The ideal university choir

In a nutshell, this is what I was talking about in Thursday’s rehearsal - my view of the ideal university choral rehearsal environment.

1. The atmosphere is relaxed but energized, with energy focused on the music.

2. Any talking in rehearsal is fleeting and non-distracting to the conductor, fellow singers, and/or themselves, so nothing ever needs to be said about it.

3. Nothing is ever said about posture or breath energy, because the singers have good singing habits so ingrained into their system that they occur without conscious effort.

4. The singers are able to “multitask”, maintaining focus and concentration on more than one aspect of rehearsal at a time.

5. Nothing is ever said about absence or tardiness, except to worry about the missing singer, since absence is so rare that it makes the choir afraid something bad has happened to them.

6. Motivation is internal, coming from the singer’s love of music and the desire to make the best musical performance they can achieve.

7. There is a sense of common goals, and the knowledge of what needs to happen in rehearsal to achieve those goals. The singers take on more responsibility for their share of the music-making. The conductor is not a dictator but a facilitator, working with the singers as fellow adults on a shared musical journey.

8. The conductor is thus free to deal with nothing in rehearsal besides making music. This in turn creates a more relaxed, open atmosphere that helps create tension-free but energized singing.

You have achieved SO MUCH this year, and you’ve realized most of these ideals already. But we can be more consistent with these, can’t we? And believe me, it’s MUCH more rewarding for both conductor and singers to work in an environment like this than in a high-school type environment where:
1. The atmosphere is rigid and controlled;
2. Behavior is strictly controlled by the conductor because the students can’t be trusted to control themselves;
3. Good singing habits need constant reinforcement;
4. Motivation is external, driven by awards, trophies, and/or fear of the teacher;
5. The conductor has to spend too much time dealing with peripheral issues and not on the music being sung.

The ideals listed above are what need to occur consistently if we’re going to produce what I know we can produce–the best choir in Lambuth’s history, one that will literally blow your audiences away and take them (and you) to a higher plane of musical experience. Let’s do it!