Articles

Artistic leadership of a chorus is both an individual balancing act and a highly collaborative endeavor.

When choruses take the time to really sing the text—be it biblical or poetic, somber or silly—we demonstrate the moral consequence of lives that are animated by beauty, passion, and love.

The concept of ubuntu: "A person is a person through other people." Throughout black South African history—from ancient times when societies were migratory to the more recent struggle against apartheid—the people have relied on each other for their very survival. One conductor brought the lessons of ubuntu back home to his chorus.

It's time we check our choral inferiority complex at the door and assert choral music's rightful place as the noblest of the performing arts.

Every summer, countless choruses hit the road, offering up their musical gifts in venues across the globe and conferring many benefits to the chorus and its singers. Here are questions to ask before planning your first—or next—tour.

Cellists hang out with the other cellists, singers hang out with other singers, but conductors—who do they hang out with? Stephen Czarkowski and 31 other conductors hung out together for four days in May 2006 to share with each other, explore some of the great works in the choral-orchestral repertoire, and learn from some of the nation's finest choral conductors.

If your day is spent managing a chorus, then you know all too well how Murphy’s Law and the ongoing needs of your staff and board can exacerbate the ability to get your own work done.

Vance George, former director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, reflects on a lifetime of musicmaking.

The past decade seems to have had more than its fair share of natural disasters and tragedies. In the aftermath of a major event, how should your chorus approach its fundraising activities? What do you say to those who challenge the idea of funding the arts at a time of great social need? 

Meditation and choral singing hold many commonalities.  Find out how choruses can use the practice of "being quiet" to enhance rehearsals, singing and even performances.

All the accountability checks in the world won't prevent lousy decisions if board members, managers, and artistic leaders lack teamwork and communications chemistry. Cultivate a healthy culture that brings out the best group traits of your board.

Inner-city choruses are serving diverse populations in large urban areas where kids often do not have access or the means to participate in quality musicmaking. These "urban youth choruses" are uniting neighborhoods across differences of race, religion, ethnicity, and economic status to inspire and energize communities with messages of hope and healing.