimidated by the sheer breadth of it all. But pop music represents a contemporary vernacular idiom, one that we as conductors need to be familiar with. While this music may ultimately represent only a small portion of what we perform, we should nevertheless be capable of performing it well.

Put Your Phone Away

"You don't build a bond without being present."
      -James Earl Jones


In a recent post, we talked extensively about using modern technology to advance your choir's marketing profile. In this post, however, we'd like to talk about when not to use modern technology.

Call us old-fashioned, but we believe that a conductor's smartphone has no place on the podium. In fact, all smartphones should routinely be put away during a choral rehearsal.

Smartphones are remarkable inventions. They can serve as solutions to an incredibly variety of issues: everything from taking measurements, to finding directions, to identifying metronome marks. But smartphones are also, by their vary nature, supremely distracting. A flashing screen tends to pull focus from everything else in its vicinity, and is rivaled only by other flashing screens in its competition for your attention.

As a rule, we ask our singers to put their smartphones away during rehearsal. Our rehearsal time is precious, and we require our singers' focus for every minute that we have them (and if we're doing it right, we're not giving them an opportunity to get distracted).

And yet, we've seen conductors in community, educational and professional settings whip out their smartphones on the podium and think nothing of it. We've seen conductors take selfies on the podium, check their e-mail, and even take phone calls during rehearsal. Sometimes a conductor may access his phone for a legitimate artistic purpose, such as checking a metronome number (via an app). But in doing so, the conductor necessarily gets distracted by the screen, and by all the notifications that have popped up since the phone was last put down.

An absolute necessity of effective leadership in any position is the ability to be fully present. Checking your phone, for whatever reason, takes your focus out of the rehearsal environment and into the myriad concerns of life beyond the rehearsal. You simply cannot be mentally, emotionally, psychologically or socially present for your choristers while being diverted by text, e-mail and social media notifications.

Every conductor needs a real metronome (not an app) and a watch. (Exception: one might use a smartphone only to indicate the start time of rehearsal, just to be sure that rehearsal begins exactly on the hour. When doing this, the phone should be on "airplane mode" so that no calls, texts, or notifications can come through.)

This principle applies to rehearsal breaks as well. Remember that even during the break, a conductor is "on the clock"- ideally, chatting with choristers or taking questions that weren't addressed during rehearsal. But in our modern era, many conductors simply retreat to their smartphones during break or at the end of rehearsal. While this is certainly easier for many conductors than socializing with choristers, it destroys rapport and sends all the wrong signals to the ensemble.

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KIRSTEN:  I love my iPhone. I am certainly not one of those "I-wish-we-could-go-back-to-flip-phone" people. I check and send e-mail from my phone often. I enjoy social media quite a bit; in fact, many of you are probably reading this post because of my love for social media marketing. I like taking pictures and videos, and having quick communication with everyone I know.

However, this easy access to communication is not appropriate for live performance.

This past Sunday, my new organization the South Shore Children's Chorus (founded January 2016) had its Inaugural Concert.  The Saturday before the concert, several of our older students performed the Fauré Requiem in collaboration with two other youth choral ensembles. My colleagues were conducting on Saturday night - so my job was purely logistics. This meant that I had the luxury of sitting and enjoying the performance. At the start of the concert, I settled in to my last-row seat, excited to see our students perform.

Instead, all I saw during the emotionally grand organ introduction to the piece were screens. In an audience of about 100-125, I saw over 35 people pull out a smart phone or tablet and click "video." This was in addition to the several cameras that the professional videographer had set up prior to the concert. I was distracted and disappointed, which immediately took me out of the glorious live performance that was happening all around me.

Going home, I knew something had to change for my Sunday concert. As the Inaugural Concert for the organization, the event would set the tone for all of our future events. I came up with a plan, woke up early the next day, and printed inserts for every program. These inserts asked for the attendee's name and e-mail address, and instructed them to leave the insert in the pew at the end of the performance.

At the opening welcome of the performance, I offered the 250+ person audience a deal - if they did not use their personal electronic device to film the performance, I would give each of them a free download of the concert filmed by a parent who doubled as a professional videographer. I could not have anticipated how well this would be received. Parents approached me after the event and thanked me wholeheartedly for making this happen. It changed the tone of the concert, as parents were not distracted, and were able to interact and engage in the live performance of their children. Children could see their parents' eyes, and could connect with them while singing.

This is now going to be a tradition for my organization. I hope to continue to encourage concert-goers and musicians alike to engage with the live music without the distraction of flashing screens.


KRISHAN: Unlike Kirsten, I'm more annoyed than edified by my iPhone. I generally look for every opportunity to untether myself from it, for as long as I can get away with. While I do appreciate the convenience of being able to check traffic on the fly (a handy tool whether in Boston or SoCal),  I have little other practical use for all the bells and whistles that smartphones offer (and if you ever see me staring at a screen while waiting in line at Starbucks, please slap me).

For years, I carried in my bag an old battery-powered metronome (which always seemed to mischievously turn itself on in the security line at the airport). After years of hard use, I dropped my metronome one too many times, and ended its long life unceremoniously a few months ago. I haven't yet got around to replacing it, and have instead been sheepishly using my iPhone as a metronome these past few months. Before a recent rehearsal with the Boston University Singers, I was fiddling with my phone at the podium, checking a tempo on my metronome app in the minutes before downbeat. While I was doing this, a text popped up from a colleague in San Diego, asking me for important information that was needed immediately for a grant application. That took me into my e-mail, where I found the necessary info and forwarded it to my colleague in California. But by the time I had completed this, it was a few minutes after the scheduled start of rehearsal, and my focus was completely gone. I was now thinking about the urgency of my colleague's request, and wondering what other loose ends might need my attention on the other side of the country. Imprudent use of my smartphone had taken me out of the rehearsal mindset, and I performed poorly that day.

**

One of our very first blog posts discussed the ways that a conductor sets the tone for the ensemble. A conductor who is willing to give him- or herself entirely to the people in the room is a rare commodity indeed in our increasingly distracted age. Yet this is exactly what classic leadership requires.

There's a great line from a movie (whose title escapes us at the moment). While attending an important meeting, the main character is asked to enter someone's number into his phone. He replies that he hasn't brought his phone into the meeting. When asked why, he responds: "Why would I need a phone? Everyone I want to talk to is right here."

Put your phone away, and show your ensemble that there's no one else you'd rather talk to.

What Is Professionalism?

"Being positive in a negative situation is not naive. It's leadership."
         -Ralph Marston


We can all agree on the value of professionalism. Regardless of our individual areas of expertise. we are constantly encouraged to "be professional". And indeed, professionalism in and of itself is certainly a worthy goal. But what exactly is professionalism?

For the choral conductor, we suggest a basic set of values under the overarching umbrella of professionalism. These include:

• timeliness (in rehearsal and in communication)
• respect for your position and for the individuals with whom you work, as expressed in your manner of dress, speech and demeanor
• preparedness, both musically and mentally
• the ability to manage logistics and protracted calendars
• positivity

The last value listed may seem subjective compared to the others, but we believe that positivity is a key ingredient to professionalism when working with groups of individuals. Like the football coach who is able to give an inspiring speech to his team after a crushing loss, choral conductors should be able to "turn on" positivity for the benefit of their ensembles, even in difficult circumstances. 

Merriam-Webster defines professionalism as "the skill, good judgement, and polite behavior that is expected from a person who is trained to do a job well." This is an adequate encapsulation of what it means to be professional in any arena. 

Too often, however, we see a blatant lack of professionalism from conductors, who as leaders should be setting the tone for their organizations. How many times have we seen a conductor exhibit one of these behaviors:

• being late to his/her own rehearsal, or walking in just before the scheduled downbeat
• lack of professional dress (flip flops, jeans, shorts, etc.) and lack of professional demeanor (profanity or overly emotional, personal statements)
• lack of musical or mental preparation
• failure to plan far enough in advance to execute successfully
• negativity or lack of positive affirmation

Let's face it: being professional doesn't come naturally to most of us. The majority of us really have to work at being on time, dressing professionally, and staying positive when things get discouraging. We would certainly be more comfortable conducting a rehearsal in sweatpants and a t-shirt, but we realize that that isn't necessarily the way to convince our ensemble to invest in us. It takes an effort to exude professionalism, but by doing so, we empower ourselves and our ensembles to reach greater heights of artistry. 

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KRISHAN: Grant Gershon, who has conducted the Los Angeles Master Chorale since 2001, is one of the most consistently professional conductors I've ever known. And yet, no one would describe him as "straight-laced". A native Californian, Grant embodies so many positive traits that we associate with that great state: openness, geniality, energy, fun. But, as a chorister under his baton from 2008-2010, I was struck by his almost uncanny consistency. A formidable talent, his score preparation is always first-rate, even on world premieres by avant-garde composers. No matter what the repertoire is, Grant approaches it with the same respect and enthusiasm that he brings to the great masterworks of the canon. His "vibe" could be described as "laid-back"; but the truth is, when singing with Grant, you don't realize how hard you're working. On more than one occasion, I saw him handle a challenge from a prickly chorister with sprezzatura, his grace and good humor diffusing a potentially disruptive situation (in similar situations, I've often asked myself, "what would Grant do?"). On top of all this, Grant communicates deep respect for the people he leads. I once had the experience of socializing with him at a bar in Wisconsin, where we were staying overnight as part of a brief Midwestern tour. I don't remember all the details of our conversation- let's just say that the drinks were flowing freely and our hotel was only a few blocks away- but I do remember that, even in that situation, I didn't notice a change in his demeanor. He was more personal, of course, but he never lapsed into profanity or let the surroundings become an excuse to breach the professional bounds of his relationship with his choristers (as other conductors might have done in those circumstances). He was, as ever, our conductor, even in a social setting, and I've never forgotten that powerful example of true, consistent professionalism. 

KIRSTEN:  I have never been one for dressing up. If I could live every day in a t-shirt and jeans, I would. Doing my hair is always a hassle, and I've never been particularly good at make-up. However, for my first job teaching an after-school high school chorus the year after graduating college, I realized very quickly that I needed to set myself apart from my students by how I dressed and acted. I tried to convince myself that year that wearing jeans with a nice top would do the trick, but looking back I wish I had realized that it only worked against me. Even though it is very much against my nature, I now wake up an hour early to ensure that I am ready for the day, in a carefully picked wardrobe of brown, black, or grey dress pants, professional work tops, jackets, and cardigans. I noticed that once I began taking the time to look professional, I began to be more confident in my own inner professionalism.

**

A good rule of thumb for professionalism is to err on the side of caution. No one is going to take us to task for being over-prepared, and it's unlikely that we'll find ourselves over-dressed for a rehearsal, audition or interview. Professionalism communicates respect for the people we lead. Perhaps more than anything we can say, our consistently professional demeanor reflects the ensemble's value back to them. 

Shameless & Strategic Self-Promotion

"Without promotion, something terrible happens- nothing."
                                                                              - P.T. Barnum

We live in an image-obsessed society. Social media provides every individual with the opportunity to create their own "brand". We can take selfies with our smartphones, edit them and refine them in a matter of seconds, and immediately upload them to a social media platform for instant "likes". In fact, self-marketing is easier than ever.

This trend goes hand in hand with the overwhelming migration of services to online platforms. Does anybody call the box office to order tickets anymore? We use the internet to research organizations and individuals, and whether we like to admit it or not, we make instantaneous judgements based on the information that we find there. We base our perception of popularity on the number of "likes" that an individual or organization garners through Facebook posts. It is therefore imperative that we take marketing seriously, and that we stay ahead of the curve, or at least keep pace with the rapidly changing technological media age in which we find ourselves.

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KIRSTEN:  In November of 2015, my colleague and I decided to team up and establish a new children's chorus, with the specific intention of serving the South Shore communities of Boston. This was going to be tricky - we were going to begin rehearsals in January rather than the fall. We knew that we needed to recruit hard and fast in order to reach our goal, and to fill our four ensemble levels with singers. First and foremost, we needed a logo. I reached out to a friend from college whom I had worked with before on several logos, and he came up with an image for us that I was proud of. The decision was also made that teal would be our "color" - and so the marketing escapade began.

Almost immediately, a website and a Facebook page were born. Official e-mail addresses were created, a Google Voice number was set up, and business cards were printed.

My colleague drafted a press release about the founding of our organization, and sent it to every newspaper in the area. A local paper picked up our story, and interviewed us well before our first rehearsal.

Audition requests began rolling in, and before we knew it, the South Shore Children's Chorus was serving over 40 students weekly. We gave each of the students as much "merch" as possible with our logo - a lanyard, a canvas bag, a music folder, several pencils, and a rehearsal water bottle. The students began feeling like they were part of a special team, and we began noticing an immediate change in the community aura of our organization.

When our more advanced ensembles were called to perform on local access cable, I knew it was time to order the t-shirts. For the performance, each student was wearing a bright teal t-shirt with our logo. We took that opportunity to take promotional photos of our choristers in their new t-shirts, and these pictures immediately replaced all the rehearsal photos on our website.

During the interview process for new teachers for our growing organization, several candidates made the comment that they were surprised that the organization was brand new: "It looks so professional - I had assumed it was a long-standing organization." Even the reporter that came recently to write another article about our organization's growth made a similar comment. SSCC presents itself to the online community as professional and organized. This helps parents to trust us, and students to want to be involved.

Marketing and branding for your choir is so important. It's not hard to get people involved when they are convinced by what they see. So convince them!


KRISHAN: My ensemble SACRA/PROFANA existed online before we existed in the physical realm. I created a website with my bio, the ensemble's mission and generic music images before I had actually recruited a roster of singers. I felt that it was supremely important at that moment in time for SACRA/PROFANA to have an online presence; I already knew what I wanted the vibe of the group to be, and the website successfully conveyed that. Of course, as the organization grew and developed, the website changed as well (it's been re-designed four or five times in our 7-year history) and the content became more specifically relevant to our community. But the basic identity of the ensemble has been articulated online since well before our first concert.

As a former Yale student, I was an early adapter of Facebook. I began using it back in 2004, when it was only available to a few Ivy League schools.  Similarly, SACRA/PROFANA was one of the first choruses in San Diego to have a Facebook page; there was a time when we had more "likes" than the San Diego Symphony! To their credit, the Symphony has since hired a full-time employee for these types of things; the Symphony now has about ten times as many "likes" as SACRA/PROFANA- they've obviously learned the importance of having a strong online presence.

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Here's another important thing to bear in mind: if you're using social media, you need to stay on top of it. Many organizations now employ a part-time individual (a few hours a week) who has the responsibility of updating Facebook, Twitter, etc. on a regular basis. There's nothing worse than visiting an ensemble's Facebook page and seeing that it hasn't been updated in 2 or 3 years (it would almost be better for that ensemble to not have a Facebook page at all, because having a barely-active page communicates organizational negligence). Even choruses that only perform 2 or 3 times a year can find things to post about during the slow months; there's never a shortage of interesting choral news and videos to share on social media (btw, this is also a great way to network online). Once a week should be the minimum for updating social media.

Perhaps in a future post, we'll take a moment to lament the superficiality of our current cultural milieu. One could certainly pine for the days when "being social" meant actually leaving the house and spending some time interacting with fellow humans in the real world. But technology has its benefits; online marketing now allows us to reach audiences all over the world. Whether we love it or hate it, social media is here to stay, and it behooves us as choral leaders to make use of all the tools at our disposal.

Know Thyself

"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.

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:

• 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

Obviously, there are choirs where these issues have been addressed and eradicated, and we applaud those organizations. But even in our successful choruses, we still struggle with some of these pernicious issues.

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.

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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.

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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"!

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.

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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.

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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.