ChorTeach Vol. 3, No. 4 Summer 2011 Practical Teaching Ideas for Todays Music Educator Dr.

Terry Barham, editor tbarham@sunower.com

Welcome to ACDAs online magazine for choral director/music educators who are searching for answers and need fresh ideas or techniques to meet practical needs. The articles below have been gleaned from state ACDA newsletters around the United States and submissions from seasoned choral directors with topics germane to the profession. ChorTeach, our name, is derived from the German word for chorus, chor. It is pronounced, as most of you know, like the word, core. I hope ChorTeachs articles will be a breath of fresh air for you, provide you with a few ideas or techniques that give you a lift and help your singers reach the goals you and they have set. ChorTeach is designed for those of you who work with amateur singers at all levels. Whats in this issue? 1) Recruiting Singers With No Feeder Program? Yes You Can! by Dana Alexander Santa Rosa, California

2) Extraordinary Elementary Singing on a Shoestring Budget by Christy Elsner Bonner Springs, Kansas 3) Working With Honor/Festival Choirs: One Conductor's Perspective by Terry J. Barham Kansas City, Kansas 4) Community ChoirsMission Impossible? by Rick Bjella Appleton, Wisconsin 5) Transformative Collaborations with other Choirs by Thomas Lloyd Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Recriuting Singers With No Feeder Porgram? Yes you Can !

by

Dana Alexander, Montgomery High School, Santa Rosa, California

(Reprinted with permission from California's Cantate, Vol. 23, No. 2, Winter 2011)

By the time you are reading this article, you will have started the second semester of your school year. In another month, the counselors at my school will be meeting with students to help them choose their classes for next year. While I love my school and community, each year it is progressively more difcult for me (as with many of us choir directors) to keep my program alive. There has not been a feeder program at our middle school for many years. Elementary music and choral music programs are practically nonexistent in our district. Every year, I must come up with new and creative ways to recruit students, most of whom have never sung or read music before. This school year was no exception. As I reect back on last year and think about what developed this school year, I am amazed and grateful that I have a program at all, let alone one which is thriving. Last school year, all but three singers in the mens section graduated, as well as a large number of our veteran women. At the time I wondered how things would play out this year. To make a long story short, through various activities I have had a larger mens section than last year and more students in my program overall than Ive had for some time.Yes, the kids are inexperienced, but they are enthusiastic. Were having a great time working together. Great ideas about recruiting can be found in other places, but I want to share what worked for me this year at my high school. Have your current students recruit for you. No one is a better promoter of your program than the students who love singing with you. Most boys love it when girls walk up

and bug them about joining choir. The girls may have to persist, but it usually pays off in the long run. Get older siblings to recruit their brothers and/or sisters. Have younger siblings bring their friends.This has worked well. Younger siblings are excited because their brother or sister enjoyed choir, and the friends they bring with them are glad to be in on something new with their pals. Even though there is no choir of any type at our middle school, there is a drama program. The best part is that the drama teacher encourages her students to sing! I take my choirs to sing for her classes every year, and she invites other students to come to these informal concerts. I always plan a one-day visit to her classes where I talk about how to t two electives into a student's rst year of high school (drama and choir). This encourages kids to continue their involvement in drama while pursuing another exciting activity, choir. I also talk about how well drama and singing go hand in hand. For schools in Northern California, a choir tour to Disneyland is a great incentive for incoming freshmen to join a choral ensemble! Communicate often with counselors and the vice principal or whoever handles the master schedule at your school. Even though Ive taught at my school for 12 years, I still send counselors the same detailed information every year about my program. It's important to let them know how much you appreciate their efforts. I never assume they remember enrollment details from year to year. I
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know some counselors can be more difcult than others, but the more positive and supportive you are of them, the more your program will benet from their help. Always take your choir to sing at feeder elementary schools each year. Elementary students will remember when the big kids came to sing for them, and that may be decisive in leading students, several years later, to enroll in your program. Develop a great relationship with your band director! We continually encourage students to get involved in the choral and band areas in our department. My colleague teaches two guitar classes and encourages those students who like to sing to join choir. We share many students between band and choir. Sometimes we get in each others way with scheduling, but we always work it out. Why? Because we know that involving students in both band and choir is good for the students and for our programs. My colleague has often said that his students who enroll in choir understand phrasing and musicality much better than the instrumentalists. I certainly notice the fact that band students who sing have advanced reading and musicianship skills. I hope you will try some of these ideas if you have had problems recruiting singers. Have a great year teaching!

Extraordinary Elementary Singing on a Shoestring Budget

by

Christy Elsner Allegro Children's Chorus Bonner Springs, Kansas

(Reprinted with permission of Kansas' Choral Range, Vol. 32, No. 1, Spring 2011)

It is doom and gloom for music budgets and programs across the state of Kansas and beyond; however, music does not and should not suffer. In fact, I believe it is a great time for music teachers to refocus on the most critical element of the elementary music classroomsinging! Singing costs nothing and is portable. Through working with the human voice, all elements of musictheory, history, technique, artistry, etc., can be taught while reinforcing fundamentals of pitch, developing listening skills, tone, breath, diction, and dynamics. We teachers can transform and rejuvenate the elementary music classroom into a mecca for singing at little or no cost. To make the extraordinary happen, directors in the elementary music classroom should make sure each class focuses primarily on singing. Instruments and folk dances are secondary to the voice, in my opinion. Start simply and with the basics. Center each lesson on the voice, using it to teach note values, steady beat, and rhythmic sequences, for example. Even the folk tune Weevily Wheat can be sung with tall vowels, good breath, and clear diction. Warm up the singers by plugging exercises into a simple template thus encouraging the development of vocal fundamentals and technique. All you need is ve-six minutes for one activity in each of the following categories: Body and Brain, Breath,Vowels/Tone, Diction, and Range Be insistent and consistent. Never settle for less than the students' best effort.

As you go the way of life, you will see a great chasm. Jump. It is not as wide as you think. Native American Proverb

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Give clear directions and provide a clear vision for where you are heading. Constantly reinforce the big picture for each song and/or performance while working on the nitty-gritty details. Develop strong music selection skills so that your singers present only the nest in literature. Steal music ideas from colleagues. Use old Silver Burdett books for ne folk and multi-cultural songs. Attend reading sessions. Search the Internet and use CPDL (Choral Public Domain Library at www.cpdl.org) for nding hundreds of pieces of free quality choral literature. Visit the ACDA website at www.acda.org, click on Repertoire and then the Children and Community Youth page to nd superb databases of quality music. Prepare your scores and know the music inside and out. Believe wholeheartedly: "I will do anything to get this choir to. . ." Know what you want and have dozens of approaches or ideas to get it. Plan meticulously. Adapt quickly. If something isnt working, move on, switch gears, and be inventive. Put your ego in the closet. Understand that singing is a collective art. Your choir is not about you but about the singers. Work ahead of the choir. Maintain a quick pace and discipline issues will not develop. Be passionate about the music, the texts, and working with singers. Love the kids without reservation. Give consistent, constant, and relevant feedback, positive or negative.
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Demonstrate often with your full voice. What free musical activities can you teach your singers? Answer: Anything you can envision, imagine, organize, and articulate. Learn and perform age-appropriate musical, textual, and vocal elements such as: Types of articulation: legato, staccato, slurs, accents, separation, etc. Simple and complex phrasing Four-bar phrase structure A full range of dynamics appropriate for the age and vocal development of your singers Text painting Consistent, uniform vowels Healthy, energized, resonant tone Breath support and management Clear, crisp diction Sensitive and emotional understanding of texts, their history and culture Wide range of tone colors and styles Empathy with and understanding of different cultures, historical and current events Insights adults overlook Artistic polish Facial expression and appropriate body engagement Completion of homework Individual responsibility
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Foreign languages Singing condently alone in front of others Would you like to nd free (or cheap) teaching tools to motivate your singers? Dig around in your basement or garage; talk to your local grocery or discount store manager. Try the following ideas: Oreos Use coupons or donations to supply your class with Oreos for vowel direction and interior space. Dryer Hose Convince your local hardware store to donate boxes of plastic dryer hose. Cut into 18-inch lengths. Dryer hose helps singers listen to themselves for pitch matching, vowel unication, phrasing, and dynamics. Mirror Organize a hand-held mirror collection drive. Mirrors help singers work on facial expression, vowels, mouth shape, and tongue position. Stickers Visit the local dollar store or ask for sticker donations. Place stickers on resonators or use them above eyebrows for facial expression exercises. Put them on each shoulder blade as a posture reminder. Carry a pack with you and place on singers' heads for demonstrating excellent posture or facial expression. Breath mints or Listerine strips A cheap but effective way to feel the cool air sip when working on breath inhalation. Belts Host an ugly belt competition involving the entire school. Belts help kids feel the abdominal movement requisite for low breathing. Paintbrush Collect from singers and use for dynamics, phrasing, text painting, or creating a picture of song interpretation/meaning. Athletic Equipment Use balls of various sizes and shapes for phrasing (football), lift and spin in tone (basketball), light detached singing with round tone (ping pong ball), open throat (softball), bounce and tonal lift (bouncy balls or beach balls), and projecting the voice (Frisbee).
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Magnadoodle Visually demonstrate phrasing and articulation Books Dr. Seuss phrases (crisp articulation). Explore young singers' voices (The Alphabet Tree). Hands, arms, and body Legs: march, sumo wrestler strut, cross country skiing Fingers: Fast, running ngers for melismas. Squeeze a sponge for word emphasis or emotion. For cut-offs and consonants, ip the nal "R" with ngers. Use sharp blade cutting motion with hand for hard G or K. Hand signs for vowels: Develop your own set of signals which cause kinesthetic connection for each vowel shape. Partner singing or singing circles for vowel unication and listening skills. Lightly bounce the body for articulation In-tone singing: Think under, in, and on top of a bed. Arms: Move to articulate phrase endings and beginnings. Tai chi or yoga moves: Relaxation and focus on singing core and centering of breath. Kitchen Utensils Measuring cups (dynamics), spatulas (legato), whisk (vowel blend), knife (articulation), toothpicks (separation of molars/mouth open) Garage tools Be a x-it man or woman with a small hammer (staccato), tape measure (dynamics or breath longevity), pliers (vowel shapes), ashlight (dynamics and phrasing). I hope you will try some of these ideas. They are cheap and have worked well with my singers.

Flexible people never get all bent out of shape! Anonymous

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Working with Honor/Festival Choirs: One Conductor's Perspective

by

You engage in these projects to share the joy of making music. Generating money is not the goal. Other Important Questions What type of choir: city? league? district? All-state? Grade level of singers: elementary, middle school/junior high (with 9th grade or without?), high school, college, church Balance of voices, how many in each section. What's the ultimate goal for that honor choir? process or product? Will 80% of singers arrive knowing all notes and rhythms? 60%? Start from scratch? Send list of music performed the past two or three years. Accompaniment type: piano only? solo instruments, brass or winds or string ensemble available? Accompanists skill level and experience with pressure situations. Can you bring your own accompanist? Type of music, level of difculty, styles, languages? How many clock hours of rehearsal? Physical set-up: singers are in chairs, on risers, bleachers? Do you need a podium? Choosing Music Review literature performed in the past several years by that honor choir. Fit music to type of choir, total rehearsal time, singers abilities, and number of guys (tenor & bass) if SATB. Include one challenge piece.

Terry J. Barham Kansas City, Kansas (Reprinted with permission of the author)

Having conducted honor and festival choirs of elementary, middle school, and high school singers in many states, I have learned important lessons. It is no surprise that an unprepared 90-voice league choir is a completely different animal from a 250-voice select All-State choir. Had someone told me thirty years ago that I should exercise care with my choice of choral literature, have high expectations but be exible during the rehearsal process, or send a seating chart prior to the festival, I would have saved myself a number of challenging situations, many of which occurred because I didn't know what questions to ask of the person inviting me. Below are suggestions for you to ponder when you have been invited to guest conduct an honor choir of any type. The Invitation Save the contact's name, email, and phone number. What's the deadline for your reply? Check your calendar carefully. Sign a Contract? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, depending on the sponsoring organization. Have an up-to-date bio and photo if needed. Honorarium amount? Be exible. For smaller districts, go with what they can afford. Travel expense paid? Maybe not.
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Vary styles; include worthy texts and quality music. A Cappella literature may not work well if rehearsal time is limited and a number of singers arrive without knowing notes and rhythms. Choosing music with divisi in individual parts may create problems if not enough singers on each part and rehearsal time is limited. SAB for Junior High/Middle School? The baritone part is often too low for unchanged tenors and too high for basses. Deadlines When does the information below need to be in the hands of the person who invited you? Literature choices. Is the level of difculty and variety of styles acceptable? Rehearsal notes with tempi, breath marks, etc. This item is the norm for high-level performance groups. Equipment needs: microphone, extra batteries, dry erase board, markers, projector for your computer images or famous sayings, screen, extension cord, piano (in tune), water bottles for you. Your seating arrangement for the sections. Draw picture of your set-up. Travel Arrangements Contractor or other ofcial makes arrangements? You? Driving? Five hours on the road can be forever the day before you rehearse hours on end. Flying? Have phone numbers to call at destination if your ight is cancelled! Motel. Non-smoking room is a must. Staying in private home? You'll have to talk lots.
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What's your budget? Rehearsal Room Early arrival is a must! Seating pattern for chairs okay? Equipment you need is in place? Microphone working? Projector and laptop hook-up works? Screen in place? Water bottles for you. Structuring Rehearsals I Vary your plan according to type of choir (children, JH/MS, HS), ability level, and preparation of singers First 4 5 minutes all important. Set expectations. Be reasonable given nature of choir. Employ visual, aural, kinesthetic dimensions, not just aural. Use props for certain grade levels: Grannys teeth, pvc pipe, beach ball, string, large rubber bands, etc. Teach concepts, not just notes/rhythms. Explain to singers: This choir and what we do here will not be like choir at your school. Vocalises: mental, physical, linear, horizontal, breath, posture, alertness, range, blend, tone quality (tall, classic vowels are not like conversational vowels!), diction, etc. Structuring Rehearsals II Rote song or canon to start rather than jumping into rst choral work?

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First piece: Read through completely before working details. Oh No, this choir has big problems! Have a "Plan B" if students are unprepared, unfocused, or lack some essential concepts. 27-second breaks. Surprise singers with unscheduled, short breaks while you drink water. Model what you want vocally for quicker results, especially with vowel sounds and diction. Talking head. Not good if you are working with elementary and middle school singers. Tell singers what you want in seven or eight words or less. Attention span. You can tell when students are tuning you out. Change pace. This is a visual world. Use P & P (picky & particular) approach, but also balance it with singing complete sections or the complete work. A sense of humor, genuine, can make a big difference. Your internal clocktrust it. Find a singer doing something right. Have her demonstrate for the choir. Have everyone applaud her effort. Stay positive when some students dont seem to care. Hang in there, especially just before the lunch break! Structuring Rehearsals III Pacing is important. Vary it, but work quickly, especially with younger singers. Work backwards in the music now and then. Start with the nal section rst. Work on what truly needs drill, nesse, repetition, etc. No need to go over an "A" section when it recurs exactly as it was rst presented.

Ask specic questions of the singers. Many people are articulate and want to share their ideas, especially about text meanings. Teach the structure of the music, its poetry, history, culture, etc. throughout rehearsals. Be sensitive about how long to push for the ideal performance. There is a point of no return with every age group. Is the music set to ne poetry? Have students audition to read it at the concert. Soloist auditions When and where? Recognize the accompanists contribution during rehearsals. Find out before you arrive at your destination if the music is normally memorized for concert. If it is, help students memorize as a part of rehearsals. Final Rehearsal - Performance Hall Arrive early. Piano and podium in correct place? Recording for CD, DVD? Mike placement OK? Let chairperson organize singers' getting on and off the risers or into chairs. New standing arrangement (tall people in back, etc.) can change the sound and undermine condent singing. Give music performance order to singers for last time. When and where do you change into your concert attire? Have a trusted colleague in the auditorium help you with balance (choir, piano, instrumentalists). Carefully allot on-stage time for the various works. Maintain your cool. Soloists must have mike time, how to use a mike, when to walk to them, etc.

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Stop 10 minutes before the scheduled time. Let students change into performance attire, regroup, etc. Give genuine praise when it's been earned. Express condence in the singers. The Performance Let it ow. Dont push. Get out of the way of the music. Eye contact with singers just before and during concert expresses condence in them. Your music should be conducted from memory even if you have scores open on stand. Given all factors, go for artistry or the best you can get. Order of recognition after last work: soloists, choir, accompanist, conductornot the reverse! Comments to audience before last work on concert give you an opportunity to speak about the integral, even vital, place of music in our schools, our society, our world. Singers are the focus, not you. Once a year, look at a DVD of your conducting a recent performance. Do you like what you see? After the Performance and Back Home Offer gracious verbal thank yous. No excuses. Get your scores into your briefcase for the trip home. Write follow-up email thank you's. Keep track of expenses not reimbursed. They are deductible. Write all expenses and the honorarium into your electronic calendar. Track all earnings/expenses for tax time the next April. Enter music conducted into your Works Conducted database with place and date
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Make a few mental notes about what you would do differently at your next guest gig. Its a new day tomorrow!

We cannot learn from one another until we stop shouting at one another, until we speak quietly enough so that our words can be heard as well as our voices. Richard M. Nixon

Community ChoirsMision Impossible?

by Rick Bjella Lawrence University Conservatory of Music, Appleton, Wisconsin
(Reprinted with permission from North Central
Division's Melisma, Vol 20, No. 3, Summer 2002)

It is 10:30 p.m., and I just got home from my Sunday evening adventure with the community choir I have been conducting for 17 years, the White Heron Chorale. Members come from many locations. One person drives 75 miles one way. Others sacrice plenty to be at a rehearsal, e.g., ying back early from meetings, adjusting music teaching lessons, and moving church rehearsal schedules.You name it and these people will try to be there. We have increased our budget from $2,000 to about
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$80,000 a year since I rst arrived. We regularly have nearly a full house at every concert. I am sure many of you have similar proud stories telling of your successes with the community choirs you direct. I am continually reminded of how unique my relationship with these ne people is and how working with them remains quite challenging in many areas. When I began years ago, I must confess I ran the choir just like my ensemble at school: same type of repertoire, similar memory deadlines with all the pressure that entails. The literature was challenging and interestingat least to me. I thought we were making progress. However, I quickly realized I wasnt responding to the needs and desires of our community within the chorale or the larger community in which we lived. So I decided to take a fresh look at the special ways we could relate to one another and to develop a mission based not only about being the best choir we could be, but also by helping build the community of Appleton into something it couldnt be without us. Those actions were truly important in what happened to us in terms of growth and why we have a healthy and dynamic relationship with our community now. We, the singers and I, now work together based on the following assumptions: A community choir does not necessarily want to be a great high school or college choir. Rehearsal schedules at best are inadequate, at worst deplorable. When was the last time you had everyone at a rehearsal, all healthy and singing? There are a number of people throughout the community who have never heard nor sung in a choral group.They can benet from the choral experience. People connect to individuals. The members of your choir have hundreds of connections that can be benecial both to the choir and to the entire community. Nothing is impossible if you have a clear purpose and a good work ethic.
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Consensus building requires an understanding of how ownership of the choir must be shared in various ways and that every person's opinion has value. A ne business manager is worth more than the conductor in so many ways. Building a community that sings and appreciates good singing can change lives. Concerts and events with other arts groups and nonprot organizations are of benet to all. Educating the public about why choral music is important takes time and creativity. In today's environment of budget cuts, educating people is vital. People want to support good ideas and activities, things that make a difference even if they dont really understand them. The make-up of the board of directors of a community choir must reect the many facets of the community. Board members must embrace their leadership responsibility. All of these ideas/suppositions, and many more, have helped mold our choir's mission for this season. I have learned a great deal about why groups such as ours exist and how powerful they can be in moving people to their highest good. It is worth your time to schedule extra planning with people outside of the music profession.These individuals offer insights you may have never thought of, insights which can help shape your next season or the next decade with your community choir. Best wishes on the journey!

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Transformative Collaborations with other Choirs

by Thomas Lloyd Haverford and Bryn Mawr Colleges Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
(Reprinted with permission of Eastern Division's Troubadour, April 2011)

another community choir in your area can bring many of the benets of collaboration close to home with those of encountering people in an unfamiliar culture abroad. To begin with, it is important to be clear about what will determine whether or not a collaborative project is successful. For me, two outcomes are essential: (1) Each person involved should come away from the collaboration with a sense of having had a glimpse of life and the world different from his/her own, including insights that can come from seeing ourselves as others see us. (2) Each person gains a sense of the otherness of that new perspective but with a clearer sense of the common traits all people share and a deeper sense of what it means to be human. Of course there are dangers lurking in these hopes and expectations, dangers which need to be addressed head on before collaboration begins. The experience of sharing music-making with people from an unfamiliar culture can be truly transformational in a relatively short period of time. But this can also lead participants to believe that through such an experience, they have genuinely come to know another culture, or, worse yet, they have become experts on that culture for persons who havent had that personal experience.2 With this in mind, I offer two cautionary ideas which should be made known and emphasized to your singers at the beginning of your project: (1) The point of interacting with people in an unfamiliar culture is not to acquire or possess cultural experience like a souvenir or a trophy but to become fully aware of how much we dont know about the world or a particular culture. Awareness of our profound ignorance, which is actually quite hard to admit for some of us, is the beginning of genuine learning, I believe. (2) When sharing your experience with others after you return homeanother challenge in itself, you must understand the limits of your exposure and speak specically of your
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Im sure most choral directors would agree that among the most satisfying music-making ventures they have experienced has been sharing concerts with other choirs and conductors. Collaborations with other choirs can transform peoples lives. Choral collaborations enable us to cross cultural barriers that often separate us from people who see the world from perspectives other than our own. However, arranging these collaborations can require a much greater degree of patience, persistence, exibility, and even humility than we normally have to summon when we work within the familiar connes of our own programs. In many ways, the internet has made it easier to connect with others from around the world, but the web also allows us to self-select content that reinforces our personal perspectives and prejudices. More importantly, while communication via the web can enable and, even at times, enhance face-to-face interaction, it can also seduce us into thinking our emails, texts, and tweets give us the same feedback as the multi-dimensional experience of face-to-face interaction. Recent studies conrm what many cultural leaders have long known.1 One of the most effective ways to overcome prejudice and misunderstanding is through personal contact between people from different cultures. Music provides a unique and powerful tool for enabling personal contact between groups of people who otherwise might never encounter each other in personor know what to say to each other if they did! This article will outline briey some of the important ingredients for successful collaborations based on my personal experiences. Some suggestions are directly related to travel abroad, but many can be applied to local collaborations as well. In the case of community choirs, where it can be more difcult for singers to participate for nancial reasons or because of work and family obligations, planning a combined tour with
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experience, not globally, that is, avoid the temptation to say, I recently sang with my choir in Turkey, and so I know that the Turkish people think that. . . . Instead, say something like, I recently sang with my choir in Turkey, and one of the Turkish singers I met there said that, in her opinion.. How does one go about choosing choirs with whom to seek collaboration? Any number of overlapping considerations must be taken into account. To make sure the musical component of the collaboration can work effectively, seek out cultures with a vibrant indigenous choral tradition where choirs of your peers (students or community members) are active and available at the time of year you will be traveling. This will likely rule out summertime travel to countries in the northern hemisphere; however, many countries south of the equatorSouth America, South Africa, and Asiaripe for choral collaborations when our summer is their winter. Start by looking within your own choir or community for people from cultures you might want to visit. The United States continues to be a nation of immigrants. Many regions are home to people from all corners of the globe. When my college choir travelled to Ghana, one of our singers had grown up there. Knowing this student provided a reality check against our untested projections of what life in Ghana would be like. In one group conversation about fears of what we might encounter in Ghana, primarily about tropical disease and foodborn illnesses for which everyone was required to get the necessary vaccinations, the Ghanaian student mentioned that when he was considering coming to America to attend college, friends in Ghana warned him to beware of all the guns on our streets, a revealing turn-around of American fears that the rest of the world is a scary place. We learned a great deal from him as he examined his cultural identity both before and after visiting his home country with his American choir friends. Many countries maintain local cultural organizations in American urban or university areas. Before traveling to Turkey recently, my college students were treated to a home-cooked, pot-luck supper offered by the local chapter of the TurkishAmerican Friendship Society. This was an opportunity to try
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out our Turkish songs, practice Turkish pronunciation, and ask questions about what to expect in modern Turkey. Having a perspective on both their own culture and American culture made the members of this society a wonderful resource both before and after our trip. In an academic setting, choosing a region to visit where a faculty colleague has research interest or familial roots can make student preparation for the exchange much richer. This can be especially fruitful in colleges small enough to enable collaborative teaching in preparation for a tour. My last three college tours have involved other faculty in teaching about new cultures, helping make local arrangements, and then going on the trip as co-leaders and teachers. In addition, these faculty have brought along non-singing students with special academic interests in the culture being visited. These non-singing students loved being part of the tour experience. They were superb advocates back home for what makes collaborative choir tours special. The most critical personal connection for a collaborative choir tour to another country is the local point-person in that country who must be capable of managing all logistical demandshotels, busses, arranging for and promoting concerts, etc. While feeling comfortable with the U. S. tour company representative is important, any company, large or small, is only as good as its local coordinator in the host country. Up front, ask your company who that person will be and inquire about her/ his track record. That information plus good references from choirs who have travelled to the country with that particular local tour coordinator are the best way to make an informed judgment. On several tours, I have worked directly with managers in the host country, e.g., the parent of a foreign student at our school, an active college alumnus, or a faculty colleague on leave. While these arrangements require thorough testing of the waters, taking time to be sure the source has the experience, contacts, time, and trustworthiness to make all arrangements has resulted in tours which have been among the most satisfying in all my travel with choirs. Many directors feel it is important to visit the country and all the prospective venues and hotels in advance of a tour. I
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have not done this, as nice as it might have been if I could have afforded it! Either way, knowing and trusting the people you are working with to make all arrangements is key, since they should be better informed than you unless you have substantial experience living in that country. Whether touring close to home or abroad, the most sensitive and important relationships are with conductor colleagues with whom you hope to collaborate. When contracting with an American tour company, be sure you are in direct contact with the collaborating conductors once the initial commitments have been made. If the tour develops from conductors or choirs with whom you already have a connection, all the better. But whether they are strangers or friends, humility, patience, persistence, and exibility must be your guides. In any relationship, one side or the other takes the initiative. If you are the suitor inviting a colleague to be an equal partner on a tour, you must accept a number of responsibilities and practice the following qualities. Humility Never miss an opportunity to tell the people with whom you hope to collaborate how grateful you are for their time and consideration. Flexibility Carefully listen to your colleagues so you understand their particular interest in collaboration. Leave enough decisions open so that plans can be adapted to meet their ideal of what a collaboration could include. Persistence Know that until the project is completely off the ground, you or someone in your organization will need to be the main contact to make sure things get done that must be done. If the project was your idea to begin with, you are the person most responsible for making sure nothing falls through the cracks from beginning to end.

Patience You should accept the fact that as the initiator of the collaboration, time will pass before your sense of urgency about moving things forward is matched by your colleague. If you are an academically-trained American conductor to whom many of your singers might refer to as a control freak, collaborations will "encourage" you to learn that the rest of the world takes more time to get things organized and to allow for the possibility of spontaneity. This situation is good but still a hard lesson to learn. Email and Skype make sharing ideas and planning with colleagues much easier even in remote parts of the world. Of course, internet access is not as fast as in the West nor is it available in many parts of the world. On some occasions, it may be possible to perform only as separate choirs on the same program, but the benets are so much greater if the choirs sing at least one piece from each others repertoire together, under each others conductor. When I rst began planning collaborative experiences, I was told not to bother preparing music from the country being visited, the reason being that youll never sing the music as well as the natives of that culture or people want to hear you sing American/Western music. While both of these statements are somewhat true, Im glad I never followed that advice. Struggling to come to terms with the sounds, rhythms, and inections of a foreign language are an essential ingredient in engaging with another culture. Choral music makes that struggle much easier because, in today's world, you can hear many of the sounds, rhythms, and inection via the internet. In my experience, learning music from your host choirs repertoire has always been taken as a sign of respect. While our choirs might not sing the unfamiliar music with much are before the tour, we certainly will perform it more idiomatically when we return home. Hearing a foreign choir, especially an American one, singing a host country song with a positive attitude will be received as deeply respectful and often will bring the most heartfelt response of an entire concert. Many countries have an unofcial but widely known national song which is much less stodgy than a national anthem. Songs like Gralu (Poland), Dinpa Sen Ahonya (many regions of Ghana), or Te Quiero (Venezuela)

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invariably bring an especially warm smile to many faces. Of course it is important to share our music, whether from the Western classical tradition or from Americas greatest contribution to world choral repertoire, the African-American spiritual. The current interest and excitement in the United States over "ash mob sings, where a group of singers shows up in a public place to spontaneously break out in song, is already common in many parts of the world. That idea can be a wonderful way to connect with strangers in a public place on your foreign tours. Humility does play a role here as well. It is important always to check with your local contacts to make sure the time and the place will be welcomed by those going about their daily business. What is the most valuable benet of sharing repertoire? Your choirs must rehearse together! I have been privileged to witness the "electricity" that happens when, after a period of awkward hellos and eyeing each other from a distance, a group of young people or community choir singers come together to rehearse. From that moment on, all kinds of spontaneous sharing occurs for the next several days. Groups sing their favorite pop songs, have discussions together or individually about perceptions of each others culture, take over a restaurant into the night with singing and dancing, all capped off by shared performances for enthusiastic audiences who become instant friends because we are singing with their friends. When I took our college chamber choir to Poland, I knew that our rst rehearsal with the host choir would be at the end of 24 hours of travel, including overnight. I feared I was asking for trouble, and if the singers had not been college students, I would have been! But the excitement of sitting next to their peers and singing together after months of anticipation and preparation pushed away any fatigue which came from hours of sitting on planes and busses. Of course there are bumps along the road to meaningful collaboration with other choirs. When you involve a signicant number of people coming together with highly varied backgrounds and expectations, nothing can be done without a few things not going as well as expected. But the singing is always the payoff, the reward, the ingredient which allows everyone to let collective and individual guards down for a few memoChorTeach Volume 3 Issue 4

rable moments. We then briey see the world and ourselves through the eyes of others and feel a renewed sense of our shared humanity.
NOTES
1

Robert Putnam and David Campbell, How Religion Divides and Unites Us, (Simon and Schuster, 2010). Edward Said, Orientalism (Vintage Press, 1978)

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