Doing What We Love Together

In her final "From the President" letter for Chorus America's Voice magazine, Catherine reflects on our organization's mission to strengthen community ties through choral music. 

One of the privileges of being president of Chorus America is the opportunity to write this letter. On November 1, I will be handing over my “pen” to our new president, Christopher Eanes. Chris brings terrific experience, energy, and an entrepreneurial spirit to everything he does, and I am excited for him and for Chorus America.

Since this is my last letter in the Voice, it feels appropriate to reflect on the future by considering the past. As I think back over my many years working with Chorus America, first as the development director and then as its president & CEO, one of the things I am most proud of is all the ways the organization has advocated for the value of choruses in their communities. Making this case is absolutely my favorite talking point wherever I am.

This case-making all started with the work of renowned political scientist Dr. Robert D. Putnam. His research factored significantly in my work when I first came to Chorus America nearly 25 years ago, and, in a rather remarkable full circle moment for me, it has recently been in the news again with the release of a documentary film about Dr. Putnam and his life’s work of documenting the decline in community connections and advocating for change.  

As the legend goes, when the inimitable Ann Meier Baker became Chorus America’s president in July 2000, I was one of her first hires as a part-time development director. As a fundraiser who was also a lifelong choral singer, I couldn’t believe my luck to be working for an art form that was so close to my heart.

Chorus America had hit a period of turbulence, and it was critical to find new earned and contributed revenue fast. We focused on developing a case for a broader audience that explained why choruses mattered, and therefore why Chorus America’s work mattered. For choral music insiders, who know the deep emotional and communal impact of singing together, the case was obvious. For foundations and the broader public, we needed to find data that demonstrated how people and their communities benefit from a strong choral music field. 

I was dismayed to discover there was no research specifically focused on the impact of choruses or even on the size of the field. However, that same year, Dr. Putnam released his now classic book, Bowling Alone, that detailed how the decline of American community and civic engagement, as measured by participation in group activities, had negative consequences for our country. In his book and in earlier research, he cited participation in choral singing groups as being correlated to stronger civic engagement and fostering valuable social capital.

Dr. Putnam outlined two types of social capital—both important for a well-functioning society. Bonding social capital refers to the connections between homogeneous groups of people, such as family members or members of the same ethnic group. It's characterized by strong ties and can provide crucial support to members in times of need. Bridging social capital refers to connections between heterogeneous groups or individuals from diverse backgrounds. It is inclusive and can lead to a more cohesive society overall.

In Bowling Alone, he wrote: 

“To build bridging social capital requires we transcend our social and political and professional identities to connect with people unlike ourselves. This is why team sports provide a good venue for social capital creation. Equally important and less exploited in this connection are the arts and cultural activities. Singing together (like bowling together) does not require shared ideology or shared social or ethnic provenance.” 

We now had an essential element for Chorus America’s case for support: Strong choruses are forces for good in building communities, and Chorus America helps build strong choruses! This conclusion led to a sharpened focus in our advocacy for the field, to new and renewed funders, and, perhaps most importantly, to the first Chorus America Chorus Impact Study—our answer to the need for data on the impact of choruses and the scope of the field. 

Dr. Putnam became my muse whenever I was representing the choral field and Chorus America in national arts and culture discussions, during presentations, or while writing funding proposals. In fact, one of the very first things I did when I became president in 2015 was to recruit him to be a plenary speaker at the Conference that year. He proved to be a gracious and informative speaker, just as a muse should be!

Dr. Putnam’s conclusions about choruses and community connection were never so relevant and simultaneously sadly ironic as during the pandemic. At a time when people were dealing with isolation as well as growing political division, singing together—a natural source of solace and a powerhouse for connection—became synonymous with potentially life-threatening viral spread.

Suddenly, choruses couldn’t sing together as they were accustomed to. In dealing with the grief of that loss, they leaned even more into the social bridging and social bonding aspects of their work. They supported each other’s, and their communities', basic needs. They also responded with both innovation, in the form of online gatherings and rehearsals in outdoor venues from parks to parking garages, and inspiration in the form of digitally streamed performances and professionally produced videos artfully combining their singing with stories, dance, and visual arts. 

This past July, I read a New York Times interview with Dr. Putnam about a newly released documentary highlighting his work, including his 2020 book, The Upswing. This newer work analyzes economic, social, and political trends over the past century to demonstrate how the United States has gone from an individualistic “I” society, to a more communitarian “We” society, and then back again to an “I” society, resulting in a seriously fractured country by every measure. 

Again, Dr. Putnam spoke of the critical need for bridging social capital and making connections between people with different perspectives: 

“I’m not saying “bridging good, bonding bad,” because if you get sick, the people who bring you chicken soup are likely to reflect your bonding social capital. But I am saying that in a diverse society like ours, we need a lot of bridging social capital [. . .] except that bridging social capital is harder to build than bonding social capital. That’s the challenge, as I see it, of America today.”

Reflecting on this in an increasingly polarized world and during an election year in the United States, I can’t help but feel the urgency of that challenge. 

Dr. Putnam and the documentary argue that the way forward is to become “joiners” in arts, social, athletic, and civic clubs, to encourage more civic engagement, and to rebuild community. As the documentary’s narrator says at one point in the film, “Community is what happens when you do what you love, together.” 

Choruses and the choral field are critically important to building that kind of bridging social capital and that kind of community. Our conversations with you reveal that choruses unite people with different, and sometimes opposing, perspectives around a shared purpose. You’ve shared how singing together fosters understanding and connection, allowing us all to learn from each other’s experiences. When music brings a community together, bridging divides is a powerful outcome. This is one of the many reasons that the work that you do —and the work that Chorus America does —is so important and so deserving of support.

When I made the decision in March to step away from my job as president of Chorus America, I knew it would be a bittersweet transition. While I’m excited about the future and eager to explore some different interests and opportunities, I’m also keenly aware of how much I’ll miss my Chorus America community. My work with the outstanding staff, board members, and chorus leaders across the U.S. and Canada has tapped into my own joy of doing something I love, together with all of you. 

Given my love for the field, you can be sure this isn’t goodbye. Although I’ll be playing a different role, I look forward to continuing to be part of the joy we all share in making and elevating choral music. 

Honor Catherine with a Gift to the Catherine Dehoney Fund

Catherine Dehoney has served Chorus America with heart, vision, determination, and humor for nearly 25 years. Her special people-first leadership style means that so many of us have personally felt her impact as she has guided Chorus America's work.

As Catherine departs Chorus America for new adventures, join us in celebrating her leadership with a special gift to the Catherine Dehoney Fund. This fund, newly created by the Chorus America board and staff, will advance Chorus America's mission and vision through strategic partnership opportunities, program growth, and innovation.

Make a Gift in Honor of Catherine!