The Influence of The Robert SH

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O rd e r N u m b e r 9324762
The influence of the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner

Chorale and the Gregg Smith Singers on the professional chorus
in the United States
Morrow, Phillip Jeffery, D.M.A.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1993
Copyright © 1993 by M orrow, Phillip Jeffery. A ll rights reserved.
UMI
300 N. Zeeb Rd.
Ann Arbor, MI 48106
THE INFLUENCE OF THE ROBERT SHAW CHORALE, THE ROGER
WAGNER CHORALE AND THE GREGG SMITH SINGERS ON

THE PROFESSIONAL CHORUS IN THE UNITED STATES
A Dissertation
Presented to
the Faculty of
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
In Partial Fulfillment
of the Requirements for the Degree
Doctor of Musical Arts
by
Phillip Jeffery Morrow
May 1993
© Copyright by
1993
APPROVAL SHEET
Read and Approved by:
(Chairperson)
A
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Date M f
mi
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/fo v ;.
To Susan
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................viii
PREFACE....................................................................................................................... xi
Chapter
1. INTRODUCTION.............................................................................................. 1
Purpose of Study.................................................................................... 1
Subproblems .............................................................................. 3
Definition of Terms ......................................................................... 3
Delimitations..................................................................................... 4
Basic Assumptions ........................................................................... 4
Basic Hypotheses.............................................................................. 5
Significance of the S tudy................................................................ 5
Similar Studies and Related L iterature.............................................. 7
Similar Studies.................................................................................. 7
Related Literature............................................................................. 9
Methodology .......................................................................................... 12
Collection of D a ta ............................................................................ 12
Treatment of D ata............................................................................. 15
Report of D a ta .................................................................................. 16
2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PROFESSIONAL CHOIRS IN THE

UNITED STATES........................................................................................ 17
3. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXTS OF THE SHAW, WAGNER, AND SMITH

CHOIRS...................................................................................................... 29
The Robert Shaw Chorale ..................................................................... 29
Shaw’s Early Career......................................................................... 30
iv
Chapter Page
The Early Tours ................................................................................ 33
The Choral Masterwork Series ...................................................... 35
Auditions and Rehearsals................................................................ 37
The Later Tours ............................................................................... 38
Recordings ........................................................................................ 44
Sum m ary............................................................................................ 45
The Roger Wagner Chorale................................................................... 47
Wagner’s Early Development ........................................................ 48

The First Decade............................................................................... 50
International Recognition............................................................. 53
Auditions and Rehearsals................................................................ 56
Flexibility and Programming.......................................................... 58
Distinctive Features.......................................................................... 59
Recordings ......................................................................................... 61
Sum m ary........................................................................................... 63
The Gregg Smith Singers...................................................................... 64
Smith’s Background ........................................................................ 64
The Early Years: 1955-1959 ........................................................... 67
A Decade of Prosperity: the 1 9 6 0 s................................................ 70
Recognition and Change: the 1970s............................................. 73
Later Years: 1980s and Beyond..................................................... 78
Vocal/Choral C onsiderations......................................................... 80
In n o v atio n s....................................................................................... 82
Recordings ........................................................................................ 84
Reviews................................................................................................ 85
Sum m ary............................................................................................ 86
vi
Chapter Page
Conclusion............................................................................................... 87
4. INFLUENCE OF THE SHAW, WAGNER, AND SMITH CHOIRS AS

REVEALED BY THE SURVEY...................................................................... 88
The Survey for Conductors of American

Professional Choirs .......................................................................... 88
Survey Administration and Response ............................................... 90

Statistical Procedure ............................................................................. 91
Influence of the Robert Shaw C horale................................................ 92
Specific and Personal Influence .................................................. 96
Mediums of Influence...................................................................... 99
Recordings ....................................................................................... 99
C oncerts............................................................................................. 102
The Real Influence Q uotient............................................................108
Free Responses and Observations..................................................112
Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale ...........................................113
Specific and Personal Influence ...................................................114
Mediums of Influence.......................................................................119
Concerts ............................................................................................. 121

Rl-Scores and the Roger Wagner Chorale ...................................127
Free Responses and Other Specific Influence ............................130
Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers ...............................................131
Specific and Personal Influence ...................................................133
Mediums of Influence.......................................................................138
C oncerts............................................................................................. 141
Rl-Scores and the Gregg Smith Singers........................................ 146
Free Responses and Other Specific Influence ............................149
Final Observations ................................................................................. 150
vii
Chapter Page
Perceived Influence........................................................................150
Rl-Score Means and Real Influence ............................................ 152
Comparing Influences of the Shaw, Wagner, and

Smith C hoirs................................................................................154
Conclusion......................................................................................... 155
5. CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER OBSERVATIONS...........................................156
Problems with the Project....................................................................156
Conclusions .............................................................................................158
Influence of the Robert Shaw C horale.......................................... 159
Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale .....................................161
Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers......................................... 162
General Conclusions of the S tu d y ................................................. 164
Recommendations for Further S tudy...................................................167
APPENDIX A: The Survey for Conductors of American Professional

Choirs.........................................................................................171
APPENDIX B: Correspondence that Accompanied Mailings of the

Survey....................................................................................... 188
APPENDIX C: Statistical Results of Twenty-Eight Conductors’

Responses to the Survey......................................................... 192
APPENDIX D: Free Responses to Open-Ended Survey Items................................. 217
APPENDIX E: The Thirteen Real-Influence Items from the Survey,

Including Response Values for Computing
R l-scores.................................................................................. 230
APPENDIX F: Listing and Comparison of Rl-Scores.............................................. 234

APPENDIX G: Professional Choirs Currently Active in the United
States ........................................................................................ 236
APPENDIX H: Discography of the Robert Shaw Chorale ..................................... 240
APPENDIX I: Discography of the Roger Wagner Chorale ................................... 246

APPENDIX J: Discography of the Gregg Smith Singers.........................................251
BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................... 257
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Tenure in Present Position of Responding Conductors......................... 91
2. Size of Choirs Represented by Responding Conductors........................ 92

3. Specific Influence of the Robert Shaw Chorale as Indicated in
Responses to Survey Section III ........................................................... 94
4. Degrees of Influence in Specific Areas ................................................. 95
5. Choral Concepts Influenced by the Robert Shaw Chorale.................... 97
6. The Effect of Shaw Chorale Recordings on Musical

Interpretation.............................................................................................100
7. Responses to Statements Concerning the Influence of Shaw

Chorale Recordings....................................................................................101
8. Influence of Robert Shaw Chorale Concerts...........................................103
9. Scope of Positive Effect Relative to Attendance at Shaw Chorale

Concerts...................................................................................................... 104
10. Shaw Chorale’s Importance to the Musical Education and
Career of Respondents.............................................................................. 105
11. Most Influential Contributions by the Robert Shaw Chorale

as Perceived by the Respondents.......................................................... 106
12. Respondents’ Ranking of Shaw Chorale Accomplishments..................107
13. Shaw Chorale Rl-Score Categories .......................................................... 110
14. Rl-Score Categories for the Robert Shaw Chorale Compared

to Key Questions.......................................................................................I l l
15. Specific Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale as

Indicated in Responses to Survey Section IX.......................................115
16. Degrees of Influence in Specific Areas.................................................. 116
17. Choral Concepts Influenced by the Roger Wagner Chorale............... 119
18. The Effect of Wagner Chorale Recordings on Musical

Interpretation.............................................................................................120
viii
ix
Table Page
19. Responses to Statements Concerning the Influence of

Wagner Chorale Recordings.................................................................. 121
20. Influence of Roger Wagner Chorale Concerts.......................................... 122
21. Scope of Positive Effect Relative to Attendance at Wagner

Chorale Concerts....................................................................................... 123
22. Wagner Chorale’s Importance to the Musical Education and

Career of Respondents............................................................................. 124
23. Most Influential Contributions by the Roger Wagner

Chorale as Perceived by the Respondents............................................126
24. Respondents’ Ranking of Wagner Chorale

Accom plishm ents..................................................................................... 127
25. Wagner Chorale Rl-Score Categories........................................................ 128

26. Rl-Score Categories for the Roger Wagner Chorale
Compared to Key Questions..................................................................... 130
27. Specific Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers as Indicated

in Responses to Survey Section IX........................................................ 134
28. Degrees of Influence in Specific Areas.................................................. 135
29. Choral Concepts Influenced by the Gregg Smith Singers ...................138
30. The Effect of Smith Singers Recordings on Musical

Interpretation............................................................................................. 139
31. Responses to Statements Concerning the Influence of

Smith Singers Recordings...................................................................... 140
32. Influence of Gregg Smith Singers Concerts.......................................... 142

33. Scope of Positive Effect Relative to Attendance at Smith Singers
Concerts......................................................................................................143
34. Smith Singers’ Importance to the Musical Education and

Career of Respondents.............................................................................. 144
35. Most Influential Contributions by the Gregg Smith Singers

as Perceived by the Respondents.......................................................... 145
36. Respondents’ Ranking of Accomplishments by the Gregg

Smith Singers.............................................................................................. 146
37. Smith Singers Rl-Score Categories.......................................................... 147
Table Page
38. Rl-Score Categories for the Gregg Smith Singers Compared
to Key Questions........................................................................................149
39. Key Questions and Mean Responses.........................................................152
40. Mean Rl-Scores........................................................................................... 153
41. Ranking of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith Groups in Terms

of Influence..............................................................................................154
42. Listing and Comparison ofRl-Scores....................................................... 234
PREFACE
No one is an island. A project of this magnitude is hardly possible
without support and assistance from many persons. Certainly, completion of
this study was achieved largely because of the faithful contributions of
faculty, friends, and colleagues. To them the author is most grateful.
Much appreciation is expressed to the Committee of Instruction for
providing direction and careful scrutiny for the work. The guidance and
inspiration of Dr. Milbum Price is especially acknowledged, not only for
overseeing this project, but also for inspiration provided the author
throughout the whole of doctoral study.
A debt of gratitude is owed the twenty-eight professional choir
conductors who responded to the survey. In spite of incredibly busy schedules
and job pressures, these individuals took time to participate in the study. Their
input and insight served as the basis for the entire project.
Others have made important contributions to this endeavor. Melvin
Jones, Administrative Director for Chorus America, was extremely helpful.
The expertise of Dr. David Britt as statistician is also gratefully acknowledged.
Computer consultation and printing assistance was graciously rendered by
Dr. David Cassady. Assistance in compiling accurate data for the discographies
was provided by Bernadette Moore of BMG/RCA Records, Rosalind Rees Smith of
the Gregg Smith Singers, and Dr. William Belan of the Roger Wagner Center
for Choral Studies.
xi
Finally, much love and humble appreciation are expressed to Susan,
Christopher, and Hilary-devoted supporters and tireless cheerleaders of the
author. The trium ph of culminating this project is equally theirs.
Chapter 1
INTRODUCTION
The emergence of professional choral ensembles in the United States
during the twentieth century has been a major development in this country’s
musical life. Yet, there have been few in-depth studies of this phenomenon.
Many factors have helped define, shape, and mold the American professional
choir. Certainly such wide-ranging forces as changes in the musical climate,
advancements in education, economic growth and fluctuation, developments

in transportation, the activity of European professional touring choirs, the
power of the media, the technological revolution, and advancements in the
recording industry have had substantial impact upon the professional choirs
of today. However, the current status of professional choirs in this country
also reflects the contributions of those groups which rose to prominence
around the middle of the century. The influence of three such groups is the
focus of this study.
Purpose of Study
The purpose of this study is to examine the influence of three
prom inent professional choirs upon the broader phenomenon of professional
choir development in the United States. The three groups around which this
project centers are the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and
the Gregg Smith Singers. Each of these organizations has an esteemed history
and is widely known for having made significant musical contributions. The
2
Robert Shaw Chorale was active from 1948-1967 and received worldwide
acclaim for its concerts, including national and international tours, its RCA
Victor Red Seal recordings, and the level of perfection which the group
brought to each of these activities. Bom out of Shaw’s association with the
Collegiate Chorale of New York City in the early 1940s, it ceased to function in
1967 when Shaw found his new position as conductor of the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra to be the sole focus of his energies.1 Roger Wagner founded his
chorale in the late 1940s, and the group remained active for more than four
decades. The Roger Wagner Chorale was also very productive as a recording
ensemble, producing over sixty recordings, many of them featuring

polyphonic music of the R e n a is sa n c e .^ The Gregg Smith Singers, founded by
Smith in 1955, have, like the Shaw and Wagner choirs, toured extensively on
the national and international levels. In addition, the group has earned the
distinction of being labeled “the m en recorded classical ensemble in the
world. Many of these recordings have featured music of American
composers or music for chamber chorus.
J o se p h A. Mussulman, Dear People. . . Robert Shaw (Bloomington,

Indiana: Indiana University Press, 1979), pp. 178-179.
2Nancy Perloff, “[Program Notes],” . . . To Catch a Christmas Star;

Christmas with Roger Wagner, Roger Wagner Chorale (Delos, D/CD 3072, 1987).
3Walt Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith on Twentieth Century

Choral Literature as a Composer and Conductor” (D.M.A. dissertation,
University of Miami, 1989), p. 24.
Subproblems
This study sought to identify certain influences of the Robert Shaw
Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers. The
following specific problems were addressed toward this end.
First, historical data for each of the three groups was sought in order
to provide an appropriate background for the study.
Second, it was necessary to gather from the field of study (professional
choirs) information which became the basis for assessing the influence of the
three selected groups upon the subsequent development of professional choirs
in this country.
Furthermore, the collected data has been reported, organized, and
interpreted.
Finally, conclusions have been formulated regarding the influence of
the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith
Singers upon the American professional choir of the late twentieth century.
Definition of Terms
Professional choirs have been defined in a variety of ways. In fact,
Chorus America, the organization founded to provide support for professional
choruses, has more than one working definition for the te r m . 4 in this study,
the term “professional choir” will refer to a choir whose complete
membership is paid, regardless of the degree to which the position is
considered full-time employment.
4“Chorus America: Profiles 1991,” (Philadelphia, 1991). This

publication is a bi-annual registry, published by Chorus America, that
contains descriptive profiles of member organizations. It also provides a brief
statement regarding both the background and present activities of Chorus
America.
4
The term “semi-professional choir” will refer to a choir that
remunerates only a percentage of its singers. One example of such a group
would be a large symphonic chorus having a paid core of singers combined
with a num ber of singers who are not paid.
In addition, the term “chorus” will be used synonymously and
interchangeably with the term “choir” throughout the paper.
Delimitations
This study was limited to an assessment of the influence of the Robert
Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers upon
the emergence and development of other professional choirs. No other groups
have been discussed in depth, nor have any other areas of activity relative to
professional choirs been addressed, except where such were associated with
influence of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups.
This study of influence was based principally upon data solicited from
conductors of professional choirs that are members of Chorus America. 5
Furthermore, no attempt was made to discuss developments outside the United
States, nor were conductors of semi-professional choruses surveyed.
Basic Assumptions
It is assumed that professional choruses in America constitute a valid
and im portant component of the late twentieth-century choral spectrum.
Therefore, the phenomenon is worthy of in-depth, scholarly study.
Furthermore, this study assumed that the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger
^Chorus America is identified more specifically on pages 5-6.
5
Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers have been important
professional choirs and have been leaders in this medium of musical artistry.
Finally, it is assumed that if the work of the Robert Shaw Chorale, the
Roger Wagner Chorale and the Gregg Smith Singers has influenced the
conductors of today’s professional choirs, then it has influenced the choirs

they conduct.
Basic Hypotheses
This study has sought to provide evidence that the Robert Shaw
Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers have exerted
significant influence upon the professional choral phenomenon. This study
also has attem pted to identify the means by which any influence may have
occurred. Examples of such means include personal tutelage, study in a
conference or workshop setting, concert exposure, study and enjoyment of
recordings, and participation as a performing member in one of the Shaw,
Smith, or Wagner groups. Summarily, the goal of this study was to determine
to what degree, if any, the work of professional choirs today is indebted to the
influence of these three important groups.
Significance ..of thg-Study
As stated above, the twentieth century has seen professional choirs
develop to a point where the phenomenon can no longer be ignored or
mentioned casually in an encyclopedia or periodical. It is a stream of choral
development worthy of exploration and study. In the United States, there have
been several professional choirs that have experienced degrees of success. In

fact, an organization was founded in 1977 devoted specifically to the
encouragement and support of professional vocal ensembles. This
6
organization was called the American Society of Professional Vocal Ensembles,
and had a charter membership of seventeen groups. In 1987 the organization

became Chorus America, which today has a membership of over eighty groups
and is active in the promotion of professional choir activity, dealing with
issues of concern for professional choirs (e.g. funding, insurance,
management, recording), promotion of interaction and mutual support among
professional choruses of all kinds, and sponsorship of educational workshops
and conventions.^
The current status of Chorus America is a strong witness to the
development of the professional choir phenomenon. The growing num ber of
professional choirs in the past sixteen years suggests that this stream of
choral development should be studied. Therefore, this study has examined an
im portant aspect of professional choir development in America—the influence
of three significant groups upon the broader phenomenon. Because little has
been written concerning any aspect of professional choir history or
development in America, an additional goal of this study was to spawn interest
in professional choir activity and to encourage further study of it.
Finally, this project should be of interest to anyone studying the work
of Robert Shaw, Roger Wagner, Gregg Smith, or, more specifically, that of the
groups they founded. In addition, it should be a valid resource for choral
music students studying trends of the twentieth century.
^This information was extracted from a promotional pamphlet entitled

“Chorus America, Summary: History, Development and Activities”
(Philadelphia, 1991).
7
Similar Studies and Related Literature
Literature related to this study consists mainly of three kinds of
sources: (1) similar studies, including those the methodology of which
parallels to some degree that of this project; (2) published sources dealing
with a much broader scope of music history; and (3) a few sources specifically
related to the professional choir movement.
Similar-Studies
Similar studies include a small number of research projects and
dissertations that have been completed within the past thirteen years. Edward
Pierce’s “Julius Herford: His Life, Teaching, and Influence on the Choral Art
in the United States”7 is both similar in its conception and related to the
background of this study. Herford maintained an important mentor
relationship with both Robert Shaw and Roger Wagner. Pierce not only
brings to light Herford’s influence on these and other notable personalities of

the last forty years, but also attempts io verify Herford’s influence on
teaching, performing, and the repertoire of choral music. However, Pierce’s

thesis is an attempt to demonstrate the importance and influence of one
individual upon a broad discipline (choral art), while the study detailed within
these pages examines the importance and influence of three groups upon a
segment of the discipline (professional choruses).
Êdward Eugene Pierce, “Julius Herford: His Life, Teaching, and

Influence on the Choral Art in the United States” (D.A. dissertation, University
of Northern Colorado, 1988).
8
“The Contributions of Robert Shaw and the Atlanta Symphony

Orchestra to the Educational and Cultural Climate of Atlanta,”8 a dissertation by
Earlene Brasher, deals with Shaw’s work after leaving the Robert Shaw
Chorale. Like Pierce, Brasher addressed certain influences. Instead of the
influence of one individual, however, Brasher focused upon that of an
organization and its dynamic leader. It is acknowledged that Shaw’s influence
in Atlanta is not necessarily altogether different from his influence with the
Chorale. However, the present study has attempted to deal only with the latter.
“The Meaning of the Choral Experience to the Adult Membership of
the German Singing Societies Comprising the United Singers Federation of
P e n n s y l v a n i a ”^ was a research project that used a methodology which closely
parallels that of the present study. LeRoy Hinkle’s dissertation is the result of
descriptive research, as he used a Q.-sort instrument to gather data from 133
directors and choristers. From the data, Hinkle identified the most meaningful
aspects of the choral experience for persons involved in a specific genus of
choir—groups with roots in a particular ethnic tradition. Similarly, this study
has discovered and highlighted influence (of three groups) by soliciting input
from a num ber of persons involved with a specific genus of ch o ir-
professional groups.
Êarlene Decker Brasher, “The Contributions of Robert Shaw and the

Atlanta Symphony Orchestra to the Educational And Cultural Climate of
Atlanta” (Ph.D. dissertation, The University of Southern Mississippi, 1988).
^LeRoy Bommer Hinkle, “The Meaning of the Choral Experience to the

Adult Membership of the German Singing Societies Comprising the United
Singers Federation of Pennsylvania” (D.Ed. dissertation, The Pennsylvania
State University, 1987).
9
Two other studies, both by doctoral graduates of the Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary, are similar to the present study because of their
descriptive natures and methodological approaches. Seals 10 and Singleton1-1
both employed field study surveys in order to examine certain aspects of the
church music profession.
Related Literature
The New Grove Dictionary o f Music and Musicians,12 within the article
by James Smith and Percy Young on choral music, only briefly discusses the
professional choir. This information was helpful, however, in placing this
study within the history of professional choir activity in Western music. The
New Grove Dictionary o f American Music13 contains a more detailed and
valuable discussion of the subject, focused specifically upon developments in
America.
10Mary Alice Seals, “A Program for Improving Church Music Field

Supervision at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary” (D.M.M. project,
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1991).
11 Harold Craig Singleton, “The Ministry of Music as a Profession: A

Study of Selected Graduates of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
School of Church Music” (D.M.A. dissertation, The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, 1980).
12James Smith and Percy Young, “Choral Music,” The New Grove
Dictionary o f Music and Musicians, vol. 4, ed. Stanley Sadie (London:
MacMillan Publishers, 1980), p. 357.
13James G. Smith and Thomas Brawley, “Choral Music,” The New Grove
Dictionary o f American Music, vol. 1, ed. H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie
(London: Macmillan Press, 1986), pp. 433-434.
10
H. Wiley Hitchcock’s text from the Prentice-Hall History of Music
Series, Music in the United States: A Historical Introduction,14 relates a broad
view of music history in the United States, which provided important
background for the proposed research. Hitchcock deals not just with so-called
art music, but also with those streams considered to be in the popular and folk
styles; e.g. jazz, rock, Broadway, and their mutations. In so doing, he affords a
well-rounded and current view of American music, mentioning continued
developments and trends through the late 1980s. Practicality prevents the
inclusion of a comprehensive list of the many scholarly texts that treat the
history of music in America, but one more deserves attention because of its
discourse on choral activity. The American Music Handbook15 contains not
only a brief treatment of professional choirs in general, but also short,
descriptive articles on specific professional choirs.
Other books related to this study include The Choral Experience,16 by
Ray Robinson and Allen Winold, and Four Decades o f Choral T raining,^ by
Gerald Darrow. The Robinson and Winold volume is a standard choral music
text that presents a comprehensive discussion of the many dimensions of
choral art, including history, choral technique, score study, and performance
l^H. Wiley Hitchcock, Music in the United States: A Historical

Introduction, 3rd ed., Prentice Hall History of Music Series (Englewood Cliffs,
New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1988).
ISchristopher Pavlakis, The American Music Handbook (New York:

The Free Press, 1974), pp. 164-185.
Ray Robinson and Allen Winold, The Choral Experience (New York:
Harper’s College Press, 1976).
1^Gerald F. Darrow, Four Decades o f Choral Training (Metuchen, New

Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1975).
11
practice considerations. In addition, professional choral activity is briefly
discussed, and certain specific groups (including the three that are the focus
of this research) are set forth in the “Rehearsal and Performance” chapter as
models. Darrow’s text, begun as a dissertation, is a compendium of opinions
and teachings espoused by leading choral personalities in the years 1930-1970.
Therefore, it is a volume containing im portant ideas about training the chorus
that not only were prominent during this era, but many of which also have
been im portant shaping forces for choral art in the late twentieth century.
Many of the quotations Darrow includes are from conductors of professional
choirs, including several by Shaw, Smith, Fred Waring, and Norman Luboff.
Moreover, the book contains an annotated bibliography of 475 sources which,
although dated (the most recent source is 1970), was valuable to this study as a
tool for background research.
The largest body of literature related to the professional chorus is
periodical literature. While articles related specifically to the Robert Shaw
Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers were
considered primary data (and will therefore be cited in chapter 3), there is a
significant am ount of periodical literature dealing either with professional
choruses in general or some specific aspect thereof. Paul Hill’s article for the
Choral Journal in April 1980 contains historical vignettes of twelve of the most
“perm anent” professional choral organizations active in America from 1925-

1975.18 Hill also addresses the status of professional choir activity at that time.
“An Interview with Vance George, Michael Korn, and Dale Warland:
18paul Hill, “The Professional Choir in America: A History and a

Report on Present Activity,” The Choral Journal, 20 (April 1980), 10-14, 16.
12
Professional Choirs” appeared in the February 1990 issue of The Choral
Journal.19 it offers valuable insight into professional choir activity of the
present. Likewise, an American Choral Review article reviewing 1988
performances of three professional choirs provides another perspective on
the contemporary professional c h o r u s . 20 The latter is only one example of
many such articles in American Choral Review, Musical America, Etude, and
similar periodicals that have reviewed both performances and recordings by
professional choruses.
The body of literature related to this study is not massive. Neither does
it include an extensive treatment of the development of the professional choir
phenomenon. This study has examined one specific aspect of this
development, namely the influence upon it of three prominent groups.
Methodology
This study was an effort to examine the influence of three groups
which have been been at the forefront of the development of professional

choirs in America. It was implemented as described below.
Collection of Data
Historical data needed to discuss the background of the Robert Shaw
Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers was obtained
principally from two broad sources: periodical literature and biographical
1^Dennis Shrock, “An Interview with Vance George, Michael Korn,

and Dale Warland: Professional Choirs,” The Choral Journal, 30 (February
1990), 5-11.
20Michael Nott, et al., “Choral Performances,” American Choral

Review, 30 (Summer 1988), 24-32.
13
monographs. Newspaper articles covering the activities of the three groups as

they happened were researched and obtained where possible. Such
information was considered to be primary background data. Other periodical
literature related specifically to the three groups became im portant secondary
data regarding historical background. Perhaps the most im portant secondary
sources for this study, however, were Dear People. . . Robert S h a w , 21 a
biography by Joseph Mussulman, and a 1989 doctoral essay on the
contributions of Gregg Smith, completed at the University of Miami by Walt
Mauldin, entitled “The Influence of Gregg Smith on Twentieth-Century Choral

Literature as a Composer and C o n d u c t o r . ”2 2
Of crucial importance to this project was data gathered via an
instrum ent that was mailed to selected conductors of active professional
choirs. The questionnaire was carefully constructed so as to prompt from the
respondents evidence of any influences upon either (1) his or her personal
development as a conductor or musician, or (2) the broader phenomenon of
professional choruses and the proliferation thereof. Secondarily, each
respondent was encouraged to share opinions regarding the issues of the
merit of professional choirs, current problems and concerns, and outlook for
the future of this type of organization. The questionnaire was devised
according to guidelines found in Questionnaires: Design and Use, 23 by Douglas
Berdie and John Anderson, and Questionnaire Design and Attitude
21 Mussulman, Dear People.
22Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith.”
2 3 Douglas R. Berdie and John F. Anderson, Questionnaires: Design and

Use (Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press, 1974).
14
Measurement,24 by A. N. Oppenheim. A helpful model for construction of the
survey instrum ent was a questionnaire used by the Southern Baptist
Theological Seminary in 1991-1992 as part of an institutional self-study.
Appendix A contains a copy of the instrument used to gather data for the
present study.
Information pertinent to the identification and selection of
conductors to whom the research instrument was sent was obtained from
Chorus America, the organization described earlier that is dedicated to the
support of professional choruses and choristers. Its quarterly bulletin, The
Voice, was a helpful resource, as it typically features a current listing of active
groups, descriptive articles, calendars of activities, and schedules. The most
valuable resources from Chorus America, however, were an annual
publication entitled “Chorus America: Profiles 1991” and Melvin Jones,
Administrative Director for the organization, whose assistance with the above
materials was generous. Specific criteria used to select the conductors to
whom the survey instrument was mailed were:
1. The conductor leads a chorus that is “professional” as described by

the definition on page two.
2. The conductor leads a group that is at least nine voices in number
(more than two per part). Most groups with a membership less than nine do
not utilize a traditional conductor and function more like a chamber ensemble.
Along with an introductory letter, the instrument was mailed to the
selected conductors. Reminder cards were sent after approximately three
24a. N. Oppenheim, Questionnaire Design and Attitude Measurement

(New York: Basic Books, 1966).
15
weeks. In a final effort to obtain the most complete response possible, a
follow-up letter and an additional copy of the questionnaire were mailed to
persons who had not responded ten weeks after the first mailing.
Treatment of Data
Data concerning the historical backgrounds of the Robert Shaw

Chorale, Roger Wagner Chorale, and Gregg Smith Singers were used to
establish a context for the contributions and influence of each of the three
groups. Such a context was helpful in establishing the relationship between
the philosophy, emphases, and activities of each group and the influences that
emerged from them.
Data garnered from the questionnaire were the most crucial material
of the project. Using a statistical program for c o m p u t e r , 25 the data were
thoroughly examined. In so doing, evidence of certain influences (and the
absence thereof) upon today’s professional chorus conductors and attributable
to the Shaw Chorale, the Wagner Chorale, and the Smith Singers was
discovered. Key responses to items involving a Lickert-type s c a le ^ b were
organized into tables, which should allow the reader to spot broad responses
more readily. Analysis of data produced by the survey instrument, enhanced
2 5This program software is identified more specifically in chapter 4

under Statistical Procedure.
26ijckert scales allow for flexibility in response to survey inquiries.

These scales, one of which is provided for each survey item, contain a series of
consecutive numbers (or letters). By selecting a number (or letter) from the
scale, the respondent indicates a response that most closely represents a
personal conviction on the matter. For example, a Lickert scale might contain
the numbers 1 2 3 4 5, with one (1) representing never and five (5) always.
With such a scale, a response need not be either black or white (or never or
always), but may reveal more moderate involvement or interaction of the
respondent with the issue.
16
by the capabilities of the statistical program, enabled the formulation of
conclusions regarding the overall influence of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith
groups upon the professional chorus phenomenon. Free responses from the
survey, though not suited for analysis by the computer program, provided
equally useful information.
Reporting of Data
Chapter one introduces the project and outlines methodology and
procedure. Chapter two provides a brief historical account of the major
developments in American choral art, including the place of professional
choirs in it. Information reported here came principally from sources

addressed above under Related Literature.
Chapter three is devoted to the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger
Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers. Each is discussed individually,
including a concise history and an account of the work of each group. This
chapter, therefore, is an extension of chapter two with a focus upon the three
specific professional groups.
Chapter four presents important data produced by the survey
instrument. Survey responses, analyzed and organized as indicated above, are
reported and interpreted here.
The final chapter posits conclusions related to the hypotheses. It also
contains concluding statements about the state of professional choral activity
today, addresses certain problems of the project, and enumerates other aspects
of professional choir development that are worthy subjects for future studies.
C hapter 2
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PROFESSIONAL

CHOIRS IN THE UNITED STATES
Choral music in the United States is a relatively young medium of
artistic expression. In fact, two centuries ago organized choral singing
consisted of a handful of church and community groups located in the eastern
United States. 1 The history of choral music has long been closely associated
with the church, and so it was with the early history of choral art in the
United States. In early Colonial times, when New England settlers were
understandably more concerned about survival in the New World than with
developing a musical culture, the singing of psalms and hymns at church was
the only semblance of choral experience in America (with the possible
exception of activity by early Moravian colonists, as addressed below). Indeed,
the strong influence of Calvinistic theology upon the role and place of music
in the worship of the day limited most Protestant groups to the use of these two
types of music in the worship s e rv ic e .2 Organized choirs did not begin to
appear until around the middle of the eighteenth century, when, as a result of
1James G. Smith and Thomas Brawley, “Choral Music,” The New Grove
Dictionary o f American Music, vol. 1, ed. H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie
(London: Macmillan Press, 1986), pp. 430-434.
^H. Wiley Hitchcock, Music in the United States: A Historical

Introduction, 3rd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1988), pp.
10-14.
17
18
singing schools and other efforts of musical reformation, churches and

communities throughout New England began to establish them. 3
One of the most important influences upon early American choral
development was the establishment of singing schools. Begun by a group of
New England clergymen in an effort to improve the state of music in the
church, these schools, usually taught by an itinerant singing teacher, began
around 1720.4 Singing schools, which were typically one to three months in
duration, were successful in developing a basic music literacy among
participants. Instruction was mainly in sight-singing and rudiments of music
with an emphasis on singing in parts, but the lessons also included vocal
production, style, and deportment. Eventually, a four-note solfege system
came to be taught through the singing schools. This unorthodox system of
notation taught singers to recognize the solfege syllable (and scale degree) by
the shape of the printed note head rather than by its placement on the staff.
Developed by William Smith and William Little, “shape-note (or fasola)
singing,” as it was called, flourished in the early nineteenth century through
the singing school movement, especially in the Southern singing school

tradition. ^
These schools, however, became much more than classes of musical
instruction. Wiley Hitchcock believes that early American singing schools
were just as important for their social dimension as for musical education.^
^Smith and Brawley, “Choral Music,” p. 430.
4Ibid.
^Hitchcock, Music in the United States, p. 21.
fybid., pp. 7-8.
19
They provided a worthwhile reason for people to assemble and planted the
seeds for vocal music to move beyond the parameters of the church service.
Singing schools maintained an important influence for well over a hundred
years, becoming the forerunner of both church and community choirs (often
one and the same), and eventually public school music programs, which
emerged in the 1830s.?
Many consider William Billings (1746-1800) to be the first important
American composer.8 Entirely self-taught,9 he published in 1770 his first
book of compositions, which included psalm tunes, anthems, and canons. He
later wrote patriotic songs and a small number of “fuging tunes,” a type of
choral composition which begins in homophonic hymn-style and follows with
a rhythmic, imitative section. Billings was a leader in the singing school
movement. His influence on American choral development was significant,
for in addition to composing and publishing, he taught and organized choirs,
and generally furthered the interests of church music and choral singing. 10
Another phase in the growth and refinement of choral singing in the
United States occurred in the nineteenth century. Boston musician and
educator Lowell Mason (1792-1872) and his contemporaries, notably Thomas
Hastings and William Bradbury, were leaders in an effort to guide Americans
and American musicians toward more “sophisticated” musical capabilities.
7 R ay Robinson and Allen Winold, The Choral Experience (New York:

Harper’s College Press, 1976), p. 20.
8Daniel Kingman, American Music: A Panorama (New York: Schirmer

Books, 1979), p. 130.
^Billings, though self-taught, was influenced by William Tans’u r’s

publication, “The Royal Melody Compleat” of 1735.
lO R o b in so n and Winold, Experience, p. 15.
20
Known as proponents of the “better music movement,” their goal was to
promote a more refined and genteel approach to music than was produced by
the singing school. 11 They preferred and fostered musical styles that were
European, in opposition to “primitive-style” American music composed by
Billings and others. Therefore, a major change in the “regular” way of
singing was taught, emphasizing musical literacy and traditional notation.
Even in the South, where shape-note singing had become enormously popular,
a new, seven-shape notational system promoting solmization reflective of
contemporary European standards attempted to replace the four-shape
notational system espoused by the singing school m a s te rs . 12 Mason’s
leadership of this reform movement is evident through his many publications
and his activities as a teacher, conductor, and organizer of musical events.
Mason revolutionized the teaching and learning of music when he
incorporated music education into the curriculum of the Boston public school
system of the 1830s. As superintendent of music, he administered a program
wherein every child was taught to sing and read music. 13 He also founded
choral societies and established both short-term and long-term music

education programs, much like the conventions, workshops, and festivals of
the late twentieth century. 14 Mason’s wide-ranging influence in nineteenth-
11 Smith and Brawley, “Choral Music,” pp. 430-431.
l^lbid., p. 431. This new system of shape-notes is considered to have

been developed because of the influence of the “better music movement.”
l^This task, of course, involved the employment of effective teacher

training. See Frank Damrosch’s “Music in the Public Schools,” in History o f
American Music, ed. W. L. Hubbard (New York: Irving Squire, 1908), pp. 26-27.
l^Sm ith and Brawley, “Choral Music,” p. 431.
21
century America reached well beyond choral music to almost every aspect of
music in our society. Hence, scholar Gilbert Chase has called him
" . . . the strongest, the widest, and the most lasting . . . ” influence on the
American musical culture of the nineteenth century. 1 5
In the early nineteenth century, the worship services of many
churches, owing to aforementioned developments, had begun to see a
divergence between the trained choir and the congregation. 16 In the 1830s,
two types of hymn books appeared in response to this occurrence. One
contained dignified and artistic hymns of the day; the other had camp-
meeting, revival, and Sunday School songs. Therefore, church music in
nineteenth-century America was quite diverse, a distinction that has
characterized American church music even more prominently in the
twentieth century. While the churches of New England were singing metrical
psalms and hymns, rural southern churches tended to prefer what Hitchcock
calls “white spirituals,” camp meeting/revival songs, and gospel hymns. At
the same time, singing school teachers were still using the English-
influenced, if rough-hewn, fuging tunes, some churches were singing
English anthems, and the American Moravians were composing and singing
elaborate choral works similar to those of noted composers of the day in

central E u ro p e . 18
15Gilbert Chase, America’s Music (New York: McGraw-Hill Book

Company, 1955), p. 151.
16Karl Kroeger, “Introduction,” in Memoirs o f a New England Village

Choir, by Samuel Gilman (New York: DaCapo Press, 1984), pp. vi-vii.
1^Robinson and Winold, Experience, p. 15.
lÎbid., pp. 15-16.
22
The Moravians were among a number of small religious groups which
flourished in America beginning in the eighteenth century. Other groups

such as the Shakers and the Ephrata Cloister had musical traditions, but their
influence on American music has been minimal. The Moravians, however,

hold a prominent place in the music history of the United States. Unlike the
Ephrata Cloister and the Shakers, Moravians influenced the choral art in a
considerable way. Moravian composers were among the most advanced
composers of sacred music in America until the end of the nineteenth century.
Their anthems were extended, concerted pieces which exhibited the influence
of European p re -c la s s ic is m . 19 The musical connection that the Moravians
maintained with Europe was important to the development of choral music in
this country. For example, they were responsible for the first American
performances of Handel’s Messiah (1770) and Haydn’s The Creation ( 1 8 1 1 ).20
Hence, they not only kept a strong connection with music of the European
masters, but also, through compositions of their own, contributed some of the
earliest “American” music that was primarily choral in nature.21 Beginning
in the nineteenth century, however, the principal arena for the development
10Wilfrid Mellers, Music in a New Found Land (London: Barrie and

Rockliff, 1964), pp. 17-18.
20Karl Kroeger, “American Moravians,” The New Grove Dictionary o f

Music and Musicians, vol. 12, ed. Stanley Sadie (London: Macmillan
Publishers, 1980), pp. 562-563.
21 The argument can be made that these Moravian compositions were

actually European, not American, pieces. Moravian composers of this period
were immigrants who actually “imported” their musical training and most of
their musical ideas. However, the fact that much of their music was written
after their arrival in this country justifies its designation as “American”
music.
23
of choral music shifted from the church to the school and the am ateur choral
society. 2 2
Around the turn of the nineteenth century, choral societies began to
appear in America. The most important of these was arguably the Handel and
Haydn Society of Boston ( 1 8 1 5 ).23 The general purposes of these groups were
to cultivate performances of sacred music and to introduce works of the
eminent composers. Besides the Handel and Haydn Society, similar
organizations active in the nineteenth century were the Stoughton
(Massachusetts) Musical Society (1786), the Apollo Musical Club of Chicago
(1872), the Oratorio Society of New York (1873), and the Bethlehem
(Pennsylvania) Bach Choir ( 1 9 0 0 ).24
The mid-nineteenth century saw the formation of ethnic-based choral
societies. German immigrants, in particular, formed such organizations
dedicated both to the preservation of their musical heritage and to
performance of choral masterworks.25 Community glee clubs, modeled after
the English, also became popular. Originally all male and principally social in
purpose, glee clubs evolved into large, mixed choruses which performed
choral/orchestral literature. The Apollo Musical Club of Chicago, for example,
22Robinson and Winold, Experience, p. 16.
23Louis C. Elson, The History o f American Music (New York: Burt

Franklin, 1925), pp. 28-29. The definitive source for the history of the Handel
and Haydn Society is Hallelujah, Amen! The Story o f the Handel and Haydn
Society, by H. Earle Johnson (Boston: Bruce Humphries, 1965).
25LeRoy Bommer Hinkle, “The Meaning of the Choral Experience to

the Adult Membership of the German Singing Societies Comprising the United
Singers Federation of Pennsylvania” (D. Ed. dissertation, The Pennsylvania
State University, 1987).
24
began as a small, all-male glee club in 1872 and developed into a major
symphonic choral society. Eventually, choral societies began to be established
for the specific purpose of performing large-scale choral works with

orchestra.26 in addition to the Apollo Club, the New York Oratorio Society
(1873), the Mendelssohn Society (Chicago, 1858), and the Mozart Society (Fisk
University, 1880) were among the most significant. Festival choruses also
gained popularity and importance, with the Cincinnati May Festival, the
Handel and Haydn Society Festival (Boston), and the Worchester Festival being
among the most noted.27 As experienced singers, singing societies, and choral
festivals increased in both number and ability, choral music became

increasingly more independent of the church and the th e a tr e .28
The earliest choral groups in American colleges and universities
existed primarily for social reasons. They sang at alumni activities and
sometimes went on tour to publicize their s c h o o l . 29 in the second half of the
nineteenth century, when musical studies began to gain importance in higher
education, university choral unions and societies began to appear. Often
containing community members as well as students, these choirs sang the
better-known works of Handel, Haydn, Mozart, Beethoven, and Mendelssohn.
The University of Michigan and the University of Wisconsin were among the
earliest academic institutions to sponsor choral unions of this type (1860 and
26smith and Brawley, “Choral Music,” p. 432.
27ibid.
29lbid., p. 20.
25
1879).30 At Fisk University (Nashville, Tennessee), during the 1870s and
afterward, a choir of African-American students known as the Fisk Jubilee

Singers did much to raise the consciousness of post-Civil War America to the
black spiritual by touring both in the United States and in Europe.31 The
spiritual has since become an intensely popular genre for choral
program m ing.
The a cappella collegiate choirs of the early twentieth century were

im portant to the development of American choral a r t . 32 in fact, the
significance of these a cappella groups has been acknowledged by most

modern choral s c h o l a r s . 33 Begun by Peter C. Lutkin at Northwestern
University in 1906, the Northwestern A Cappella Choir spawned two other
im portant collegiate choirs: the St. Olaf Lutheran Choir, established in 1912 by
F. Melius Christiansen, and the Westminster Choir, founded by John Finley
Williamson, which toured extensively beginning in 1922 and was forerunner
to Westminster Choir College (established 1 9 2 6 ).34 In fact, the influence of the
St. Olaf and Westminster groups was so prominent that two specific schools of
30Smith and Brawley, “Choral Music,” p. 432.
31 Hitchcock, Music in the United States, p. 112.
32Noble Cain, Choral Music and Its Practice (New York: M. Witmark
and Sons, 1942), pp. v-viii.
3 3 Howard Swan cites the importance of the a cappella movement in

chapter 1 of Choral Conducting: A Symposium, ed. Harold Decker and Julius
Herford, 2nd ed. (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, 1973), p. 11, e.f.
Other prom inent conductors, including Decker, Lara Hoggard, Kenneth
Jennings, Daniel Moe, Weston Noble, and Eph Ehly, make reference to the
impact of the a cappella tradition upon choral development in America during
the first half of the twentieth century in In Quest Of Answers, ed. Carole Glenn
(Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Hinshaw Music, 1991), pp. 184-197.
26
thought regarding approaches to vocal production, choral tone, and blend

have been attributed to them.
Archibald T. Davison’s work at Harvard and that of Father William
Finn in New York provided additional leadership and standards of excellence
for the a cappella movement, a title that has been used by scholars to describe
the distinctive characteristics of the choirs at the forefront of choral
excellence during this period. Having flourished in the 1930s, the movement,
in its purest form, began to decline after World War II when professional
choirs such as the Pennsylvanians and the Robert Shaw Chorale started
touring the United States with a balanced program of accompanied and
unaccompanied literature.^ 5 The legacy of the a cappella movement to
American choral music, however, is that it raised choral performance
standards and featured a genre of literature and style of singing that had been
heretofore neglected, thereby leading to a more discriminating public.^ 6
The twentieth century has seen an increased emphasis upon
professional choirs and professional choral singers in the United States. The
first choir to be called “professional” in this country was the Musical Arts
Society of New York City, a group of seventy expert singers founded by Frank
Damrosch in 1893. By the strictest definition, the Musical Arts Society was
probably not a professional chorus (all personnel paid), but rather a semi-
professional chorus (some paid personnel) or a community chorus with
exceptional ability. Its purpose was to “[bring] to artistic performance the
35Gerald F. Darrow, Four Decades o f Choral Training (Metuchen, New

Jersey: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.), pp. 2-4.
36smith and Brawley, “Choral Music,” p. 433.
27
immense treasury of ancient and modem a cappella m u s ic . ”37 Similar groups
included the Choral Art Society of Boston (1902), the Cecilia Choir of Pittsburgh
(1932), the Madrigal Club of Chicago (1900), and the Schola Cantorum of New
York City ( 1 9 1 2 ).38 Two choirs of African-American singers, the Eva Jessye
Choir (1927) and the Hall Johnson Choir (1930), are believed to be among the
first functioning, truly professional choirs in the United S ta te s . 3 9
In many large cities, as radio gained popularity as a performance
medium, professional singers became involved with radio choruses. Probably
no chorus was better known for broadcast performances than Fred Waring’s
Pennsylvanians. In fact, Waring’s groups were continuously active from

1916-1984.40 Waring Enterprises, the company founded by Waring that
includes a publishing company and a foundation for sponsoring choral
education, remains strong in carrying on the legacy spawned by the
Pennsylvanians. Other professional groups, such as the Roger Wagner
Chorale and, later, the Gregg Smith Singers, followed the Waring example as
broadcast opportunities for choirs expanded to include motion pictures and
television.
Waring’s influence was widespread. Certainly his work served to
promote the art of choral singing to the general American public. Moreover,
Robert Shaw, founder and conductor of the Robert Shaw Chorale and today
widely regarded as perhaps the foremost choral conductor in the United States,
3 8 lb id .
39smith and Brawley, “Choral Music,” pp. 433-434.
40ibid.
28
was “discovered” and tutored by Waring. Meanwhile, among professional

choirs there developed two different kinds of emphases, and thereby two
different types of choruses. Waring and his followers were oriented more
toward entertainment, with occasional presentations of traditional choral
literature. The other type of professional choir focused on performance of
traditional choral literature, with occasional presentations of “popular,” or
entertainment-oriented, music. In addition to Waring’s, groups oriented more
toward entertainment have been founded and conducted by Walter
S c h u m a n n , W a r d Swingle, Ray Conniff, and others. Records of Chorus
America indicate, however, that the majority of professional choirs in the
United States have been and are oriented more toward the classical tradition in
choral literature. Examples of this type of group include the choirs of Shaw
(though he began as a protege of Waring), Wagner, and Smith, which will be
discussed in detail in chapter three.
41 Beulah Varner Bennett, “Artist Delves into the Meaning of Music:

An Interview with Robert Shaw,” Music o f the West, 12 (April 1957), 14.
Chapter 3
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXTS OF THE SHAW,

WAGNER, AND SMITH CHOIRS
In order to study the influence of the three choral organizations
which form the focus of this study, it is essential to consider the background
and historical context of each group. This project has assumed that the Robert
Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers have
been im portant and influential professional choirs. Chapter three will address
the choirs’ importance by discussing the history of each group. This
information will provide a historical perspective to facilitate the
interpretation of data from the survey (chapter 4) in order to explore the
choirs’ influence.
The Robert Shaw Chorale
The Robert Shaw Chorale was founded by Robert Shaw in 1948 using
singers from the membership of the Collegiate Chorale, an amateur
community chorus that Shaw had established in New York City in 1941.1 The
Collegiate Chorale had developed a reputation for being one of the most
outstanding choruses in the country—amateur or professional. Praised by
music critics and musicians such as Arturo Toscanini, the Collegiate Chorale
had made a strong impact on choral music in America through its
performances of classic repertoire and its commissioning and performing of
1“Shaw, Robert Lawson,” Current Biography Yearbook, 27 (1966), 369.
29
30
new works. ^ Louis Biancolli of the New York World-Telegram wrote in 1943,
“Given the time, the place, and the music, young Robert Shaw’s Collegiate
Chorale will walk off with top vocal honors anywhere in town these d a y s . ”3
Chorale membership fluctuated, with an annual turnover of forty to fifty
percent, but usually numbered around 200 singers.4 By 1948, however, Shaw
was interested in forming a smaller, professional group with which he could
work year round and have more flexibility. The impetus came that year when
Standard Brands, Incorporated, invited Shaw to form a chorus to present a
nine-week radio program of choral music. Shaw accepted, selected 30 singers
from the “small choir” of the Collegiate Chorale, and the Robert Shaw Chorale
was born. 5
Shaw’s Earlv Career
Robert Shaw had not intended to be a choral conductor. Bom April 30,
1916, the son of a California minister, he planned to continue the legacy begun
by his grandfather and become a minister. He enrolled at Pomona College (his
father’s alma mater) in 1934 to study literature and philosophy toward this
2lbid. Probably the most notable work commissioned by the Collegiate

Chorale was Paul Hindemith’s When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd, or
Requiem for Those We Love (poem of Walt Whitman). Other commissions
included Western Star by Norman Dello Joio (text by Stephen Vincent Benet).
New works performed by the Collegiate Chorale included Aaron Copland’s In
the Beginning, Hindemith’s Apparebit repentina dies, and Charles Bryan’s The
Bell Witch.
3Louis Biancolli, New York World-Telegram (April 1943), quoted in

“Bob Shaw’s Music,” Newsweek, 34 (January 21, 1952), 56.
^Joseph A. Mussulman, Dear People. . . Robert Shaw (Bloomington:

Indiana University Press, 1979), pp. 20-125.
^Margaret Shakespeare, “Robert Shaw Remembers,” Ovation, 9 (May

1988), 10. Shaw maintained (by audition) a “small choir” within the Collegiate
Chorale for performances of music less-suited to a large, symphonic chorus.
31
end. As a student at Pomona, Shaw sang with the college glee club and directed
a local church choir. Participation in these groups and one year of music
theory were to be Shaw’s only formal musical training as a collegian.6 While
in the glee club, however, he was asked on one occasion to fill in for the
director of the group, who had become ill. Later, when the glee club director
was scheduled for a year’s leave of absence, the administration asked Shaw to
assume the director’s position for the interim. ^ That year (1937) Warner
Brothers film makers came to Pomona to shoot scenes for its upcoming release,
Varsity Show, and popular chorus master Fred Waring and his Pennsylvanians
were scheduled to appear in the film. While Waring was on campus, he
attended a banquet for which the Pomona Glee Club, under the direction of
Robert Shaw, provided the entertainment.^ Impressed by both the chorus and
Shaw’s deportment, Waring offered Shaw a job.9
Though he did not accept the offer immediately, in 1938 Shaw went to
New York to work for Waring. He auditioned and prepared a male chorus for a
new weekly radio series, and later reorganized and became director of the Fred
Waring Glee Club. 10 After seven productive years, Shaw stopped working for
Waring in 1945 in order to pursue his own programs, chief among which at
the time was the Collegiate Chorale. H Shaw continued his association with the
6 Yearbook, p. 368.
7 Mussulman, Dear People, p. 3.
^Helen H. Less, “[Program Notes],” Joy To The World, Robert Shaw

Chorale, Robert Shaw, conductor (RCA, CAS-448, 1958), back cover.
^Mussulman, Dear People, p. 3.
10Yearbook, p. 368.
11 Ibid., pp. 368-369.
32
Collegiate Chorale until the demands of personal study, touring with the
Robert Shaw Chorale, and other conducting engagements compelled him in

1954 to resign.
When the Robert Shaw Chorale was established in 1948, it was an
exceptional group. At that time, there were only a few American choruses that
could be classified as professional. All of these, with the possible exception of
the Roger Wagner Chorale, seemed to have a distinguishing characteristic or
type of literature that was their specialty. Indeed, management agencies
seemed to prefer “group acts” with a distinctive "trademark" that would help
fill the concert halls and thereby be less of a financial risk. 13 Touring
professional groups of the day like the Don Cossack Chorus (Russian music),
the Trapp Family Singers (Austrian folk music), the De Paur Infantry Chorus
(composed of African-American World War II soldiers), and the Apollo Boys’
Choir all had this type of unusual characteristic feature, which concert
promoters viewed as a “drawing card.” 14 The Shaw Chorale’s only drawing
card was its sound and its overall excellence in choral musicianship.
The Robert Shaw Chorale was composed entirely of professional
singers. The repertoire included both sacred and secular choral masterworks,
as well as African-American spirituals and folk m u s ic . 15 Radio and concert
series notwithstanding, the focus of the group’s activity was its tours and
recordings. The heart of Shaw's philosophy of music is a belief that music is a
12Ross Parmenter, “The World of Music: Aspen People Pitch In,” The
New York Times, Sunday, September 12, 1954, sec. 2, p. 9.
13Mussulman, Dear People, p. 87.
l^lbid.
15 Yearbook, pp. 368-369.
necessity and not a lu x u ry . 16 Therefore, he was determined to have the Robert
Shaw Chorale “take the music to the m a s s e s .”! ^ The tours accomplished this
objective forthrightly.
The Earlv Tours
The radio series in the summer of 1948 provided immediate publicity
for the newly-formed Robert Shaw Chorale, which was already scheduled to
embark upon its first tour in the Fall. *8 This auspicious beginning of the
group has been characterized by Joseph Mussulman in his biography of Shaw
as “an exercise in faith and perserverance” on behalf of both Shaw and the
management agency which handled the Chorale. 19 As stated above, the chief
concern was whether or not a tour by the Robert Shaw Chorale would be
financially disastrous. Despite often small audiences and inadequate facilities,
it was a success, thanks largely to the way in which Walter Gould of Davidson
Management Agency promoted the Chorale and prepared each location for
their visit. The group battled fatigue to sing thirty-eight concerts in forty-
three days, traveling from the eastern United States through the Midwest, the
South, and then back E a s t.^ O Reviews were inundated with superlatives
l^Less, “[Program Notes],” back cover.
17 Yearbook, p. 369.
l^Mussulman, Dear People, p. 82.
lÎbid., p. 87.
20ibid., pp. 88-92.
34
describing the group’s tonal quality, dynamic range, balance, attack, diction,
and stylistic sensitivity.^ 1
Also in its first season, the Robert Shaw Chorale presented a six-
concert radio series during Lent of 1949 entitled, “The Music of Penitence.”
This nationally broadcast series was jointly sponsored by the American
Broadcasting Company and the Protestant Radio Commission. Featured on these
programs were sacred classics of the masters from the Renaissance to the
twentieth c e n t u r y . 22 Following this project, the Chorale made another, less
lengthy tour (only four weeks) through the upper East and M i d w e s t . 23
Within two years, the Robert Shaw Chorale was considered “one of the
hottest ensemble attractions in the music b u s i n e s s . ”24 The second season
brought two more tours—a long one in the Fall (sixty-one concerts in seventy
days) and a shorter one in the Spring. Shaw’s programming, because of its
ingenuity and eclecticism, became the topic of much discussion. Most music
critics liked it, but some felt that the lighter pieces detracted from the
effectiveness of the overall p r o g r a m .25 shaw has stated that a good concert
program
is built on a variety of excellences . . . . I find that one can build a

fascinating program by having music that is almost diabolically different
21 Less, “[Program Notes],” back cover.
23ibid., p. 95.
2 4 “Bob Shaw’s Music,” p. 56.
35
but of unquestionable excellence. The compositions somehow go together,

and they add to musical listening the high standard of e n t e r t a i n m e n t . 2 6
The next three tours of the Robert Shaw Chorale, in 1951 and 1952,
featured the Mozart Requiem as the first half of the program. Therefore, Shaw
had to augment the chorus with a small orchestra, as was to become his
frequent practice in succeeding y e a r s . 27 These tours were extremely
strenuous (seventy-one days, seventy-nine days, and thirty days respectively)

and took the group from the Atlantic Coast to the Rockies, from the West Coast
to C a n a d a .28 Hardships encountered, aside from the obvious physical and
mental challenges of performing each concert at peak level, included bus
breakdowns, being “snowed in,” and even an erroneous arrest in Lake

Charles, Louisiana, of two Chorale m e m b e r s . 29
The Choral Masterwork Series
During the Spring of 1952, Shaw and the Robert Shaw Chorale were
involved in one of the most remarkable experiences of the group’s existence.
Shaw planned and financially backed a concert series to be perform ed in
Carnegie Hall. Called the “Choral Masterwork Series,” these concerts were
scheduled for seven Sunday evenings from January through May and were
characterized by extremely ambitious programming. Choral classics from
Josquin to Dello Joio were to be performed, among which was to be the Bach
2 6carole Glenn, ed., In Quest Of Answers (Chapel Hill, North Carolina:

Hinshaw Music, 1991), p. 101.
2?Howard Taubman, “Great Choral Art: Robert Shaw Invests Own

Money in It--Permanent Repertoire Unit His Aim,” The New York Times,
Sunday, February 8,1953, sec. 2, p. 7.
28Mussulman, Dear People, pp. 98-100.
29ibid., p. 101.
36
Mass in B Minor and Cantata No. 4 (Christ lag in Todesbanden), the Beethoven
Missa Solemnis, Haydn’s The Creation, and the Mozart Requiem.30 it was to be
the first time that the Robert Shaw Chorale had performed in New York.31 and
seemed to be another step toward realizing Shaw’s dream of a full-time,

resident professional c h o ru s. 3 2 The first concert of the series, which featured
the United States premiere of Bartok’s The Enchanted Deer, was hailed as a
success even though the critic for Time Magazine desired more spontaneity in
the Chorale’s p e rfo rm a n c e .3 3 The same critic stated that Shaw has proved “he
now has one of the most highly trained and carefully blended chorus-and-
orchestra combinations in the w o rld . ”3 4 Ticket sales for the series could not
recoup expenditures, however, and only six of the seven planned concerts
materialized. Shaw lost approximately $ 3 5 ,0 0 0 of his own m o n e y .3 5 The sixth
and last concert of the series was hailed in Musical America as “perfection . ..
by all concerned. Surely there is not another group of this kind of
comparable a b il i ty .”3 6 Assessing the import of the series, Music Critics Circle
Award winner Jacob Avshlomov of Columbia University wrote:
30ibid., pp. 104-105.
31 “Bob Shaw’s Music,” p. 56.
32Robert Shaw, “Choral Ideals: Philosophy That Guided Shaw Group's

Growth,” The New York Times, Sunday, December 30, 1951, sec. X, p. 7.
33«T oo Much Perfection,” Time, 54 (January 21, 1952), 42.
34jbid.
35“Bob Shaw’s Music,” p. 56.
36Ronald A. Eyer, “Choral Masterwork Series, Town Hall, April 12,”

Musical America, 73 (April 15, 1953), 27-29.
37
The choral art has been raised to a more dignified level, where skill and
devotion are more nearly in balance. This gives courage to those who are
composing today as well as to those who make music in the lower reaches
of the amateur endeavor . . . the course of choral practice consistent with
our times has been set. Let’s hope the resources will be available for
another series next year.37
A series was planned for 1953, but it never m a te ria liz e d . 3 8 The Choral
Masterwork Series was a success in every dimension except the financial, or

business, dimension.
Auditions and Rehearsals
Singers for the Robert Shaw Chorale were selected through a rigorous
audition process. Seeking voices that were “solid, strong, true, and beautiful,”
Shaw preferred voices that might be considered too soloistic by others. “I
don’t think the Robert Shaw Chorale could ever have been made except out of
wonderful soloistic voices,” he has s t a t e d . 39 Typically, an audition would
involve the individual’s singing an aria, an art song (lieder, if possible), and
something in English. Then, a test designed to discover the singer’s limits of

sight-reading ability would be g i v e n . 40 Auditions were held frequently to
replace singers who would leave the group to further solo, operatic, or
teaching careers. Membership of the Robert Shaw Chorale was normally

around thirty voices.41
^^This is a quote from a letter to the editor of the New York Times. It is
cited by Mussulman in his monograph, Dear People. . . Robert Shaw, p. 106.
39Glenn, In Quest, p. 34.
40jack Boyd, “Conversations with Robert Shaw,” The Choral Journal, 7

(September/October 1968), 12.
4 1 Ib id .
38
Rehearsals were contingent upon performances. For tours, the

Chorale would typically rehearse from twenty-five to fifty h o u r s .4 2 On
occasion, the group carried three different concert programs on the same
tour. This was difficult, according to Shaw, not only because it required the
most rehearsal time, but also because it would sometimes be three or four tour
days between repetitions of a concert program and therefore difficult to build

upon the previous performance. The Chorale did not generally memorize
music because of Shaw’s contention that inspiration can be drawn from the
printed p a g e . 43
Believing it to be the fastest way to teach notes and polish, Shaw would
devote about half of the alloted rehearsal time to sectional re h e a r s a ls .4 4 He
was known for working the singers relentlessly. Often, after a cordial
greeting and a few body-limbering exercises, he would delve into a two-hour
rehearsal without a b re a k .4 5
The Later Tours
By the time the Robert Shaw Chorale resumed touring in the 1 9 5 4 -1 9 5 5
season, its popularity had grown such that every concert was a sellout. The
Fall tour lasted ten weeks, the Spring tour s ix .4 6 The next season included a
seventy-day Fall tour (1 9 5 5 ) and a Spring tour which has been called “one of
42 ibid.
43 ibid.
44ibid.
45Less, Joy To The World.
46“Shaw Chorale Winding Sock Season with 240G Take for 16-Week
Tour,” Variety, (March 30, 1955), 68. Also, Mussulman notes that the Fall tour
included 60 concerts and the Spring tour 30.
the longest and most difficult tours ever attempted by so large a g r o u p . ”47 it
was part of the State Department’s cultural exchange program, which sent the
Chorale to Europe and the Middle East for ten weeks, including fifty concerts
in fifteen c o u n trie s .4 8 in Germany, the Berliners “would have stayed until
well after m idnight,” listening to encore after e n c o r e .4 9 in Turkey, the
concerts “. . . were of a nature that had no precedent in the musical life” of the
country, and filled the State Opera House despite very high p r ic e s .5 0 in
London, the Chorale “scored great and deserved s u c c e s s . ”51 In Israel, where
Arab/Israeli tensions were high, they sang eleven concerts in ten d a y s ,5 2 at
one point singing the Mozart Requiem within range of Arab g u n s .5 3
This busy 1 9 5 5 -5 6 season also included recording sessions for the
Chorale. Furthermore, Shaw decided at this time to accept the position of

associate conductor to George Szell with the Cleveland O r c h e s tr a .5 4 it is not
surprising then that, following such a frenetic season, and with Shaw’s new
appointment, the Robert Shaw Chorale suspended operations for two years.
4 7 “ANTA Lists Tours by Two Ensembles,” Musical America, 75

(November 15, 1955), 8.
48“On the Front Cover,” Musical America, 78 (January 1, 1958), 4.
49“The International Scene,” Musical Courier, 108 (June, 1956), 17.
50llhan K. Mimaroglu, “Shaw Chorale Cheered in Turkey,” Musical

America, 76 (May, 1956), 7.
51 Harold Rosenthal, “London Hears Shaw Chorale, Vaughan Williams’

Eighth,” Musical America, 76 (July 1956), 12.
52peter Gradenwitz, “Chorale in Israel: Shaw Unit Wins Friends

during ANTA Tour,” The New York Times, Sunday, June 3, 1956, sec. X, p. 7.
54ibid„ pp. 125-126.
40
In the Spring of 1959, however, the Chorale resumed operations with
an eight-week tour featuring the Faure Requiem and Brahms' Alto
Rhapsody. 55 jn i960, the tour program was the Mass in B minor. Performing
it in thirty-five cities against the advice of his counselors, Shaw considered
the opportunity to take this great work on tour the fulfillment of a personal
d r e a m . 56 a recording of the Mass in B Minor (Shaw’s second) featuring the

Chorale was released in 1962 57 and received favorable r e v ie w s . 58 in the late
winter of 1961, the group conducted a seventy-one day tour of the West Coast.
The following year, the Chorale embarked upon a forty-nine day tour with the
St. John Passion, the first time this work had been sung on a nationwide
to u r. 5 9 Musicologist Paul Henry Lang, in the New York Times, chastised the
Chorale’s Carnegie Hall performance of the work as “unsuitably subjective,”60
but the American Choral Review characterized the group’s performances as
exhibiting “impressive mastery” and a “pervading spirit and sincerity. ”61
One of its most significant tours occurred in 1962, when the Robert
Shaw Chorale, again as part of the State Department’s cultural exchange
55ibid., p. 144.
56lbid.
57Herbert Glass, “Two Worth-While Versions of the B Minor Mass,” The

American Record Guide, 28 (May 1962), 712-713.
5 8 Nathan Broder, “The Bach B Minor—Two New Sets and a Plenitude o f

Riches,” High Fidelity Magazine, 12 (February 1962), 78.
59Alfred Mann, “On a First American Tour: Bach’s St. John Passion,”
American Choral Review, 4 (April 1962), 1-2.
^M ussulm an, Dear People, p. 146.
61 Mann, “First American Tour,” p. 1.
41
program, performed in Yugoslavia, West Berlin, and the Soviet Union. The
group’s sixty professional musicians, which included instrumentalists,
presented thirty concerts in eleven Soviet c i t i e s . 62 a relatively unpublicized
Soviet tour began successfully, and every succeeding concert yielded an
overflowing house, many persons having stood in line for two days just for the
opportunity to stand at the c o n c e r t.6 3 This tour has been interpreted by Shaw
and others as having a positive impact on United States/Soviet relations,
striking a blow for freedom within the Soviet Union, and, because the Mass in
B Minor was broadcast nationwide at the final concert, revealing that the
Soviet people were not the atheistic heathens many Americans had believed
them to be. 6 4 Norman Nadel, in the New York World-Telegram and Sun, wrote,
“The tour (to the Soviet Union) was a musical, diplomatic, and spiritual
triumph almost without parallel in our t i m e . ”6 5 According to Shaw, it afforded
him one of the most memorable experiences of his career. During the Moscow
performance of the Mass in B Minor, the applause was extended, even after
several encores. Finally, Shaw bowed out and went to the dressing room. An
hour later, as he walked across the stage to exit, he discovered the audience
still standing in s ile n c e .6 6
62Robert Shaw, “The Conservative Arts,” The Diapason, 57 (June 1966),

42-44.
63“Night-Long Queues for Concert Tix Marked Shaw Chorale's Soviet

Tour,” Variety, 229 (December 5, 1962), 43.
65Qjjoted in Yearbook, p. 370.
66Helen C. Smith, “The Genius and Heart of Robert Shaw,” The Atlanta
Journal/The Atlanta Constitution, Sunday, December 1, 1991, sec. K, pp. 1-3.
42
There were more tours in 1963 and 1964--one in the eastern United
States, one in the Midwest, and one more for the State Department, this time to
South A m e ric a . 67 Despite worldwide political tensions due in large part to the
United States’ military involvement in Vietnam, the Chorale perform ed to
packed houses at every concert and, without exception, was received

warmly. 6 8
The final two tours of the Robert Shaw Chorale were in the Spring of
1966 and the Spring of 1967. The 1966 tour was six weeks in duration and
featured Handel’s Messiah.69 Mussulman relates that this particular group of
singers and instrumentalists was able in performance to reach beyond the
level of sheer musicality to a more spiritual dimension. Indeed, the depth of
meaning in the music was heightened by the Civil Rights Movement and its
social ramifications, particularly in the South.
The concert took place in Birmingham’s Municipal Auditorium at 3:30 P.M.

on Easter Sunday. As the singers filed onto the risers the applause
mounted with an unusual crescendo, and when each one turned to face the
audience it was discovered that Negroes, who normally would have been
expected to sit at the rear of the auditorium, filled the first ten rows of
seats. With the opening notes of “Comfort ye, my people,” sung by Seth
McCoy, those black faces began to glisten with tears. The orchestra
musicians, caught up in the emotion-charged atmosphere, were playing
blind. The music before them literally swam. By the time McCoy began his
aria, “Thou shalt smite them with rods of iron,” it seemed as though the
very earth beneath them was atremble.70
The 1967 tour was the final one for the Robert Shaw Chorale. The
program consisted mostly of unaccompanied works, all from the twentieth
6 7 “Robert Shaw Chorale, in State Dept. Tour, Wows 'Em at 3 Chile

Concerts,” Variety, 235 (June 17, 1964), 48.
^M ussulm an, Dear People, pp. 157-158.
69lbid., p. 162.
70ibid., pp. 162-163.
43
century, and the Chorale was "perhaps the most proficient group of [Shaw’s]
c a r e e r . ”? !. Donal J. Henahan of the American Choral Review wrote, “If this
truly proves to be Shaw’s farewell to choral touring, it was a leave-taking that

we shall not soon f o rg e t.”? 2
Reviews of concerts and recordings by the Robert Shaw Chorale
generally praised such things as the group’s tone, diction, clarity, and power.
The Chorale was said to possess the ability to combine the artistry of a chamber
chorus with the impact of a mammoth singing group.? 3 Not all reviewers had
exclusive praise for Shaw’s group, however. The Choral and Organ Guide, in
April of 1953, characterized his work as “cold, dry and inspired by nothing but
a fiendish sense of pure rhythm. ”?4 Other critics took issue with Shaw over
such concerns as the Chorale’s singing "too perfectly"?^ or Shaw’s selection of
literature. Alfred Frankenstein of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote,
following a West Coast performance during the 1961 tour,
A program as beautifully chosen as this is seldom to be found on the

circuit of commercial concert-giving. The payoff came with the encores,
a considerable number of them, mostly Negro spirituals and other folk
songs sung in arrangements of unrelieved vulgarity. They drew lots of
applause mingled with the soft plash of the cognoscenti being quietly sick
in their hats.?6
? ! Donal J. Henahan, “Choral Performances,” American Choral Review,

9 (Summer 1967), 55.
?2Ibid., p. 56.
? 3 “The International Scene,” p. 17.
?^The Editorial Staff, “Performance Reviews,” Choral and Organ Guide,

6 (April 1953), 33.
? 5 “T oo Much Perfection,” p. 42.
44
Critics notwithstanding, the value, in terms of music education, of
Shaw Chorale tour engagements to the rural communities of America is
inestimable. On tour with the Chorale to numerous small towns in forty of the
fifty United States,77 Shaw refused to patronize these non-metropolitan
audiences by performing less-sophisticated literature. He believed that, given
the opportunity to choose between bad and good, or good and great, the public
will make the best choice. There is evidence that he was correct. Mussulman
notes that
After a performance in a shabby little industrial town where the local

sponsors had warned that the Requiem (Mozart) was “too highbrow,” a
young woman waited until the last autograph seeker had left, then
approached Shaw. “I suppose,” she said quietly, “there are two kinds of
people who can understand that music-those with a musical education,
and those who have known great sorrow. I am no musician. Thank you
very much.”7 **
Recordings
The recordings of the Robert Shaw Chorale represent another major
enterprise of the group. Indeed, achievements in the recording field were a
foremost reason for the popularity of the Robert Shaw Chorale.7^ Throughout
its existence, the Chorale was featured on RCA Victor’s Red Seal and operatic
recordings. While the many “thematic” recordings (such as Christmas Hymns
and Carols, Deep River and other Spirituals, Great Sacred Choruses, etc.) were
perhaps more popular, the Robert Shaw Chorale premiere recordings and
those of major choral works probably had the greatest impact. Premieres were
77“The 1981 ACDA National Convention: The Missa Solemnis and

Robert Shaw,” The Choral Journal, 21 (February 1981), 19.
7**Mussulman, Dear People, p. 100.
79“On the Front Cover,” p. 4.
45
released of Bach’s Magnificat, Jesu, Meine Freude, several cantatas, the St.
John Passion, Hindemith’s Six Chansons, Poulenc’s Petites Voix and Gloria,
Brahms’ German Requiem, and o t h e r s . 80 Releases of other masterpieces by
Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Cherubini, and Verdi were also im portant.81
Grammy awards were bestowed upon the Chorale for the 1961 release of the
Mass in B Minor, the 1966 recording of Messiah, and the 1964 recording which
contained Stravinsky’s Symphony o f Psalms and Poulenc’s Gloria. 82 jn the
late 1950s, recordings of the Robert Shaw Chorale were among the best-selling
albums in any category of rn u s ic .8 3 Some of these albums are now being re-
released in digital, compact-disc format. Appendix H contains a complete
discography of the group, including those recordings available in the new
format.
Smnmary
The nineteen years of existence for the Robert Shaw Chorale yielded
achievements and accolades that impacted not only the world of music but also
social and political spheres. Called “a national asset in public relations,” the
Chorale, through the international tours, was credited with achieving “a
80Mussulman, Dear People, pp. 164-165. The Brahms Requiem had not
yet been recorded in its entirety. The same year in which the Shaw Chorale
released its recording of the Requiem (1948), a recording by Herbert von
Karajan and the Vienna Philharmonic was released almost simultaneously. It
is unclear from the Mussulman monograph whether the recordings
mentioned above were all world premieres or United States premieres.
83“On the Front Cover,” p. 4.
46
people-to-people communication virtually impossible on a political l e v e l . ’’84-
In an era when the United States was constantly in the world news due to
racial tensions and the Civil Rights Movement, the Russian and South
American people were surprised to discover that the Chorale had African-
American members. 8 5
The Chorale can also be credited for educating thousands of American
concertgoers.86 By performing, on numerous tours spanning nineteen years,
literature covering five centuries of choral music, the group helped heighten
the interest of the general public in artistic choral singing and worthwhile
choral literature.
The Robert Shaw Chorale served as training ground and vehicle for
many professional singers, educators, and conductors. Persons like Blake
Stern, Benjamin DeLoache, Clayton Krehbiel, and Florence Kopleff, after
leaving the Chorale, have had notable music careers with far-reaching
effects. Kopleff, who was a featured soloist on many Chorale albums (and with
the Atlanta Symphony after Shaw became conductor), today maintains, “I
learned most of my musical gifts from him (Shaw).”87
The Robert Shaw Chorale never became a full-time resident chorus,
due mostly to financial instability a rd instability in personnel. Called a
“prescription chorus,” the Shaw Chorale was basically a group that was
assembled around a project: a tour, a recording, or a broadcast project. While
85 Mussulman, Dear People, p. 161.
86Henahan, “Choral Performances,” p. 55.
87sm ith, “The Genius,” p. K2.
47
Shaw’s dream for many years had been to establish a resident professional
chorus, his goals were changed after he accepted the position as conductor of
the Atlanta Symphony O r c h e s tra .8 8 Nonetheless, the Robert Shaw Chorale
remains an im portant part of American music history and an esteemed
ancestor of the American professional choirs of today.
The Roger Wagner Chorale
The Roger Wagner Chorale began in 1946 as an am ateur madrigal

group of twelve voices called the Los Angeles Concert C h o ra le . 89 in 1947(
founder/conductor Roger Wagner changed the name of the choir to the Roger
Wagner Chorale, but it was not until 1949, according to charter member Paul
Salamunovich, that the group had its first engagement as a professional
chorus. With a membership of about fifty voices, the Roger Wagner Chorale
was employed to record the soundtrack for Joan o f Arc, a motion picture
starring Ingrid B e r g m a n . 90 Thus, a professional chorus was begun that was to
gain wide recognition in America and worldwide for its virtuosity and
versatility.
88Alan Blyth, “A Man Who Knows What He Wants,” The Gramophone,

66 (November 1988), 729.
89There is some disagreement among sources regarding the actual

dates of beginning for both the Los Angeles Concert Chorale and the Roger
Wagner Chorale. This statement represents what this writer believes to be the
most accurate record, based on combined information from all sources cited in
this section of chapter three.
90paul Salamunovich, “Conductor of the Year Award” (Speech

delivered at the convention of the Western Division of the American Choral
Director’s Association in March of 1990), quoted in The Choral Journal, 32
(August 1991), 15.
48
Wagner’s Earlv Development
Roger Wagner exhibited musical gifts at an early age. Bom January

16, 1914, in the French village of Le P u y ,9 1 Wagner received his early musical
training from his father, who was for a time organist at the famed cathedral of
D i j o n . ^2 w hen the younger Wagner was seven years old, his family
immigrated to the United States, settling first in upstate New York and then in
Los Angeles, C a l i f o r n i a . 93 At the age of twelve, Wagner received his first
employment as a musician, serving as organist and choir director at the
Church of St. Ambrose in Los A n g e l e s . 94 He also sang as a boy soprano in one

of his father’s choirs. 9 5 it was here, while barely a teenager, that Wagner
began to realize his gift for hearing and blending voices. He states:
I realized at that time that my father could not hear voices as I heard them.
There was a tenor in his choir who stuck out like a sore thumb and it
annoyed me terribly, even at my age. I used to ask my father, “Pappa, why
do you keep this tenor? He has a terrible sound!” He would answer, “What
tenor?”96
At age fourteen, Wagner began substituting for his father as organist
at St. Brennan's. Encouraged by his parents, Wagner entered a monastery in
91 “Wagner, Roger,” ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th ed. (New

York: R. R. Bowker Co., 1980), p. 523.
92w illiam Belan, “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” The Choral
Journal, 32 (August 1991), 7.
93"Wagner and Master Chorale Celebrate," The Choral Journal, 24

(February 1984), 26.
9 4 “Roger Wagner Chorale to Make First Transcontinental Tour,”

Musical America, 75 (February 15, 1955), 230.
95Ray Moremen and Roger Wagner, “In Quest of Answers: An

Interview with Roger Wagner,” The Choral Journal, 13 (October 1972), 16.
Wagner’s father was organist, first for St. Joseph’s church (where Roger
would later serve) and then for St. Brennan’s church.
9 6 B e la n , “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” p. 9.
49
1929 with intentions of becoming a Catholic priest, but his free-spirited
temperament and love for music soon compelled him to leave the monastic life.
He returned to France in 1932 to pursue music more intently. Over the next
five years, Wagner studied organ with Marcel Dupre, completed detailed
research in liturgical music at a Benedictine abbey, and finished his
bachelor’s degree. A multi-gifted individual, Wagner also participated in the

1936 Olympics as a decathlete and served a one-year obligation in the French
army before returning to the United States. 97
With no work as an organist readily available in Los Angeles, Wagner

took a job as a member of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer c h o ru s. 98 At age twenty-
three he was hired by St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. In addition to his duties as
organist/choirm aster, his responsibilities included teaching academic classes
in the church’s grammar school and coaching the basketball and football
t e a m s . 99 Wagner completely reformed St. Joseph’s choir, using boy sopranos
and male altos instead of women, and began a series of annual concerts for
which both he and the choir gained recognition in Southern California.
Largely because of these concerts, Wagner was asked to become the Supervisor
of Youth Choruses for the city of Los Angeles’ Bureau of M u s ic . 100 w as
9 7Ibid., pp. 7-10.
98“ . . . First Transcontinental Tour,” p. 230.
99Belan, “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” p. 12.
100«American Choral Directors Association, Fifth Independent

National Convention: The Conductors,” The Choral Journal, 19 (January 1979),
22 .
50
while working in this capacity that he formed the small group that developed
into the Roger Wagner Chorale. 101
The First Decade
During its first year as a professional ensemble, the Roger Wagner
Chorale, building on the foundation laid by the Los Angeles Concert Chorale,
established a tradition of excellent choral performances. On April 3, 1949, the
group sang a concert that was reviewed in the Los Angeles Examiner two days
later as follows:
With lovely old St. Joseph’s Church as a setting, Roger Wagner last
Sunday night conducted his Chorale of mixed voices, augmented by the St.
Joseph Male Choir, in a program of the most beautiful choral singing I
have heard in many years.
Perhaps I should simply call it the most beautiful choral singing I
have heard; because beyond supreme technical and tonal merits, it had a
mood of exaltation that visits itself rarely upon choruses, or upon
individuals, for that m atter . . .
Wagner has achieved a style and tonal quality that is
depersonalized without being dehumanized. He has avoided the operatic
emotionalism that besets some choral groups, and the prim pallor that
besets still others. There was no tremolo, no shrillness, no rigidity in the
ensemble, and there was a welcome accuracy of pitch, attack and
execution. ..
The church was filled to its limits, and hundreds had to be turned
away. Perhaps means can be found whereby Wagner, who has given new
life to choral singing in Los Angeles, may be enabled to bring this
program to other audiences. 102
Wagner’s Chorale also made its first appearance with the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Orchestra in 1949, presenting a program of Bach works under
the direction of Alfred Wallenstein. This concert became the first of many
collaborations with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, producing programs that
101c. Sharpless Hickman, "Singing in Action," Music Journal, 9

(October 1951), 37-38.
102patterson Greene, Los Angeles Examiner, April 5, 1949, quoted by

Paul Salamunovich in The Choral Journal, 22 (August 1991), 16.
51
have included the Beethoven Missa Solemnis, the Mahler Resurrection

Sym phony, Romeo and Juliet by Berlioz, and Orffs Carmina BuranaA®3 in this
active first year as a professional chorus, the Roger Wagner Chorale also
performed for the first time at the Hollywood Bowl, establishing what became
an annual tradition. During the ensuing years, these performances in the
am phitheater featured styles of music with broad appeal, ranging from the
Messiah of Handel to songs by George Gershwin. 104 jn addition, the schedule
of the Roger Wagner Chorale remained full with television appearances,
recording appointments with Capitol Records, and scheduled concerts. 105
In 1953, the Roger Wagner Chorale toured eleven states before
embarking upon its first European tour. 106 Wagner took twenty-four singers
to Amsterdam, France, and England, with concert sites that included the Hague
and Paris’ Salle Gaveau. The Chorale was also heard in radio broadcasts over
Radio Paris, Dutch Radio, and the British Broadcasting C om pany. 107 a focal
point of the tour, however, was the coronation festivities of Queen Elizabeth II,
for which the Roger Wagner Chorale had been invited to perform in London’s
Royal Festival H a ll. 108 These events gained international recognition for the
Wagner group as choral artists of the finest order.
103“ . . . first Transcontinental Tour,” p. 230.
104jhid.
105carl Post, “Musicians in Films,” Musical Courier, 147 (March 15,

1953), 22-23.
106ibid.
108"ROger Wagner Chorale," Musical Events, 8 (August 1953), 14.
52
Subsequent seasons for the Wagner Chorale brought more touring,
more concertizing, and more recognition. The group was lauded for
performances in the 1954-1955 season, including the “western prem iere” of
Carl Orffs Carolina Burana with an expanded chorus and the Los Angeles
Philharmonic Orchestra, and a performance of the the Bach Mass in B Minor
at UCLA. 1^9 The latter featured a formation in which choral and instrumental
forces were intermingled, forming one large mixed unit of performers on the
stage. The result was a compact vocal/instrumental sound, but the
arrangem ent created, according to one reviewer, distracting logistical

problems.* I®
The 1955-1956 season marked the tenth season of the Roger Wagner
Chorale and included more than a dozen concert appearances throughout
Southern California, plus numerous motion picture, television, radio, and
recording engagements.! H This was also the thirty-fifth season of the
Hollywood Bowl concerts, highlighted by a performance of the Verdi Requiem
featuring the Roger Wagner Chorale, the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and
nationally acclaimed soloists.! 12 Sharpless Hickman, in a review for the
Musical Courier, assessed the performance thus:
109c. Sharpless Hickman, “The National Scene,” Musical Courier, 151

(Januaiy 15, 1955), 28.
1 lOlbid.
H I " . . . First Transcontinental Tour,” p. 230. The observance of a

tenth anniversary in the 1955-56 season indicates that Wagner considered the
beginning of the Roger Wagner Chorale to have been earlier than the 1949
professional debut cited by Salamunovich on page 20. Taking into account the
years of the Los Angeles Concert Chorale, however, one can understand the
basis for such a celebration in 1955-56.
112c. Sharpless Hickman, “The National Scene,” Musical Courier, 154

(September 1956), 18.
53
Wagner sensed the careful balance which had to be maintained between

the religious and “operatic” aspects of the Verdi score, and one
continually felt and responded to the core of spiritual eloquence which lay
within the ornate overlay of dramatic expression. . . . the beauty and
strength of the one hundred ninety singers burst forth to the huge
audience with a rare passion of utterance.H 3
Also, in 1956 the Chorale embarked upon its first national tour, which included
the group’s first performance in New York C i ty .H 4 The program, comprised
of the Faure Requiem, Mozart’s Idomeneo, works by Vittoria, Palestrina,
Debussy, Brahms, and premieres of works by George Antheil and Lukas Foss,
was well-received. The Carnegie Hall performance evoked these comments

from critic Rafael Kammerer:
Those who braved New York’s worst snowstorm since 1948 to hear the first
local concert by the famed Roger Wagner Chorale were amply rewarded.
The Chorale lived up to its reputation as one of the finest singing
aggregations in the country. . . . The Chorale sang throughout the evening
with marvelous precision and balance, with variety and beauty of tone
combined with finely shaded dynamics, and with perfect intonation and
excellent diction.! 15
International Recognition
In 1959, and again in 1964, the Roger Wagner Chorale was selected to
represent the United States in concerts throughout Latin America.! 16 The
first vocal ensemble to visit Mexico under President Eisenhour’s Cultural
Exchange Program, the Chorale was hailed in the country’s major cities and
HÎbid.
114-Belan, “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” pp. 7, 16.
115Rafael Kammerer, “Roger Wagner Chorale,” Musical America, 76

(April 1956), 15.
1 l^Nancy Perloff, “[Program Notes],” for To Catch a Christmas Star:

Christmas with Roger Wagner, The Roger Wagner Chorale, Roger Wagner,
conductor (Delos, D/CD 3072, 1987), 17-18.
54
those of South America for their “inspired tone, diction, and real
m usicianship.”! 17
The first of nine tours to Japan transpired in 1965, and the most recent
one occurred in 1988.!!® This on-going relationship between the Wagner
Chorale and the Japanese has caused Wagner to say that today the Chorale is
“better known in Japan than . . . here in the United States.”! 19 in 1966,
another Cultural Exchange Program collaboration took the Roger Wagner

Chorale to the Middle East, Turkey, Yugoslavia, France, and Italy.!20 in Rom6)
the Chorale received a very high honor, as it became the first non-Italian
choir in twenty-five years to gain an audience with the Pope. They performed
for Pope Paul II in the famed Saint Peter’s Basilica.!21
The Roger Wagner Chorale, during the musical upheaval within

American culture of the 1960s and early 1970s, experimented with some music
influenced by popular idioms. The Wagner Chorale collaborated with the
British rock music group Pink Floyd on a few of the latter’s concerts in
London and on the West C o a s t. 122 in an interview for The Choral Journal,
Wagner suggested that some of the rock-influenced music has value as an art
11 ^Charles Poore, “The International Scene,” Musical Courier, 160

(December 1959), 26.
1 l®Belan, “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” pp. 7, 14.
H^lbid., p. 14.
120perloff, “[Program Notes],” pp. 17-18.
12lBelan, “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” p. 7.
122Moremen and Wagner, “In Quest of Answers,” pp. 12-13. Wagner,

in his recollection of this venture, stated that the amplification of the music
was so great that “I must tell you I’m sure that several of us suffered
temporary damage to our ears and hearing, really. It took me a couple of
weeks to get back to normal; and I went to a doctor.”
55
fo rm . 123 Notwithstanding this experiment, the Roger Wagner Chorale thrived
during this era of instability in music by continuing to perform traditional

literature and to maintain its high standards of choral performance.
During the 1980s, Wagner’s Chorale maintained a full schedule of
touring and recording.124 In May of 1986, following an association with
conductor Andre’ Previn for concerts at the Academy of Music in Philadelphia
and Carnegie Hall in New York, Previn said, “I can say in all honesty that I’ve
never had the privilege of conducting a better chorus, anywhere in the
world.”125 Later in 1986, the group made its eighth tour of Japan, which
featured additional concerts in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, and H o n o l u l u . 1 26
The final Japanese tour for the Chorale was in 1988, during which Wagner led
the group despite serious health problems.127
The Roger Wagner Chorale has been advertised as “one of the best-
known choruses in America, with a repertoire spanning the c e n tu rie s .”1 28
In fact, the group has enjoyed an esteemed existence, for a time purportedly
selling out every concert they p e r f o r m e d . 1 29 The Chorale continued to
123ibid.
124Donna Perlmutter, “Roger Wagner Copes with a Singular Identity,”

Los Angeles Herald Examiner, Sunday, April 25, 1982.
126perloff, “[Program Notes],” p. 18.
127Belan, “A11 Interview with Roger Wagner,” p. 14.
128christopher Pavlakis, The American Music Handbook, (New York:

The Free Press, 1974), p. 185.
56
function on a less active basis into the 1990s, 130 but eventually suspended
operations due to Wagner’s failing health.
Auditions and Rehearsals
The size of the Roger Wagner Chorale typically ranged from twenty-
four to thirty singers. However, the group always maintained the capability to
expand to as many as two hundred fifty-five voices, should the needs of the
music justify it. 131. Singers were auditioned and selected by Wagner based on
vocal quality and the degree to which the conductor believed the voice to be
compatible with others in the e n s e m b le . 132 Wagner once enumerated, in
order of importance, the attributes he sought in auditioning potential Chorale
members. First was musicianship (or reading ability), then the quality and
flexibility of the voice, and, finally, certain non-musical qualities that he
considered to be v ita l. 133 “Dispositions that lend themselves to development,”
and “a willingness to accept advice” are examples of the la tte r. 134 Wagner
stated, " . . . I feel that the attitude of the singer is terribly important.
Sometimes there is a singer who is very talented but extremely arrogant or
unduly proud and who feels that he or she has done everything. I wouldn’t
130ouring its later years, the Roger Wagner Chorale existed mainly as
a prescription chorus (see Summary of Shaw Chorale discussion, p. 50.) and an
auxiliary of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, another professional chorus
founded in 1964 by Wagner.
132gelan, “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” p. 14.
133Glenn, In Quest, p.9.
57
use that person at a l l . ”135 L ik e Robert Shaw, Wagner sought only the finest
talent for his chorus, but he seemed a bit more wary than Shaw regarding the
use o f “soloistic” voices. Among its former members, the Roger Wagner
Chorale boasts such outstanding solo vocalists as Marilyn Horne, Carol Neblett,
George London, and Theodore Uppman, but Wagner has said:
. . . there are those who can not or will not fit in an ensem ble setting. In
this case, it is necessary to replace them. It is much more important to
keep the entire ensem ble sound than to hold on to one singer. I have
strong feelings about this subject and make no compromises. 136
In rehearsals with the Chorale, Wagner developed the reputation o f a
stem disciplinarian, constantly striving for perfection. “I am a Hitler with
m y choir,” he once said, and mediocrity was never to le ra te d . 137 His abrasive
dem eanor was the reason for some singers’ departure from the Chorale. In
later years, however, he softened his approach. “There was a time when
intim idation was a regular part o f my behavior. That came from immaturity.
When you can’t get what you want, you get mad at people. But I don’t do that
anymore because I know what to d o . ” 138
Wagner’s charisma and com petitive spirit, however, were reflected in Chorale
performances, and his ability to find and emphasize the drama in a piece of
music served to heighten the communicative qualities therein. 139
135Glenn, In Quest, p.9.
136ibid., p. 35.
137Moremen and Wagner, “In Quest of Answers,” p. 14.
139jvioremen and Wagner, “In Quest o f Answers,” pp. 14-15.
58
Flexibility and Programming
One of the reasons for the endurance and success of the Roger Wagner
Chorale over the past four decades was its flexibility. 140 in addition to
flexibility in size, the group has been recognized for its ability to perform a
wide variety of musical styles with equal skill. Whether singing the music of
Palestrina, Faure, Berlioz, or Broadway shows, the Roger Wagner Chorale
excelled. Their success in television and movie music, appearances with major
orchestras including the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the London
Philharmonic, and the Royal Philharmonic, and use of diverse repertoire as a

touring and recording choir stand as proof of this wide range of capability. In
addition, the Wagner Chorale was always open to experimentation, such as
mixing choral and instrum ental forces together into one performance unit,
attem pting a choral piece based on rock music, and interspersing the voice
parts to achieve a more homogeneous effect.
Wagner Chorale concert programs, though often innovative, reflected
Wagner’s strong convictions. Regarding this matter, he said:
In all cases, I feel that one should not mix up a program so that it becomes
a Caesar salad. I’m old-fashioned about the tour program. I believe in
doing the early music first so that in a sense the music develops in the
program chronologically. I’ll always start with Gregorian, for instance. I
don’t believe in a big opener because I don’t think that the concert is the
place to warm up your choir. . . . I start, for example, with a unison Ave
Maria. Then I use the Vittoria setting of that Gregorian chant. People
receive it very well. I then may go into two more religious Renaissance
pieces: Palestrina, Gabrieli, Sweelinck, or whatever. Next I go into the
secular pieces of that period such as Passereau. . . . I then try to follow that
with a Baroque number—something by Bach. . . . We finish the first half
with a major work. From Bach I can go very well to the Vaughan Williams
Mass in G Minor. The big problem is the second half. I will often begin
with something like the Debussy or the Ravel Three Chansons. I have
found that Contemporary and early music go together very well. The
difficulty is with the Romantic. But I can follow the impressionistic songs
with the Op. 52 or Op. 65 Liebeslieder Waltzer of Brahms. Then, whether
140perimutter, “Roger Wagner Copes.”
59
people agree with me or not, I still think that spirituals constitute a very
im portant part of the choral a r t . 141
Distinctive Features
Roger Wagner was skilled at blending instruments into the vocal
e n s e m b le . 142 This was perhaps most evident in the Chorale’s performances of
the Requiem by Gabriel Faure. A Roger Wagner Chorale specialty, the Faure
Requiem has been performed by Wagner’s group on more than one thousand
o c c a s io n s . 143 Despite Wagner’s proficiency with instruments, many
musicologists and critics maintain that the Chorale was at its best when
performing polyphonic music of the Renaissance, due to the conductor’s
studies of Gregorian Chant at the Monastery of Solesmes and the resultant
understanding of arsis and thesis he imparted to the c h o ir. 144 At its best, the
Roger Wagner Chorale exhibited a virtuosic command of breathing technique
and a long musical line. In order to achieve this, Wagner emphasized

“progress of sound” with “minimized b r e a t h i n g . ”145 The results were an on
going motion, a restrained intensity, and choral music that was exhilarating.
14lGlenn, In Quest, p.102.
142Kammerer, “Roger Wagner Chorale,” p. 15.
143Allan Robert Petker, “[Program Notes],” for Gabriel Faure’s

Requiem, Marie Gibson, soprano, Michel Roux, baritone, Roger Wagner
Chorale, The Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris
(H. T. Fitzsimons, F8051R, 1985).
144perloff, “[Program Notes],” p. 14.
145ibid., pp. 13-14. In this source, Wagner explains that "minimized

breathing," or a reduction in the number of breaths taken simultaneously by
the chorus, is important in order to achieve the continuity of line that has
become a hallmark of the Chorale. He states that this technique, “ . . . keeps a
certain motion going and an intensity that builds to ecstatic proportion. . . .
When you chop things up with too much breathing, it breaks up the feeling of
the piece.”
60
Positive reviews of the Wagner Chorale praised the group’s tone,

dynamics, and sharply delineated contrapuntal lines, 146 or jts precision and
balance, 1^7 or diction and intonation. 148 Occasionally, however,
performances drew criticisms such as “still-born, arid, and overpolished.” 149
For a performance of the Durufle Requiem, one critic suggested that the
singing “had the pallor of casket velvet--it was as slick and unmystical as a
genteel stock greeting card.” 150 Sometimes, the choice of literature was
criticized. 151 Overall, however, judgments such as “easily the finest chorus
this reviewer has ever heard,” “Chorale without peer,”152 or conductor
Leopold Stokowski’s statement following a collaboration with the Wagner
146Raymond Ericson, “Recitals in New York,” Musical America, 77

(April 1957), 33.
147c. G.-F., "In My Opinion--The London Concert World," Musical

Opinion, 76 (August 1953), 647.
148Richard J. Bloesch, “Record Review,” rev. of To Catch a Christmas

Star: Christmas with Roger Wagner, The Choral Journal, 29 (September 1988),
34.
149peter Davis, “Reviews,” Musical America, 84 (December 1964), 194,

243.
150jrving Lowens, “Choral Performances,” American Choral Review, 9

(Spring 1967), 34. This comment was excerpted from reviews by critics in the
Washington, D.C., area following a November 6, 1966, concert in that city.
15lBoris Kremenliev, “Los Angeles: Musician Unions End Rivlary,”

The Music Magazine/Musical Courier, 163 (November 1961), 62-63. In this case,
the criticism is surely justified, for Wagner had attempted to do William
Walton’s Belshazzar’s Feast with a chorus of twenty-four voices and two
pianos. By its very nature, this particular work depends heavily upon
orchestral colors and textures and is more suited to a festival-size chorus.
152These comments are quotes by Albert Goldberg of the Los Angeles

Times and Patterson Greene of the Los Angeles Examiner, respectively. Both
were included in a full-page promotional advertisement for the 1957 tour,
found in Musical America , 76 (February 15, 1956), 216.
61
Chorale, offering that it is “second to none in the world,”153 helped to
preserve the standing of the Roger Wagner Chorale as a premiere choral

ensemble.
Recondin&s
The recording career of the Roger Wagner Chorale was launched in
1951, after a reviewer for the Los Angeles Examiner, Patterson Green, praised
the choir for a superior concert performance. The review resulted in an
invitation from Capitol Records for the Chorale’s first recording, Palestrina’s
Missa Papae Marcelli. 154 Thus began the Wagner Chorale’s distinguished
career as a recording ensemble, ultimately resulting in over seventy albums

with music ranging in style from sixteenth-century cathedral music to folk
song settings and contemporary works. In addition to Capitol, the group has
recorded under the labels of Angel, Gregorian Institute, CRI, Lyrichord, Delos,
and Toshiba EMI. Appendix I contains a complete discography of the group.
Recording for Capitol Records’ “Capitol Classics” series, the Roger
Wagner Chorale placed several albums among the record company’s “top ten
best-selling volumes” during the 1950 s. 1 5 5 The Joy to the World album became
a gold record, selling over 500,000 copies and being distinguished as the top
selling album in Capitol’s classical d iv is io n . 1 5 6 jn 1953 the Chorale’s
recording of works by Villa-Lobos (Quatuor and Nonetto) was hailed as “an
154oouglas R. McEwen and Roger Wagner, "Interview with Roger

Wagner, University of California at Los Angeles, December 19, 1960," Caecilia,
89 (Autumn 1962), 90-91.
62
im portant addition to contemporary music re c o rd in g . ”157 The Virtuoso album

won a Grammy a w a r d .* 58
However, not all recordings of the Wagner Chorale have been
perceived as profound. In 1967, Salve Regina: Choral Music o f the Spanish
New World 1550-1750 was produced in conjunction with the Latin American
Center of the University of California at Los Angeles. A review in The Musical

Quarterly calls the project too ambitious and the music lacking in
s u b s ta n c e . *59 The Chorale, however, was still praised:
As for the recording itself, too much cannot be said for the excellence of
the performing group, the Roger Wagner Chorale. It sings with admirable
clarity of tone, with complete understanding of the problems it faces in
dealing with music of different styles, and with such persuasiveness that
one is tempted at times to overlook certain shortcomings in some of the
pieces. 160
The Roger Wagner Chorale maintained an active recording schedule
into the 1990s. Developments in the recording industry during the 1980s
allowed the group to produce later recordings utilizing digital technology.
To Catch a Christmas Star appeared in compact disc format in 1987, with the
Chorale’s best attributes being highlighted by the “superlative technical
157post, “Musicians in Films,” p. 23.
158xhis best-selling album featured Wagner Chorale in performances

of diverse literature-from classic choruses by Handel and Mozart to
arrangem ents of simple folk melodies and spirituals. The ability of the Chorale
to perform a cappella music and large, choral/orchestral works with equal
effectiveness is dem onstrated by this recording.
159Robert I. Goodale, “Reviews of Records,” The Musical Quarterly, 53

(April 1967), 295.
160lbid.
63
quality of the re c o rd in g . ”161 More recently, a second album of Stephen Foster
songs (1991) was recorded on compact disc by the Chorale.
Summary
The work of the Roger Wagner Chorale spanned more than four and
one-half decades. The reputation of the group, through its concerts, tours,
recordings, and debuts of new works, was enviable and international in

scope. 162 Salamunovich believes that the Roger Wagner Chorale was an
im portant part of the era he terms the “golden age of choral music” in
America--the decades of the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. For his work with the
Chorale, Roger Wagner was cited by the Association of Professional Vocal
Ensembles (now Chorus America) and the American Choral Directors
A s s o c ia tio n . 163 Therefore, Richard J. Bloesch’s assertion that the Roger
Wagner Chorale has occupied " . . . a unique and treasurable position in
American musical life . . .”164 seems valid, and further influence of the group
will be examined more directly in chapter four.

Wagner died on September 17, 1 9 9 2 ,1 6 5 o n iy months before the
completion of this manuscript.
16lBloesch, “Record Review,” p. 34.
162in the Perlmutter article for the Los Angeles Examiner, Wagner
was quoted thus: “We have 75 recordings, we’ve toured every state in the
union including Hawaii and Alaska—and Europe . . . . We’re going to Japan on
tour next month . . . ” Also, The Choral Journal, vol. 19, no. 5, p. 22, calls the
status of the Chorale “enviable,” and one which has “achieved an . . .
international reputation . . . ”
163xhese citations are noted in Perloff, “[Program Notes],” p. 17, and

in Belan, “An Interview with Roger Wagner,” pp. 15-16.
164Bioesch, “Record Review,” p. 34.
165Libby Huebner, “Roger Wagner,” The Voice, 16 (Winter 1992), 4.
64
The Gregg Smith Singers
The Robert Shaw Chorale and the Roger Wagner Chorale had already
been in existence the better part of a decade when the Gregg Smith Singers
had its beginning in 1955. Founder/conductor Gregg Smith had quickly
assembled a small choir to sing arrangements he had written as musical
background for a television show. Following the project, the singers decided
to stay together and seek more work. *66 While waiting to be discovered, the
group gave concerts at the Los Angeles Japanese Methodist Church, where
Smith was the choral director. 167 Recalling these early days, Smith states,
“My own ensemble came about through fluke circumstances. A special
television program on Stephen Foster needed a non-union chorus, and so I
hastily assembled the first Gregg Smith S in g e rs . ”168 Thus, the Gregg Smith
Singers was bom --a chorus of twenty-five Southern Californians with high
ambitions and a visionary c o n d u c to r. 169
Smith’s Background
Gregg Smith’s rise to prominence in choral music was much more
unlikely than that of Robert Shaw or Roger Wagner. Smith’s family was not
166£)avid W. Moore, “Gregg Smith and His New Recording Label,”

American Record Guide, 49 (January/February 1986), 31.
167christopher Pavlakis, The American Music Handbook, (New York:

The Free Press, 1974), p. 178.
168cregg Smith, quoted in “Review,” by Tim Page, The New York

Times, January 17, 1984, section III, p. 13.
169w alt Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith on Twentieth Century

Choral Literature as a Composer and Conductor” (D.M.A. dissertation,
University of Miami, 1989), p. 27. Mauldin notes that in the early years of the
Smith Singers, the ensemble consisted of from 25 to more than 50 singers.
65
particularly musical, and his own musical interests leaned more toward
composition and instrum ental performance than toward singing or
conducting. His childhood was marked by hardships and difficult

circumstances. Bom in Chicago on August 21, 1931, Smith considers the Great
Depression to be a significant influence on his life. 170 The compounding
misfortunes of his parents’ divorce when Smith was three years old and his
m other’s death when he was fourteen taught him to deal with adversity and
instilled within him a strong work ethic. 171
Smith credits his mother for being his earliest musical influence,
having been encouraged by her to take piano at age five. Throughout his
public school education in Chicago, Smith played trumpet in the elementary
school orchestra, tuba in the high school band, and string bass in the high
school orchestra. He was also constantly composing, or “writing down notes”
as he has referred to it, since his earliest days of piano instruction. 1 72
Following high school, Smith studied music at Pasadena Community College and
the University of California at Los Angeles, but became frustrated with the
study of composition because of the constraints of conventional harmony.
Consequently, he left school to work in the manufacturing industry. An adult
chamber chorus, sponsored by his employer and directed by a gifted local
high school choral director, became Smith’s first im portant choral ensemble
l 70lbid., p. 3. The Great Depression refers to the period in history (the

1930s) that was shaped by severe, worldwide, economic hardship. It is
generally considered to have begun with the crash of the American (New
York) stock market in 1929 and to have lasted until 1940. World Book
Encyclopedia calls it “the worst and longest period of high unemployment and
low business activity in modem times.”
171 Ibid., pp. 3-6.
172 Ibid., pp. 4-7.
66
experience and served as the impetus for his decision to return to school and
serious study of m u s ic .1 7 5 jt was not untji he was a senior at UCLA, however,
that Smith developed a passion for choral music.
Upon hearing a concert given by the UCLA madrigal chorus,
conducted by Ray Moreman, Smith was overwhelmed by the music. This event
became a turning point in his musical life, prompting him to join the choir.
Soon, Moreman began asking Smith to conduct the group when he was unable
to do s o . 174 jn fact) Smith credits Moreman as one of the two most important
influences upon his career.175 In an interview with Walt Mauldin, Smith

stated:
Moreman’s great value was that he recognized talent. He gave me full

support in my composing and conducting. Very soon into my senior year,
he was letting me take over some rehearsals for his madrigal group. It was
at this time that I started getting more involved in choral music.
(Leonard) Stein, who believed that composers needed to be in active
performance, suggested to me what I needed to do.
. . . It just happened that Mr. Moreman encouraged me to conduct, and
that landed me my first job as a choral conductor. 176
At this point in his life, Gregg Smith was in somewhat of a dilemma.
His newfound zeal for choral conducting could not compensate for the fact
that he had virtually no background in the choral field. Through hard work
and determination, however, Smith gained the knowledge and experience he
175Ibid., pp. 9-11.
174Moore, “Gregg Smith and His New Recording Label,” p. 31.
175Gregg Smith, quoted in Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,”

p. 124. Smith states that the other influence he considers to be most important
regarding his career came from Leonard Stein. Stein was for a long time a
student of Arnold Schoenberg, and has authored several books on the late
composer’s techniques of composition.
176lbid., pp. 124-125.
67
would need to succeed in choral music. 177 With resources (both personal
background and financial) more meager than those with which both Shaw
and Wagner began, Smith founded the Gregg Smith Singers. 17 ®
The Earlv Years: 1955-1959
From the concerts at the Japanese Methodist Church, the reputation of

the group had grown such by 1957 that an invitation came from Lawrence
Morton asking the Gregg Smith Singers to perform on the (Los Angeles)
Monday Evening Concert Series. 179 Seeing this invitation as an important
opportunity, the Smith Singers accepted, presenting a work entitled Laudi by
Swedish composer Ingvar Lidholm. Morton was impressed by the performance
of this m odem and challenging piece and engaged the group to return the
following year (1958) and present Arnold Schoenberg’s Four Pieces for Mixed
Chorus. This composition had been scheduled on more than one occasion in
the past but, due to its complexities, had never actually been presented. 180
177Ibid., pp. 130-131. Here Smith states, “I approached choral music

and repertoire in the only way I knew; I had to go find out what and how
different composers wrote.”
l 7 8lbid. Smith relates how, even after college, he was poor and did not
own a car. “I would ride downtown ten miles on a bicycle every Wednesday
night to conduct the Methodist old folks’ home sing-in. I was paid ten dollars,
which was my bread and butter.”
l^ M a u ld in , “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” p. 21. This request was

quite an honor, as both Igor Stravinsky and Arnold Schoenberg were patron
fathers of the Monday Evening series. Morton later became Stravinsky’s
biographer.
180ibid.
68
These performances brought the Gregg Smith Singers to the attention of

Robert Craft, who introduced Smith to Igor Stravinsky. 181
Also in 1958, the Gregg Smith Singers, who had not yet toured in the
United States, made their first of many European tours. With assistance from
Ernst Krenek, the group was scheduled for six weeks of concert touring in
Austria, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Germany, England, Wales, and Italy.*82
The trip was highlighted by performances at the Eisteddfod festival in Wales,
the Brussels World’s Fair, Lake Lucerne (where Smith was introduced to
William Schuman) and an inconspicuous concert in London attended by only
fifty to seventy-five people. In this small audience, however, were Sir Arthur
Bliss, Ian Hamilton, and William Glock (head of the British Broadcasting
C o m p a n y ). 183 The Smith Singers’ program, which included literature by
Webern, Schoenberg, and an early cantata of Krenek, impressed these
influential persons and served further to establish the group’s international
reputation. Glock, in particular, became in London a strong advocate and

promoter of the group. 184
From the beginning, the Gregg Smith Singers were committed to
singing repertoire that was modern and/or avant garde. In reference to this
decision, Smith states:
I wanted to do twentieth-century music, so I discovered a way to research

the available choral works. As a result, my programming was already
18lMoore, “Gregg Smith and His New Recording Label,” p. 32. The
importance of Stravinsky’s relationship with the Gregg Smith Singers is
discussed below on pages 76-77.
182fyjauidin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” pp. 21-22.
183Moore, “Gregg Smith and His New Recording Label,” p. 32.
184Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” p. 22.
69
m odem compared to everyone else. My concert programs reflected my

compositions, and the fact that we did not do standard w o r k s . 185
Dale Cockrell, in the New Grove Dictionary o f American Music, credits the
Gregg Smith Singers with being “the first (choir) to perform works by
American and twentieth-century composers on a regular b a s is . ”186 Smith was
quoted in Time magazine as having said his most cherished ambition is to

“popularize m odem m u s i c . ”187 Therefore, as the Smith Singers gained
recognition, they became known as much for their repertoire as for their
perform ance ability.
The Gregg Smith Singers made their first commercial recording in
1959. It was an album released by Verve Records containing music for multi
dimensional c h o irs . 188 Around this time, a company called Everest Records
also became interested in the Singers and produced three or four of the
group’s early albums. 189
Also in the late 1950s, Roger Wagner decided that his Chorale would no
longer work with Stravinsky in performances of the composer’s w o rk s. 190
This was a fortuitous turn of events for the Gregg Smith Singers, who were
chosen to be the new choral group for collaborations with the Russian
185smith, quoted in “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” p. 130.
186oale Cockrell, “Gregg Smith,” The New Grove Dictionary o f

American Music, vol. 4, ed. H. Wiley Hitchcock and Stanley Sadie (London:
Macmillan Press, 1986), pp. 245-246.
187«Atonal Choir,” Time, 78 (September 8, 1961), 73.
188cregg Smith, quoted in Mauldin, “The Influence o f Gregg Sm ith,”

p. 130. The “m ulti-dim ensional” concept is discussed below under Innovations.
pages 89-90.
189ibid., p. 129.
190j4auldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” p. 22.
70
maestro. In 1959 Robert Craft introduced Smith to Stravinsky, who, after
hearing the Gregg Smith Singers, selected them as the chorus to replace the
Wagner C h o ra le . 191 Thus began a relationship that endured until
Stravinsky’s death in 1971.192 jn addition to numerous performances, the
Stravinsky and Gregg Smith Singers collaboration produced approximately a

dozen albums. 193
A Decade of Prosperity; The 1960s
The 1960s were prosperous years for the Gregg Smith Singers. In
1960, their newly established relationship with Stravinsky resulted in the
famous composer being guest conductor of the group for performances of his
Les Noces and Symphony o f Psalms, and for a recording of his Mass. 194 The
Music Journal dubbed the Singers “the most innovational choral group to
appear on the scene in the last two d e c a d e s . ”195 The second European tour
(still without a comparable venture in the United States) occurred in 1961.
This eight-week tour featured a performance at the avant-garde Contemporary
Music Festival in Darmstadt, G e rm an y ; 196 participation in the Edinburgh
191lbid. Craft’s introduction o f Smith to Stravinsky is cited in “Gregg

Smith and His New Recording Label,” by David W. Moore, American Record
Guide, 49 (January/February 1986), 31-32.
192pavlakis, The American Music Handbook, p. 178. When Stravinsky

died, Smith was honored by being asked to prepare the orchestra and chorus
that perform ed Stravinsky’s Requiem Canticles at the funeral service.
193lbid.
195«Gallery of Concert Artists,” Music Journal Annual, (1963), 115.
196“Atonal Choir,” p. 73.
Festival197 and the Salzburg Festival; and concerts at the Mozarteum (in
Salzburg), London, and in the Soviet Union.198 The Mozarteum concert was
attended by Carl Orff, who afterwards related his fascination for the music of
the program in a lengthy conversation with Smith.199 Even with Glock as an
advocate in London, the Smith Singers drew another disappointingly small
audience for their concert at Wigmore Hall. One reviewer expressed concern:
“It is to be hoped that these accomplished singers will not be too discouraged
by the smallness of the attendance and will pay us a return visit in the not too
far distant future. ”200
An experience at the Darmstadt Festival substantiated both the
virtuosity and the professionalism of the group. Because of the Berlin Wall
Crisis, much international attention was focused on Germany during this time,
prompting the festival director to insist that Smith and his choir add
Schoenberg’s Friede a u f Erden (Peace on Earth) to their planned program.
With only about four hours remaining until the concert, the Smith Singers
worked up the piece--a ten-minute, atonal, a cappella w ork-and performed it
with such competence that they received a favorable review in Time

magazine. 201
197Moore, “Gregg Smith and His New Recording Label,” p. 32. Arnold
Schoenberg was the featured personality at the Edinburgh Festival in 1961.
198Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” pp. 22-23.
199Ibid., p. 23.
200q. M., “In My Opinion~The London Concert World,” Musical

Opinion, 84 (August 1961), 663-664.
201 “Atonal Choir,” p. 73, and Gregg Smith, “Choraliasis in America,”

Music Journal, 22 (September 1964), 32-33, 60-62.
72
Virtuosity and international recognition notwithstanding, the Gregg

Smith Singers, even by the early 1960s, were still hardly known in the United
States. The Time magazine issue of September 6, 1961, stated, “The Gregg Smith
Singers have a fast-growing reputation in Europe, but they are virtually
unknown in the U .S .” 2 0 2 Beginning in 1962, however, the Singers made a
series of national tours, which did much to establish their reputation as a
virtuoso chorus in the United S ta te s .2 0 3 With their first national tour came
the group’s New York debut on October 11. A short but favorable review of the
performance appeared in the December issue of Musical America.
The Gregg Smith Singers, in their New York debut at the YMHA on October
11, were a delight. Their program, ranging from Victoria and Dowland to
Ives and Schoenberg, was beautifully sung with immaculate ensemble and
pitch. The high point of the evening was Schoenberg’s “De Profundis,” a
deeply moving and rarely heard piece, combining singing and speaking to
great e f f e c t . 2 0 4
Along with the tours of the 1960s, the Smith Singers kept a full schedule of
festival and workshop participation, recording, and special concerts, such as

those at the Hollywood Bowl in Los A n g e le s .2 0 5 in 1 965, the group was
contracted by Columbia Records to record the complete choral works of Charles
Ives.206 The Ives recordings won two Grammy awards and provided the Gregg
Smith Singers with even greater recognition and respect within the musical
world.
202“Atonai choir,” p. 73.
203“Smith, Gregg,” ASCAP Biographical Dictionary, 4th ed. (New York :

R.R. Bowker, 1980), p. 472.
204john Ardoin, “Reviews,” Musical America, 82 (December 1962), 47.
205fviauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” pp. 13-14.
2 0 6 jb id ., p . 2 2 .
73
Recognition and Change: The 1970s
In 1970 the Gregg Smith Singers moved its headquarters from Los
Angeles to New York City, a move precipitated by the fact that Smith was
teaching on the faculty at Ithaca College.207 The Singers were in constant
demand, and the move to New York was one of logistical necessity. In the early
1970s, Smith founded the Adirondack Festival of American Music, which has
become both a force in the dissemination of American music and a forum for
the Gregg Smith Singers.208 The group also made six international concert
tours during the decade—three to Europe and three to the Far East.20^ In 1972,
a commemorative year of the death of Heinrich Schiitz, the Singers released
through Vox Records a three-volume set of recordings of Schiitz’ choral
music.2 1° The Smith Singers, as described in the notes of one of their
recordings, had “reached a preeminence in the choral music world and in the
American music scene in general through their tours, New York concerts, and
recording activity."2 H One of their most significant accomplishments also
took place during this period—the involvement of the group in activities
related to the bicentennial celebration of the United States.
207Cockrell, “Gregg Smith,” p. 245.
2°8Moore, “Gregg Smith and His New Recording Label,” p. 33.
2 l°Ibid.
2 HGregg Smith, “[Program Notes],” for America Sings, (1920-1950),

The Gregg Smith Singers, Gregg Smith, conductor, The Texas Boys’ Choir, The
Columbia University Men’s Glee Club, The Peabody Conservatory Concert
Singers (Vox Box, SVBX, 5353, 1976). If, indeed, Smith is the sole author of these
notes, perhaps this comment should be considered biased and speculative.
74
The Gregg Smith Singers took an active role in the bicentennial
celebration. Smith, as an American music scholar, was well equipped to
present a musicologically accurate representation of music in the United
States. Around 1972 or 1973, the Smith Singers were engaged to work on an
ambitious recording project for a bicentennial series with Vox Records
entitled America Sings. The goal of the project was to present the “rich
heritage of American vocal music from the time of the first European
settlements in the early seventeenth century to the p re s e n t. ”212 Originally,
Smith and the record company planned an eight-volume, twenty-four record
series, to be released separately in volumes as follows:
I. The Founding Years: 1620-1800
II. The Developing Years: 1800-1850
III. The Great Sentimental Age: 1850-1900
IV. The Transition Years: Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries
V. Between the Two Wars: 1920-1950
VI. The Contemporary World: The Traditionalists
VII. The Contemporary World: The Avant Garde
VIII. American Chamber Opera
212oregg Smith, “[Program Notes],” for America Sings: Vol. I: The

Founding Years (1620-1800), The Gregg Smith Singers, Gregg Smith, conductor
(Vox Box, SVBX, 5350, 1975), p. 1.
75
The project was abbreviated by the record management, however, and only
five of the eight originally intended volumes were c o m p le te d .2 1 3 Nonetheless,
the America Sings project stands as an important contibution to American
music, and as the magnum opus of the Gregg Smith Singers.
The "America Sings" concerts were given during the bicentennial
year of 1976. The first concert, entitled “The Founding Years (1620-1800)” and
corresponding to volume I of the series, took place on January 7 at Hunter
College P la y h o u s e .2 1 4 The review of the concert for High Fidelity/Musical
America magazine characterized both the Smith Singers’ accomplishment and
the public’s response to such an endeavor:
It was, in fact, the kind of performance which made one sit up in

admiration at the audacity of these colonial composers and their skill in
reworking Renaissance and Classical forms in their own direct, unself
conscious manner. At this printing, there are four more concerts coming
up--they certainly deserve a large audience.215
The year of America’s bicentennial celebration was also the year in which the
Gregg Smith Singers made their first tour of the Far East, performing in the
Philippines, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. To the delight of the Singers,
the Asian audiences expressed much enthusiasm for American m u s ic .2 1 6
213Moore, “Gregg Smith and His New Recording Label,” p. 32-33. Vox
Records was sold to Moss Music, a commercially-minded company not
interested in such esoteric fare as was the subject of the “America Sings”
series. In all, however, five volumes of the series were completed: Volume I:
The Founding Years (1620-1800), Volume III: The Great Sentimental Age (1850-
1900), Volume V: 1920-1950, Volume VI: After 1950-The Traditionalists, and
Volume VII: After 1950-The Nontraditionalists.
21 A r th u r Satz, “Gregg Smith: ‘America Sings,’” High

Fidelity/Musical America, 26 (April 1976), MA-35.
215ibid., pp. MA 35-36.
216julie T. Monroe, “Modern Concert Audiences Want More Than Good

Sound,” The Idaho Statesman, Tuesday, October 12, 1976, sec. A, p. 8.
76
By the end of 1976, the Smith Singers had made six European tours.217
The European tour of 1974 had included a concert in Vienna that featured
several Viennese premieres. Additionally, the Smith Singers were hailed in a
review for the ease with which the performers negotiated extremely difficult
music and for innovative programming and concert formations.^ 18 The
broadcast concert (from Vienna) included a historic performance of one of

Schoenberg’s choral works:
According to Universal Editions and Vienna Radio this American ensemble

probably gave the Viennese premiere of Drei Satiren (Opus 28), the work
being so difficult that few choral directors will even attem pt to learn it,
much less produce such a fine performance as heard in V ie n n a . 2 19
Throughout its existence, the Gregg Smith Singers, owing to its

flexibility and virtuosity, has performed over a hundred p r e m i e r e s . 220 These
have included works by Stravinsky, Francis Poulenc, Zoltan Kodaly, Aaron
Copland, and Schoenberg. Important premieres prior to the 1970s included two
Stravinsky works--Dove Descending (with the composer conducting) and the
Requiem Canticles.2H The 1970s saw the Smith Singers expand its list of
premiere performances, including the Copland motets (1975) and compositions
of lesser-known composers such as Smith himself and American minimalist
Philip Glass. In a 1978 collaboration with Glass, the Singers premiered
A nother Look at Harmony Part IV and impressed Bert Wechsler of the Music
217it>id.
218jsjicoia Shawn, “The Journal Reviews: Vienna Rundfunk,” Music
Journal, 32 (May 1974), 62.
219[bid.
220paviakis, American Music Handbook, p. 178.
221 Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” pp. 30-31.
77
Journal, who wrote, “Repetition and changing harmonies are what concern
[Glass], but he actually has very little to say. However, he says it at great
length. The Smith Singers were tremendous. One can do anything w e ll. ”2 2 2
Also in 1978, the Singers presented an important performance of Benjamin
Britten’s Sacred and Profane, one of the composer’s last works. Though not a
world premiere, it was the first performance of the piece in New Y o r k .2 2 3
Although the Gregg Smith Singers were highly regarded both
nationally and internationally, the group had to endure difficult times
throughout the late 1960s and 1970s. In an interview for the American Choral
Review, Smith relates that, in the seventies, professional choirs were few in
number, and interest in professional choral activity was at a low level.
When I started in as a director in 1 9 6 1 , there were about twenty active

professional choruses—part time, I admit. Many have gone out of business
and several are in limbo. In New York City the only two that are really
active [in 1 9 7 4 ] are Musica Sacra and my group. We’re still alive because
I’ve been pouring into it-th e money I make teaching. At that, our past
season possibly added up to only fifteen weeks, including tours of the
United States, Europe, and appearances here. Yet this may well have been
the longest term for any American group during that p e r i o d . 2 2 4
Financial trouble for the Smith Singers had begun in 1968 with the Glory o f
Gabrieli recordings. Although one of the volumes from the Gabrieli series
won a Grammy award and has since been called “one of the 25 greatest
222Ber|; Wechsler, “Classical: New York,” Music Journal, 36 (November

1978), 26.
223peter g. Davis, “Choral Performances,” American Choral Review,

20 (January 1978), 20.
224payrn0nd Ericson, “Choral Conductors Forum—The Question of the

Professional Chorus: An Interview with Gregg Smith,” American Choral
Review, 17 (July 1975), 28. It is unclear exactly to what Mr. Smith is referring
by the date “1961,” as the beginning date of the Gregg Smith Singers is well-
documented as 1955.
78
recordings of the c e n t u r y , ”225 Smith relates how the project, together with
other circumstances, created financial difficulty for the Singers.
We had a real bad year when we did the Glory o f Gabrieli. We had a bad
loss that year in that we lost money on that project, and we lost money on
the tour. By the end of the year, I was in debt with the Gregg Smith
Singers to the extent of seventy to eighty thousand dollars. I [also] owed
about eighteen thousand dollars in taxes, and it took me seven or eight
years to pay it o f f . 2 2 6
The ensemble has managed to remain effective despite these and other
problems, however, and continues to be a leader in the field of choral music.
Later Years; 1980s and Bevond
In the 1980s, the Gregg Smith Singers continued to tour, make
recordings, give concerts, and participate in educational workshops and
festivals. An example of the latter was the group’s involvement in the summer
of 1981 with the Charles Ives Center for American Music, which is an institute
that provides a performance environment and forum for discussion of new
music written by American composers. The Gregg Smith Singers, as the
performing ensemble for the institute, performed new music by twenty-nine

different composers during the week-long e v e n t.2 2 7 jn 1982, the United States
State Department sponsored another international tour for the Smith Singers,
and in 1983 the group was sponsored by the Scandanavian Composers
225Da.Vid Hall, quoted in “[Program Notes],” by Gregg Smith, A Festival

o f Carols, The Gregg Smith Singers, The Dorothy Shaw Junior and Senior Hand
Bell Choirs, Fort Worth Chamber Ensemble, Oresta Cybriwsky, pianist
(Turnabout, Q.TV, 34710,1977)
226(jregg Smith, quoted in “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” p. 132.
227pranic Merkling, “The Charles Ives Center: A Session of Song,”

High Fidelity/Musical America, 31 (December 1981), MA 25.
79
Association on a European tour which included appearances at the Tivoli and

Bergen festivals.228
Combining with other groups has been a regular activity for the
Gregg Smith Singers. The average size of Smith’s choir and the nature of
much of the music they perform often make such collaborations preferable.
In 1983, the Singers were joined by the Arkansas Boys’ Choir, the Concert
Chorale from the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, and the wind ensemble
from the University of Arkansas-Russelville for a performance in Little Rock

of Smith’s own a r r a n g e m e n t s . 229 This led to the recording of a Christmas
album in 1987. Other groups having frequently performed with the Smith
Singers include the Texas Boys Choir, the New York Vocal Arts Ensemble, and
the Long Island Symphonic Choral Association.
Throughout the 1980s and into the 1990s, the Gregg Smith Singers
have remained as active as any American professional chorus. However, the
group still works full-time only about six months of the year, which requires
members to have other sources of in c o m e .2 3 0 in addition to the normal tour or
tours, the Smith Singers’ yearly calendar normally includes a concert series,
228Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” pp. 24-25.
229«[pr0gram Notes],” Christmas Caroling with the Gregg Smith

Singers and Friends, The Adirondack Community Chorus, The Arkansas Boys
Choir, The Concert Choir of the University of Arkansas-Little Rock, The
Adirondack Chamber Players, The Winds of the University of Arkansas-
Russelville, Gregg Smith, conductor (MMG, MWCD, 7165, 1987).
230Monroe, “Modem Concert Audiences,” p. A8. Smith stated in the

notes for America Sings: Vol. I that members of the Gregg Smith Singers
attempt to fill out their schedules much as do most performers and teachers—
with a myriad of singing roles, i.e., choral, opera, oratorio, and church
singing. Most also teach.
80
special concerts, and recording p r o j e c t s . 231 Their average num ber of concert
appearances per year ranges from seventy-five to one h u n d re d .2 3 2
Vocal/Choral Considerations
The size of the Gregg Smith Singers has changed over the years, but
for the majority of its existence has been closer to that of a chamber ensemble
than a large choir. Smith’s beliefs that chamber choirs are more flexible,
more capable of performing newer music, and better suited to the nature of a
professional chorus are reflected in the average number of vocalists

comprising the Gregg Smith S in g e r s -- s ix t e e n .2 3 3
In selecting singers for the Gregg Smith Singers, therefore, Smith
seeks vocalists who can meet the demands of a small, virtuoso ensemble.
Members of the group have been described as extremely talented, solo
performers, very solid in music fundamentals, and possessing good ears and
secure vocal technique.
The sound, or choral tone, for which the Smith Singers have become
known has been described as “a youthful vigorous tone,” “instrum ental,” and
“ n o n - o v e r b l o w n . ”2 3 4 Smith believes that tone should relate to the music
being performed. Ideally, he states, there are “different kinds of quality
23lT he group’s concert series in New York City was for many years
called “Uptown Concerts.” The designation “special concerts” includes festival
and workshop appearances.
232fyfauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” p. 25.
233smith, “Choraliasis in America,” p. Gl.
2 3 4 jh ese descriptions are extracted from Stoddard Lincoln, “The

Bicentennial Corner: American Music from the Founding Years,” Stereo
Review, 3 7 (September 1 9 7 6 ) , 1 1 7 , and other sources previously used in this
section of chapter 3 .
81
choral sound for different m u s ic .”2 3 5 Because the Smith Singers perform a
great amount of contemporary music, the group is constantly dealing with

tight intonations, which demand what Smith has called a “focused s o u n d . ”23 6
While at one time he had the Gregg Smith Singers sing without vibrato,
Smith’s philosophy has changed.
[I don’t believe anymore that the focused sound is one without

vibrato], but it is certainly one where the sound has got to be right in the
center of the pitch. I work on intonation a great deal. The choral sound
usually comes through having a selection of voices that I particularly like.
I want the voices to work with each other in producing a sameness of
sound. There is always a vibrato in the professional voice; it has to have a
tone that has richness and depth.
Focus is a real important word for me. Focus means that you have
all the qualities of your voice, but it’s centered in pitch, making the
intonation a c c u r a t e . 2 3 7
In rehearsals, Smith works on intonation a great deal. The challenges
of difficult music are met straightforwardly using what the conductor calls
“simple, good old-fashioned rehearsal te c h n iq u e s .”2 3 8 Vocal technique is left
to the individual.
. . . because I work with professionals, I don’t train voices. I do not try

vocal techniques on them because they all have their own. I just say I
want this sound, or I want that kind of sound. What happens is that the
terms change. It is finding the right terms to get what you w a n t. . . 239
235cregg Smith, quoted in Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,”

p. 134.
236ibid., p. 135.
2 3 7 I b id .
238jbid., p. 136.
239ibid.
82
Innovations
The Gregg Smith Singers have become known for certain innovations
and practices that have distinguished the group as a chorus. Probably chief
among these is what Smith has called “multi-dimensional sound presentation.”
Multi-dimensional sound presentation is an unconventional approach to the
arrangem ent of performance forces in a concert setting. Comments regarding
the group’s employment of this technique include the following:
. . . members of the chorus broke ranks and took positions in various parts
of Tully Hall to demonstrate “Music in Multidemensional Sound.” Each
different spatial formation of the singers was cunningly designed to
point up the contrapuntal, antiphonal or canonic nature of the music at
h a n d ... 240
The singers . . . blend their voices from different parts of the hall. In one
number, an echoing tenor is even heard from outside the h a ll. 241
Multi-dimensional sound presentation is addressed by Robinson and Winold in
The Choral Experience.
It is the influence of Ives that prompted Gregg Smith to spread his singers
throughout the audience in the performance of certain types of choral
literature. The most important guide for the Gregg Smith Singers is that
the performance formation utilized should follow the structure of each
piece of music. Very often music that does not seem to lend itself to
antiphonal or multi-dimensional spacing can, upon further study, have
intriguing p o s s i b i l it i e s .2 4 2
Another distinctive characteristic of the Smith Singers is the
literature in which they specialize. While the group throughout its existence
has shown ability and willingness to perform a wide range of literature
effectively, it has seemed to concentrate on literature from three broad
2 4 0 Q a v iS) “Choral Performances,” pp. 1 9 -2 0 .
24lMonroe, “Modern Concert Audiences,” p. A8.
242Ray Robinson and Allen Winold, The Choral Experience (New York:
Harper & Row, 1 9 7 6 ) , p. 1 8 6 .
83
categories—new music, American music, and rarely performed old w o r k s . 2 4 3
It is also notable tha; the Smith Singers have performed and recorded a
significant num ber o f works by American women com posers such as Louise
Talma, Sheila Silver, Ann Silsbee, Katherine Hoover, Ann Calloway, Elizabeth
Pizer, and Winefred K e e n e . 2 4 4 Additionally, certain com posers have had close
association with the Gregg Smith Singers, creating new works (perhaps
exploring some new technique or idea) on a regular basis for the group. Dale
Jergenson, Edmund Najera, John Biggs, and Michael Hennagin have had such
a relationship with the g r o u p . 2 4 5
Finally, the Smith Singers have becom e known for “contrast
programming.” This term began to be associated with the Singers after a 1958
concert in which choral works from several centuries were perform ed in
ju x ta p o s itio n .2 4 6 Since then, contrast programming for the Gregg Smith
Singers has expanded to mean more drastic contrasts o f literature on the same
program, including sacred and secular, traditional and avant-garde, a cappella
and accompanied, humorous and serious, popular and academic, folk and
experimental, and other contrasts o f musical period, style, text, or context.
243\Vatson Bosler, “[Program Notes],” A French-American Salute,

Ensemble Josquin Des Pres, The Gregg Smith Singers (MMG, MCD, 10052,
1987), 4.
244Mauidin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” pp. 3 6 - 3 7 .
245sm ith, “The Bi-Centennial Celebration,” p. 11. Such a relationship

between com poser and performer is mutually beneficial. The com posers can
try out new com positional techniques (and have the benefit o f a performance
group that is not intimidated by them), and the choir is able to present many
prem iere perform ances.
246jviauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” p. 21.
84
Recordings
The recordings of the Gregg Smith Singers are perhaps the group’s
most important contribution. Having been called “the most recorded classical
music ensemble in the world” by The Choral Journal and the American Music
H a n d b o o k ^ ! the Smith Singers are not only prolific (the group has recorded
over seventy-five albums), but also prestigious as a recording ensemble.
Appendix J contains a complete discography.
The scope of the the Gregg Smith Singers’ recording work over the
years is impressive. Albums containing premieres, complete sets, historical

contributions, new works, masterpieces, sole re c o rd in g s , 248 f0i^ so n g S from
many cultures, popular songs, and avant-garde music illustrate the range and
diversity of the Smith Singers’ activity. The group has also been a leader in
recording American music and has won numerous awards for its releases.
In addition to three Grammy awards, the Gregg Smith Singers have
received awards from High Fidelity and Stereo Review magazines, the
Montreux International Festival, and the National Endowment for the A r t s. 2 49
Important recordings, in addition to those previously cited of works by
Stravinsky, Ives, Gabrieli, Schiitz, and the America Sings series, include the
complete choral chamber works of Schoenberg and an album devoted to the
247cregg Smith, “Charles Ives and His Music for Chorus,” The Choral
Journal, 15 (November 1974), 17, and Pavlakis, The American Music Handbook,
p. 178.
248«sole recordings” here refers to instances in which the Smith

Singers’ recording is the only known commercial recording of a particular
musical work.
249f4auicjin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,” pp. 23-25. For his work
with the Singers in the advancement of contemporary American music, Smith
in 1978 received the prestigious Oliver Ditson Foundation Conductor’s Award.
The only other choral conductor to receive this award is Robert Shaw.
85
music of William B illin g s .2 5 0 Further evidence of the Smith Singers’
contribution to American music is apparent in the following recordings: the
complete works of Elliot Carter and premiere recordings of compositions by
Samuel Barber, Aaron Copland, Irving Fine, William Schuman, Lalo Shifrin,
Leo Smit, Roger Reynolds, and Jack B e e s o n .2 5 1
Reviews
Typically, reviews of performances and recordings by the Gregg
Smith Singers have praised the skill level of the group, its intonation, an d /o r
its diction. In a 1979 review for the American Choral Review, Alfeda Hays
wrote:
The sixteen disciplined singers who make up conductor-composer Gregg

Smith’s mixed choir are of soloist caliber and many of them were indeed
featured in solo parts. Yet together they achieve a rare vocal blend.
Adding to this their superb diction, infallible intonation, and ardent
musicianship, it is not surprising that the group has earned a reputation
as one of the finest professional ensembles in the c o u n t r y . 2 5 2
Negative criticisms through the years have occasionally been directed
toward such Smith trademarks as multi-dimensional performances, use of
dynamics, and programming. In reference to the Singers’ recording of an
avant-garde piece by Lejaren Hiller, a reviewer for the Kansas City Star
writes:
. . . the performers were given considerable freedom [by the composer] in

putting them [musical elements of the piece] together. The result is a
250îfre(j Frankenstein, “The Continental Harmony of William

Billings,” High Fidelity, 19 (September 1969), 79. This release is the first album
devoted solely to the works of Billings.
251smith, “[Program Notes],” America Sings: Vol. I, p. 3.
252 /sjfrecja Hays, “Choral Performances,” American Choral Review, 21

(July 1979), 16.
86
surreal melange of musical fragments, electronic sounds and speaking

voices.
Some listeners may find Mr. Hiller’s piece interesting,
entertaining or possibly beautiful. Others may share the reaction of my
dog, who looked apprehensive and perplexed while we listened to the
Smith Singers’ apparently secure performance on CRI (SD 4 3 8 ).253
Perhaps more significant than reviews, however, is the praise the
Smith Singers have received from musicians such as Carl Orff, Samuel Barber,
Aaron Copland, and Igor S tra v in s k y .2 5 4
Summary
Throughout nearly four decades, the Gregg Smith Singers have
excelled in the choral art. Much of the group’s work has been of a pioneer
nature. Specifically, its emphasis on American choral literature and twentieth

century composers has been significant. Smith has said,
I have been a consistent pioneer. In my life, it has been a m atter of doing

literature that other people would not do until ten years later. The only
person, interestingly enough, who went out of his way to do some
contemporary works was Robert S h a w .2 5 5
Finally, the Smith Singers have consistently demonstrated that
professional choirs are important in the American musical scene, and the
group has done much to promote professional choral activity. The New Grove
Dictionary o f American Music credits the Smith Singers with demonstrating
“the viability of the chamber choir,” and perhaps precipitating “a general
253Harry Haskell, “Gregg Smith Singers Hit the Highs and Lows,"
Kansas City Star, Sunday, November 1, 1981, sec. H, p. 4. Hiller is an American
composer bom in 1934.
254«Qaijery of Concert Artists,” p. 115. Following the Singers’

recording for Columbia of the Symphony o f Psalms, Stravinsky said: “I love
them . . . your singers are all my children.”
255cregg Smith, quoted in Mauldin, “The Influence of Gregg Smith,”

p. 131.
87
movement in the USA away from large choral g ro u p s .” 2 5 6 chapter four will
examine more specifically the influence of the Gregg Smith Singers on
American professional choral activity of the present.
Conclusion
The historical backgrounds of the Robert Shaw Chorale, Roger Wagner
Chorale, and Gregg Smith Singers are replete with impressive
accomplishments. Each has made specific and im portant musical
contributions throughout its years of activity. Numerous musicians, writers,
critics, and concert-goers have testified to these contributions and their
overwhelming impact on choral music.
Therefore, the Shaw Chorale, the Wagner Chorale, and the Smith
Singers may be considered to have been pacesetters and innovators during the
“golden age of choral m u s ic ”2 5 7 jn America. The influence of these three
groups upon subsequent developments within their own arena of activity-
professional choirs—is deserving of consideration. Chapter four will carefully
examine this influence.
^^C ockrei^ “Smith, Gregg,” pp. 245-246.
257This term is used by Paul Salamunovich to describe the decades of

the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s in the USA. See page 63.
C hapter 4
INFLUENCE OF THE SHAW, WAGNER, AND SMITH

CHOIRS AS REVEALED BY THE SURVEY
Having examined historical backgrounds and development of the
Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers,
the focus of this study now turns to data gathered from the Survey for
Conductors of American Professional Choirs. The goal of this survey was to
obtain information concerning the influence of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith
choirs as expressed by conductors of active professional choirs in the United
States. Processed data and the tendencies illuminated thereby are discussed
below.
“The Survey for Conductors of American

Professional Choirs”
The “Survey for Conductors of American Professional Choirs”! was
designed to elicit information with which to test the hypothesis that the
Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers
have significantly influenced subsequent American professional choirs.
Essentially, the survey consisted of forty-two questions, each asked three
tim es-once each for the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups. Two free-response
items concluded the questions for each group, and the entire survey concluded
with four general items related to the broader development of professional
^Subsequent referals to this document will be shortened to “survey.”
88
89
choirs. An opening section containing questions of identification made the
total num ber of items on the survey 138. The forty-two questions f o r m in g the
basis of the s u r v e y , 2 with the exception of the final two free-response items
for each group, provided specific, measurable responses through the use of
Lickert and degrees of agreement scales. These instruments were the most
useful items in arriving at reasonably objective analysis and conclusions.
A copy of the survey is included in Appendix A.
Most of the items on the survey centered around one of the following
general topics:
(1) recordings of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups;
(2) concerts of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups;
(3) use of the Shaw, Wagner, or Smith group as a business or

administrative model;
(4) the Wagner, Shaw, or Smith choirs as an influence on the personal

development of the respondent; and
(5) the effect of the Smith, Shaw, and Wagner groups on subsequent
professional choirs.
In addition, the following issues were addressed, although to a lesser extent:
(6) whether the respondent was at any time a member of any of the
three groups;
(7) the impact of former members of the Smith, Wagner, and Shaw
choirs on the profession;
(8) tours of the three groups; and
(9) the respondent’s professional relationship to Shaw, Wagner, an d /o r

Smith, if any.
The large majority of questions on the survey elicited responses of
perceived influence by the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith choirs—how the
^These questions are survey items 1-42 for the Shaw Chorale, 43-84 for
the Wagner Chorale, and 85-126 for the Smith Singers. See Appendix A.
90
respondent views the impact of these three groups on himself or herself and
on the general development of professional choruses. A small number of
survey items, however, were designed to indicate actual influence--ways in
which perceived influence may have occurred. Data from the latter type of
question is more objective in nature and perhaps more useful in scientific
study.
Survey Administration and Response
In January 1992, the survey was mailed to fifty-six conductors of
professional choruses. Procedures outlined in chapter one were followed in
an attem pt to obtain the most complete response possible. Thirty-one surveys
were returned, of which three were u n u s a b le .^ A total of twenty-eight
surveys, therefore, or fifty per cent of the total number mailed, constitute the
source from which data for this study were drawn.
Respondents to the survey indicated significant experience as

conductors of a professional c h o r u s .^ In fact, the average number of years for
respondents in their present position was 10.7. Table 1 lists the number of
respondents according to duration of present position. Of the fourteen
respondents indicating tenures of less than ten years with their present
group, five stated that they had held previous conductorships of other
professional choirs. Of the fourteen respondents with ten or more years in
3 One was completely blank with an apology explaining that the

conductor’s responsibilities were too great to take the time needed to respond.
The other two were both instances of surveys being mistakenly sent to
conductors of choirs which were more semi-professional than professional.
In order to remain within the parameters of the study as outlined in chapter 1,
these two responses were disregarded.
4lt was discovered that the title music director is sometimes used
synonymously with conductor.
91
their present position, six indicated they had held similar positions with other
professional choirs. These statistics suggest that the pool of respondents has
had significant experience in the profession, and that the average num ber of
years as conductor of a professional chorus is higher than 10.7.

Table 2 contains an account of response to the survey by choir size.
The average size of the choirs whose conductors participated in this research
was thirty-three singers.
Table 1
Tenure in Present Position of Responding Conductors
Years in Present Number of Respondents Percentage of Total

Position Respondents
Less than 5 4 14.3
5 -9 10 35.7
10-14 8 28.6
15-19 2 7.1
2 0 -2 4 2 7.1
25 or more 2 7.1
Slati£ticaI-Er.Q£gdui£
Survey data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS/PC), a statistical computer program. A frequencies analysis
92
yielded the most useful information, listing percentages and mean responses,
and revealing certain patterns in the responses to survey items. Percentage
results for the entire survey are found in Appendix C.
Table 2
Size of Choirs Represented by Responding Conductors
Membership of Choir Number of Respondents Percentage of Total

Responses
12-15 3 10.7
1 6-20 6 21.4
2 1-25 3 10.7
2 6 -3 5 7 25.0
3 6-45 3 10.7
4 6-55 4 14.3
more than 55 2 7.1
Influence of the Robert Shaw Chorale
When asked general questions pertaining to influence of the Shaw
Chorale, the majority of respondents indicated a perception that the group has
had an impact on subsequent professional choral activity. Twenty-six of
twenty-eight conductors, or 92.9 percent, either agreed or strongly agreed
with the statement, “The work of the Robert Shaw Chorale helped facilitate the
emergence of subsequent professional choirs” (survey item 22). Perhaps
equally significant is the fact that almost as many conductors strongly agreed
93
(eleven) as agreed (fifteen) with the statement. A smaller but still substantial
percentage (64.2 percent), or eighteen of twenty-eight respondents, either
agreed or strongly agreed with item 27, which states, “The Robert Shaw
Chorale has helped to shape the identity of today’s professional chorus.”
One of the hypotheses of this study was that former members of the
Shaw, Wagner, and Smith choirs have been important in the on-going activity
of professional choirs in America. Survey item 20 asked respondents if they
think that former Shaw Chorale members have directly influenced other
professional choirs. Nineteen respondents (67.9 percent) either agreed or
strongly agreed that former members have, indeed, been a “force in the
development of professional choirs.” However, the pool of respondents only
listed a total of six such persons who are active today with a professional
choral organization (item 41 ).5 In addition, the majority of respondents
indicated that recordings of the Robert Shaw Chorale have been a benefit to
subsequent professional choirs.^ A very high 78.6 percent (twenty-two)
expressed either agreement or strong agreement that Shaw Chorale
recordings have generally benefited professional choirs.
^The number of years since the Shaw Chorale ceased activity (25) is a
factor here.
^See survey item 24.
94
Table 3
Specific Influence of the Robert Shaw Chorale
Indicated in Responses to Survey Section III
Area of Influence Number of Number of Number That Did

(with survey item #) Respondents Respondents Not Not Respond
Influenced Influenced
9. Choral Tone 11 (39.3%) 11 (39.3%) 6 (21.4%)
10. Interpretive 13 (46.3%) 8 (28.6%) 7 (25.0%)

Approach to music
11. Choir Size 9 (32.1%) 12 (42.9%) 7 (25.0%)
12. Choral 8 (28.6%) 14 (50.0%) 6 (21.4%)

Formations
13. Administration 3 (10.7%) 18 (64.3%) 7 (25.0%)
14. Fundraising 3 (10.7%) 18 (64.3%) 7 (25.0%)
15. Rehearsal of 9 (32.1%) 12 (42.9%) 7 (25.0%)

Modem Works
16. Leadership 8 (28.6%) 13 (46.4%) 7 (25.0%)

Style
17. Program 11 (39.3%) 10 (35.7%) 7 (25.0%)

Content
18. Philosophy- 11 (39.3%) 10 (35.7%) 7 (25.096)

Professional Choirs
19. Tour Planning 3 (10.7%) 18(64.3%) 7 (25.0%)
95
Table 4
Degrees of Influence in Specific A re a s ?
Area of Influence Minimal Average Significant Extreme No

(w/survey item#) Influence Influence Influence Influence Response3
9. Choral Tone 5 5 8 1 9
10.Interpretive 7 6 6 1 8
approach to
music
11. Choir Size 6 8 4 0 10
12. Choral 8 4 2 1 13
Formations
13.Administration 8 1 1 0 18
14. Fundraising 9 1 0 0 18
15. Rehearsal, 5 7 3 1 12
Modern works
16. Leadership 6 6 3 1 12
Style
17. Program 6 8 4 0 10
Content
18. Philosophy- 6 5 6 1 10
Professional
Choirs
19. Tour Planning 7 3 0 0 18
a Varying numbers of no response in this column and in Table 3 reflect the

fact that some respondents did not carefully follow the stated instructions.
Some simply responded randomly to the degree measurement section without
first indicating yes or no regarding influence. Similarly, some respondents
indicated a yes or no response but no degree measurement.
^Numbers in this table represent the frequency of responses for each

degree of influence relative to the aspects (Area of Influence) column.
96
Specific and Personal Influence
Respondents were asked in section three of the survey to identify
specific areas of their work in which observation of or participation in the
Robert Shaw Chorale had been an influence. Items in this section addressed
certain characteristics of professional choirs, philosophical (or personal)
issues, and other facets of choral music-making. Each conductor was asked
first to indicate whether any influence was effected, and second, in the event
of an affirmative answer, to specify degree of influence for the item in
question. Table 3 shows frequency tabulations for the first stage of each item.
Table 4 illustrates the second part of survey item 9 through survey item 19,
which focusues on the degrees to which respondents felt they have been
influenced by the Robert Shaw Chorale.
The data in Table 4 points toward more meaningful information
regarding influence than does Table 3. The areas that surfaced as being most
influenced by the Shaw Chorale in this section were (1) interpretive approach
to music, (2) choral tone, (3) program content, and (4) philosophical beliefs
about the value of professional choirs. Assuming that a non-response in this
section® is equivalent to indicating no influence, over forty-six percent of the
respondents (thirteen conductors) nonetheless indicated that the Shaw
Chorale had influenced their interpretation. For choral tone, program

content, and philosophical beliefs about professional choirs, the percentage of
respondents suggesting influence was identical for each area—39.3 percent
(eleven persons). An examination of the degrees of influence data (Table 4)
for the same four areas is even more enlightening. Choral tone was
®The term “non-response” is used to denote an omission of the

response, or the item left blank.
97
considered by 32.2 percent of the respondents to be a concept either
significantly affected or extremely affected by the Robert Shaw Chorale. Fifty

percent (fourteen) of the respondents revealed minimal or average influence
in the area of program content, with another thirty-six percent not
responding. Responses to the items regarding both interpretive approach and
philosophy were more evenly spread across the scale from minimal to extreme
influence.
Table 5
Choral Concepts Influenced by the Robert Shaw Chorale
Concepts Respondents Influenced Percentage of Total

Respondents
Choral Tone 15 53.6

Intonation 9 32.1
Rhythmic Vitality 21 75.0
Diction 14 50.0
Blend and Balance 12 42.9
Survey item 38 asked respondents to reflect on a list of specific choral
concepts and indicate those they consider to have been influenced by the
Shaw Chorale. Its similarity to section III of the s u r v e y 9 is the basis for
discussion of it (item 38) here. Choral tone scored high (fifteen respondents,
or 53.6 percent), as did diction (fourteen respondents, or 50.0 percent). A
significant seventy-five percent, or twenty-one respondents, marked
rhythm ic vitality as a concept in their philosophy of choral musicianship
9 Survey item 9 actually appears again as part of the item 38.
98
affected by the Robert Shaw Chorale. Table 5 contains the complete results for
item 38.
Table 3 also reveals those areas that appear least influenced by the
Robert Shaw Chorale, specifically (1) administration, (2) fundraising, and (3)
tour planning. For each of the three, only 10.7 percent indicated any
influence by the Shaw Chorale on their present activity. As shown in Table 4,
over ninety percent of those responding to the survey either omitted these
three items or claimed minimal influence from them. Furthermore, it is
significant that these three areas are all related to the business, or non
musical, dimension of professional choir activity. Data from survey item
seven, which is a direct inquiry about business operation, support the
intimation that the Shaw Chorale has exerted little or no influence in the area
of business and administration. Over forty-two percent of the respondents
indicated they never use Shaw Chorale business practices, only fourteen
percent indicated that sometimes they do, and no one suggested that often or
always a business influence from the Shaw group is present.
Responses to the other areas of influence in survey section III,
including choir size, choral formations, rehearsal of m odem works, and
leadership style, seem less statistically significant because frequency
tabulations did not yield a strong tendency toward influence or a lack thereof.
Table 3 does reveal, however, that for each of these four areas, more
respondents indicated that they have not been influenced than indicated such
influence upon their personal concepts by the Shaw Chorale. The Degrees of
Influence table (Table 4) suggests that responding conductors may have been
more influenced by the Shaw Chorale in the areas of leadership style and
rehearsal of modern works than in those of choir size and choral formations.
This deduction was made by a simple comparison of the number of respondents
99
designating either significant or extrem e influence in each of these four
areas. Survey item 6 provides tenuous support to this deduction by revealing
that 28.5 percent of the respondents expressed that often or always they use
choral techniques similar to those Shaw used with the Chorale. Another 35.7
percent indicated they sometimes do.
Mediums of Influence
In this study, certain mediums were hypothesized to be im portant
channels through which influence of the three focal groups has manifested
itself. Chief among these was previous membership of the respondents in
either the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, or the Gregg
Smith Singers. Survey results revealed that five of the twenty-eight
respondents were at one time members of one of these three c h o irs . 10 while
five of twenty-eight is not an insignificant percentage (17.9%), membership
in one of the groups has been shown to be a lesser factor of influence.
Recordings and concerts rated higher as appreciable mediums of influence.
Recordings
Six different items on the survey addressed recordings of the Robert
Shaw Chorale. An analysis of these items reveals an indication of the
importance of these recordings to other professional choruses.
It is significant that all of the respondents acknowledged listening to
recordings of the Robert Shaw Chorale at least sometimes (survey item 1), and
the average number of Shaw Chorale recordings owned by the respondents
10 Three respondents had over 23 years of membership, collectively,

in the Roger Wagner Chorale. For the Shaw Chorale, only one respondent
indicated having been a member. Likewise, one respondent indicated previous
membership in the Gregg Smith Singers.
100
was five to six. Over sixty percent of the conductors (seventeen) acknowledged
that they listen often or always to Shaw Chorale recordings. Seven conductors
(25%) revealed in survey item 2 that they often or always are influenced to
some degree in their interpretation of a musical score by Shaw Chorale
recordings. Table 6 illustrates.
Table 6
The Effect of Shaw Chorale Recordings

on Musical Interpretation
Frequency that Shaw Number of Percentage of Total

Chorale Recordings Respondents3 Respondents
In flu en ce
In terp retatio n
Never 7 25.0
Sometimes 11 39.3
Often 2 7.1
Always 5 17.9
a Three respondents either omitted this item or marked not applicable.

Therefore, the percentage column is accurate for the total num ber of surveys,
even though the total number of responses shown in the center column is
only 25.
Items 23, 24, and 25 from section IV of the survey provided
opportunity for the respondents to express agreement or disagreement with
the premise that Robert Shaw Chorale recordings have had an impact on the
work of professional choirs. Table 7 shows response tabulations and
comparisons.
101
Table 7
Responses to Statements Concerning the Influence

of Shaw Chorale Recordings
Influence of Recordings Strongly Dis No Agree Strongly

Dis agree Opinion Agree
agree
23. Increased Personal 0 5 5 12 5

Understanding of Works (0.0%) (17.9%) (17.9%) (42.9%) (17.9%)
24. Benefit to 0 1 4 15 7
Professional Choirs (0.0%) (3.6%) (14.3%) (53.6%) (25.0%)
25. Musicality Emulated 0 6 8 6 7

by Respondent (0.0%) (21.4%) (28.6%) (21.4%) (25.0%)
These responses seem to indicate more clearly that recordings of the
Robert Shaw Chorale have been influential. Survey items 23 and 25 (shown
first and third in Table 7) are personal in nature, soliciting responses that
focus on the recordings’ effect on the particular conductor answering the
question. Item 24 has a more general focus, allowing the respondent to
express level of agreement with the less-specific idea that Shaw Chorale
recordings have benefited other professional choirs. Approximately sixty
percent (seventeen conductors) agreed or strongly agreed that Shaw Chorale

recordings have increased their understanding of the recorded works.
Thirteen respondents (46.4%) agreed or strongly agreed that the Shaw
Chorale, in its recordings, achieved a level of musicality worthy
102
of emulation. Therefore, 53.6 percent! 1 of the respondents seem to reflect a

positive influence on a personal level with regard to Shaw Chorale recordings.
Conceits
Critiques and testimonials cited in chapter three have established that
concerts by the Robert Shaw Chorale were generally thrilling and inspiring.
It is a natural assumption, therefore, that these events had some impact, either
directly or indirectly, upon contemporary and subsequent professional choirs.
Four items on the survey were designed to test this assumption. Items 4, 5, 30,
and 40 all address concert attendance and any resulting personal in flu e n c e . 12
The data produced from these items reveal minimal evidence of strong
influence by Robert Shaw Chorale concerts. Ten of the responding conductors

(35.7 percent) indicated they never attended a concert by the Shaw C h o ra le . 13
Of the remaining fifteen respondents, seven (twenty-five percent) revealed
that they often or always attended Shaw Chorale concerts. 14 Item 5 on the
survey asked the conductors if the experience of having attended a concert by
the Robert Shaw Chorale still affects them in setting goals for a
11 This figure was calculated by adding the percentages in the agree

and strongly agree columns for the two items (60.8% for item 23, 46.4% for
item 25), and then averaging the two percentage totals.
lÛnfortunately, the survey contained no items allowing respondents

to speculate as to broader, less specific, or less tangible ways in which concerts
by the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups may have been influential. Such data
may have been beneficial in gauging perceptions of influence in the field,
whereas the present questions only pertain to direct influence on the
respondent.
13Another three respondents checked not applicable or left the item

blank.
l^There is perhaps some ambiguity in this question. Always was not

intended to mean that one never missed a Robert Shaw Chorale concert, but
rather that they always attended when the opportunity was presented.
103
p e rfo rm a n c e . 15 Seven respondents (25 percent) indicated that they were
often or always influenced in this re g a rd . 16 Table 8 illustrates.
Table 8
Influence of Robert Shaw Chorale Concerts
Statement Never Sometimes Often Always Not

Applicablea
4. Attended 10 8 6 1 3
Concerts (35.7%) (28.6%) (21.4%) (3.6%) (10.7%)
5. Concerts
Affect 9 3 3 4 9
Personal (32.1%) (10.7%) (10.7%) (14.3%) (32.1%)
Goals
a Figures in this column include one respondent who left the items blank.
Item 40 on the survey allowed respondents to be more specific
regarding the effect of having heard the Robert Shaw Chorale in concert.
Responses to this item are illustrated in table 9, which lists certain areas of
possible influence and the number of respondents that indicated having been
influenced in the area by a Shaw Chorale concert.
15An equally beneficial question may have been, “Has this

remembrance ever affected you in setting performance goals?” This wording
may have revealed past influence.
16One of the always responses to this question, however, was in

reference to concert recordings—a case of the respondent not answering the
question that was asked. Even disregarding this response, however, there
were as many respondents (3) who indicated they were always affected as
there were answering either sometim es or often.
104
Table 9
Scope of Positive Effect Relative to Attendance

at Shaw Chorale Concerts
Areas Affected Number of Respondents Percentage of Total

Indicating Positive Respondents
Influence
Enjoyment of Music 11 39.3
Music-Making lla 39.3
Career 10 35.7
Other 2 7.1
None 0 0
Not Applicable 10 35.7
a There is some descrepancy between this figure and Table 8, which shows that
a total of only 10 respondents thought that concert attendance affected goals
they set for a performance. One can only speculate that one of two things
occurred: (1) the survey items were misunderstood by at least one respondent,
or (2) “positive effect opon my music-making” (item 40) was understood to
mean something different than “the goals I set for a performance” (item 5).
Perhaps the most significant statistic from Table 9 is that thirty-five
percent of those responding, or ten conductors, indicated that attending a
Shaw Chorale concert had a positive effect on their careers. When compared
to the statistic in Table 8 showing that only fifty-three percent of the
respondents actually attended a Shaw Chorale concert, the above statistic
becomes even more meaningful. Of the number that attended Shaw Chorale
105
concerts, then, sixty-six percent (ten of fifteen) indicated that the experience
affected their careers in a positive w a y . 17
Survey item 32, which asked respondents to rate the overall work of
the Robert Shaw Chorale in terms of importance to their educations and

careers, is related. Instead of concentrating specifically on concerts,
however, it implies all means of influence. The results parallel the data
heretofore examined.
Table 10
Shaw Chorale’s Importance to the Musical

Education and Career of Respondents
Degree of Importance Number of Percentage of

Respondents Respondents
No Importance 1 3.6
Minimal Importance 7 25.0
Im portant 6 21.4
Very Important 5 17.9
Extremely Important 4 14.3
No Response 1 3.6
Table 10 shows that 53.6 percent of the respondents (fifteen
conductors) felt that work by the Robert Shaw Chorale was important, very
important, or extremely important to their educations, careers, or the
17 Respondents were also asked if they had attended an RSC rehearsal

(item 8). Twenty-five percent indicated that at least sometimes they had done
so.
106
decisions they have made concerning these two critcal dimensions. By
contrast, only 21.5 percent (six conductors) indicated that the Shaw group was
not im portant or the question was not applicable.1®
Table 11
Most Influential Contributions by the Robert Shaw
Chorale as Perceived by the Respondents
Accomplishment Number of Percentage of

Respondents in Total Respondents
Agreement
Recordings 24 85.7
Tours 17 60.7
Festivals/W orkshops 7 25.0
Music Education 6 21.4
Performing Little-Known Music 7 25.0
Performing New Works 7 25.0
Table 11 illustrates the respondents’ perceptions regarding the most
influential contribution of the Robert Shaw Chorale. These data are from
1$The one person who neglected to respond to this question is included

in this number. While all six of these responses essentially mean the same
thing, only 1 respondent indicated no importance. Of the other five not
applicable responses, one was actually a non-response.
107
survey item 39, where respondents were allowed to select more than one area
of contribution.
Table 12
Respondents’ Ranking of Shaw

Chorale A ccom plishm ents^
Ranking Order (in Terms of Importance)

Area of 1 2 3 4 5 6
Activity
Recording 6 1 2 - - -
Tours 3 4 - 1 - -
Festivals/ - 1 1 1 2 -
Workshop
Music - 2 - 1 - 2
Education
Little-
Known - 2 1 2 - -
Works
New 1 - 3 - - -
Works
Some of the respondents, as suggested in the instructions for item 39,
chose to number the accomplishments in order of importance. Table 12 shows
results of the numbered responses, which appear to parallel the data in Table
11. These tables reveal an indication that the recordings, and to a slightly
lesser extent the tours, of the Shaw Chorale have been influential. While sixty
^N um bers in the body of this chart represent respondents who chose

to rank the areas of contribution listed in survey item 39. For instance, six
conductors ranked recordings first (or most important) in terms of influential
contributions.
108
percent of the respondents felt that tours of the Chorale were an influential
contribution, only thirty-five percent agreed that the group’s international
tours played a significant role as a pioneer for choirs that today tour
i n t e r n a t i o n a l l y . 20 The margin of separation on the chart between recordings
and tours and the other six accomplishments is a marked one, which may be
interpreted as being statistically significant.^ 1
The Real Influence Quotient
As previously stated, most survey questions were designed to elicit
from the respondents honest perceptions of how the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith
groups have or have not been an influence on professional choir activity. Of
the forty-two questions asked about each of the three groups, twenty-nine
were measures of perceived influence. The remaining thirteen items were
aimed at providing more objective data in an attempt to determine, as much as

possible, actual (or real) influence.
For example, United States citizens of the late twentieth century would
likely admit that they have been influenced by early-American pioneers of
the frontier. This would obviously be a perceived influence, since no one
living today has had personal experience with these persons. If, however, a
letter written by one of these pioneers had been handed down through
generations and had an impact on the life of someone living today, this could
20see survey item 21.
21 The term “statistically significant” is used to indicate that there is

less of a chance that the results were a random occurrence.
109
be construed as being real i n f l u e n c e .22 Similarly, it is one thing for the
conductor of a professional chorus to make the statement, “Yes, I have been
influenced by the Robert Shaw Chorale.” It is another thing entirely for the
conductor to make the same statement while revealing that he or she sang
with the Shaw Chorale, owns fifteen recordings of the group, and attended
several Shaw Chorale concerts. To make the statement is to indicate perceived
influence. To reveal evidence of personal contact with the group, or to relate
conscious decisions made because of the group and its work, is to indicate real
inflence.
The thirteen survey items designated as real influence questions for
the Shaw Chorale were items 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 29, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, 36, and 37. Each
respondent was given a score based on the answers provided for these thirteen
questions. This real influence score, or Rl-score, then became the basis for
identifying four categories of respondents, organized by the amount of real

influence indicated in their r e s p o n s e s .2 3
The categories were (1) high, or those who revealed a high level of
real influence (Rl-scores of 20 or more), (2) moderately-high, or those
revealing slightly less-high levels (Rl-scores 15-19), (3) average, or those
levels midway between the highest and lowest (Rl-scores 10-14), and
22Taking this analogy even further, such things as land or other

property having been procured by a pioneer and having remained in a family
over the years would be real influence.
23Ri-scores were calculated by assigning a numerical value for each

possible response to the 13 items designated above. The more the response
revealed influence (generally the higher Lickert scale numbers), the higher
the numerical value for that item would be. If it was apparent that the
respondent had misunderstood or mis-answered a question, the numerical
value assigned to that question was zero. The sum of all the values for the 13
items equals the Rl-score. Appendix E lists these questions together with the
numerical values for all possible responses.
110
(4) minimal, or those with levels too low to be significant (Rl-scores less than
10). Table 13 illustrates by category the way in which the respondents scored.
It shows that fifty-seven percent of the respondents reflected at least an
average amount of real influence. Eighteen percent had a high level of real
i n f l u e n c e . 24 The average Rl-score for the pool of respondents was 11.8.
Table 13
Shaw Chorale Rl-Score Categories
Category (Rl-Scores) Number of Respondents Percentage of Total

Respondents
High (20 or greater) 5 17.9
Moderately-High (15-19) 2 7.1
Average (10-14) 9 32.1
Minimal (less than 10) 12 42.9
The four categories representing levels of real influence were then
related to three key questions from the survey. Each of the key questions—
items 22, 27, and 32—addresses in a general way the perceptions of the
24jhis percentage is of the whole, not of the 57% mentioned in the

previous sentence.
I ll
respondent regarding the overall influence of the Robert Shaw C h o ra le .2 5
This type of cross-comparison suggests that the Rl-scores both lend validity to
other responses on the survey and indicate ways in which perceived
influence may have occurred. Table 14 illustrates this comparison.
Table 14
Rl-Score Categories for the Robert Shaw

Chorale Compared to Key Q u e s t i o n s 2 6
Category Item 22 Item27 Item 32

Shaw Chorale Shaw Chorale Shaw Chorale’s
Facilitated Shaped Identity of Importance to
Emergence of Today’s Groups Respondent’s
Other Groups Education and
Career
High strongly agree: 3 strongly agree: 5 extreme: 2

(Rl-score 20 or agree: 2 very: 2
m ore) important: 1
Moderately High strongly agree: 1 strongly agree: 1 extreme: 1

(Rl-scores 15-19) agree: 1 no opinion: 1 important: 1
Average strongly agree: 3 strongly agree: 1 extreme: 1

(Rl-scores 10-14) agree: 6 agree: 5 very: 1
no opinion: 2 important: 4
disagree: 1 minimal: 3
Minimal strongly agree: 4 strongly agree: 2 very: 2

(Rl-scores 10 or agree: 6 agree: 4 minimal: 4
less) no opinion: 1 no opinion: 4 none: 1
disagree: 1 N/A: 4
25in other words, they are “perceived influence” questions.
2 6Numbers in this chart represent conductors from the category who

responded as indicated.
112
The value of the Rl-scores is debatable. However, it is the opinion of
this writer that the use of these scores is another worthwhile technique by
which to analyze the survey data.
HreeJtesponses and Observations
Perhaps the most problematic issue concerning the survey section on
the Robert Shaw Chorale was focusing on the Chorale and its influence, rather
them the influence of Shaw himself. The personal influence of Shaw was not
presumed to be ignored, but rather limited, as much as possible, to the years in
which he was associated with the Chorale. Of course, Shaw has had a long and
distinguished career that has included many associations and many
organizations. The Robert Shaw Chorale is only one of them, though a
significantly im portant one. Therefore, where it was obvious in the answers
that a respondent was referring to a “post-Chorale” Robert Shaw, these
responses were ignored. One of the respondents offered this honest statement:
“It’s hard for me to separate the Robert Shaw Chorale from Shaw and his more
recent workshops. I’m not that familiar with the Chorale. I am strongly
influenced by Shaw himself and his teaching.” This seemed to be the case
with several respondents.
Surfacing from the free-response section on the Chorale (section VII)
was an influence not directly addressed elsewhere in the survey. The group
was cited as being among the first to pay its singers as professionals. Other
responses noted that the Shaw Chorale was important in demonstrating the
value of an organization that provides non-operatic, non-recital, professional
singers a venue for their craft and a means for their livelihood. Likewise,
choruses were confirmed, largely through the work of the Robert Shaw
Chorale, to be organizations that can function as professional equivalents to
113
other professional musical organizations, such as the professional symphony

orchestras.
Finally, one of the free-response comments stated simply and
insightfully what this writer suspects is one of the primary ways in which the
Shaw Chorale made an impact: “Listening to recordings as a child helped

influence my love of choral literature.”
Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale
Items on the survey that provide the initial measure of the
respondents’ perceptions in regard to the influence of the Roger Wagner
Chorale are items 64, 69, 62, and 65. Frequency tabulations from these
questions suggest that the work of Wagner’s Chorale has been both important
and influential. In response to item 64, eighty-two percent of those

responding either agreed or strongly agreed that the Roger Wagner Chorale
has facilitated the emergence of subsequent professional choirs. Sixty-eight
percent also agreed or strongly agreed that the Wagner Chorale has helped
shape the identity of the professional chorus t o d a y . 27 Sixty-four percent of
the respondents felt that the recordings of the Roger Wagner Chorale have
been a benefit to professional choral a c t i v i t y , 28 but the percentage of those
either agreeing or strongly agreeing with the concept that former Wagner
Chorale members have been primary agents of influence was less. Only forty-
six percent of the respondents agreed or strongly agreed with this
27yhese data are from responses to survey item 69.
28xhis is the percentage that either agreed or strongly agreed with

survey item 66.
114
s t a t e m e n t . 29 However, a statement given by one of the respondents in survey
section XIII, presents a strongly supportive opinion. Asked to list any former
Wagner Chorale members known to be still active with a professional chorus
today, this respondent replied, “Tons! too many to name. Maybe 50 people
singing professionally." Though this estimate appears to be exaggerated,
respondents named nine different former members of the Roger Wagner
Chorale who are still actively involved with a professional choir. It is
significant that three of the nine are conductors of professional choirs.
In combination with data from the other survey items addressed
above, evidence of influence by the Roger Wagner Chorale is apparent. This
evidence will be tested and examined more closely in the tables and discussions
that follow.
Sne.tific-and-Personal Influence
Survey section IX, as did section III for the Robert Shaw Chorale,
solicited from respondents information intended to reveal effects the Roger
Wagner Chorale may have had on specific aspects of music-making. More
particularly, this section asks, “Has the work of the Roger Wagner Chorale or
any contact with the group influenced beliefs, concepts, or practice with
regard to the issues listed?” If so, then a more accurate identification of such
influence may be possible. Table 15 shows how the conductors responded to

the items in this section.
29xhese data are from survey item 62.
115
Table 15
Specific Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale as

Indicated in Responses to Survey Section IX
Area of Influence Number of Number of Number That Did

(w/survey item #) Respondents Respondents Not Not Respond
51. Choral Tone 10 (35.7%) 10 (35.7%) 8 (28.6%)
52. Interpretive 11 (39.3%) 9 (32.1%) 8 (28.6%)

Approach to music
53. Choir Size 6 (21.4%) 14(50.0%) 8 (28.6%)
54. Choral 6 (21.4%) 14(50.0%) 8 (28.6%)

Formations
55. Administration 1 (3.6%) 17 (60.7%) 10 (35.7%)
56. Fundraising 1 (3.6%) 17(60.7%) 10 (35.7%)
57. Rehearsal of 4(14.3%) 15(53.6%) 9 (32.1%)

Modern Works
58. Leadership 5(17.9%) 14 (50.0%) 9 (32.1%)

Style
59. Program 7 (25.0%) 12 (42.9%) 9 (32.1%)

Content
60. Philosophy- 7 (25.0%) 12 (42.9%) 9 (32.1%)

Professional
Choirs
61. Tour Planning 2 (7.1%) 17 (60.7%) 9 (32.1%)
116
Table 16
Degrees of Influence in Specific A re a s^ O
Area of Influence Minimal Average Significant Extreme No

(w/survey Item #) Influence Influence Influence Influence Response
51. Choral Tone 2 10 3 0 13
52. Interpretive 4 7 5 0 12
approach to music
53. Choir Size 5 2 6 0 15
54. Choral 4 6 1 0 17
Formations
55. Administration 5 2 0 0 21
57. Rehearsal, 6 3 0 0 19
Modern works
58. Leadership 6 4 1 0 17
Style
59. Program 2 9 2 0 15
Content
60. Philosophy- 2 6 4 1 15
Professional
Choirs
61. Tour Planning 4 4 0 0 20
30Numbers in this table represent the frequency of responses for

each degree of influence relative to the aspects (Area of Influence) column.
117
According to Table 15, Choral Tone and Interpretive Approach to

Music are the leading areas of influence. Table 16 is perhaps a more accurate
indicator of influence in these areas upon the respondents, however, because
it identifies degrees of influence for each area. Furthermore, data from Table
16 corroborate and embellish that of Table 15.31 por instance, Table 16 shows
that thirteen respondents (46.4%) claimed average or significant influence by
the Wagner Chorale in their concept of choral tone, while twelve respondents
(42.9%) indicated average or significant influence on their interpretive
approach to music. These are the only two areas where the Wagner Chorale
appears to have impacted the pool of respondents to any degree of importance.
The lowest degrees of influence were in the areas dealing with business,
administration, and management. This parallels results for the Shaw Chorale
from the same series of questions. Only seven responses (25%) indicated
average or minimal influence from the Wagner group as an administrative
m o d e l , 32 only seven showed influence (all m in im a l) in the area of
f u n d r a i s i n g , 33 and only eight (28.6%) indicated either average or m inim al
influence on tour p l a n n i n g . 34 Table 15 supports these results, with no more
than two respondents suggesting that their attitudes concerning
administrative matters were shaped to any degree by the Wagner Chorale. For
31 Theoretically, the total number of respondents indicating any

degree of influence in Table 16 should equal the number of positive responses
in Table 15. The fact that this is not the case is an indication that some
respondents took “short cuts” or simply did not heed directions.
32Responses to survey item 55.
33Responses to survey item 56.
34Response from survey item 61.
118
item 49, which deals straightforwardly with the Roger Wagner Chorale as a
model for business operations, over sixty percent of the respondents either
marked n o t applicable or omitted the item. Seven conductors (25%) indicated
that they never model the Wagner group in business matters. Only 14.3
percent (4 respondents) answered that they sometimes do.
The other specific areas listed on the survey in section IX showed no
significant evidence of influence in the frequency scores. Responses were
weighted toward the average or minimal end of the influence scale. For item
53 (optimal size for a professional choir), however, six persons indicated a
significant influence. Forty percent (eleven persons) indicated at least an
average am ount of influence by the Wagner group on their personal
philosophy of professional choirs (item 60). Responses for the rem ainder of
the field revealed little if any evidence of influence patterns.
The most obvious statistic from Table 16 is that there is only one
response in the entire table claiming extreme in f lu e n c e . 35 However, Table 16
does suggest more influence than Table 15, though still considerably less than
do the corresponding tables (Table 3 and Table 4) for the Shaw Chorale.
Survey item 80 is related to the above two tables. Five choral concepts
were listed—choral tone, intonation, rhythmic vitality, diction, and
blend/balance. Respondents were asked to indicate the concepts in which
their philosophy has been shaped to any degree by the Roger Wagner Chorale.
This, too, suggests more influence than indicated in Table 14. Of the five
concepts, choral tone scored highest, with 53.6 percent of the responses
(fifteen) indicating influence. Blend and balance received the second highest
35xhis response was for the item Philosophy-Professional Choirs

discussed above (survey item 60).
119
score, with 35.7 percent (ten) indicating some importance of the Wagner
Chorale to their personal philosophy of the concept. Table 17 illustrates.
Table 17
Choral Concepts Influenced by the Roger Wagner Chorale

Respondents
Choral Tone 15 53.6
Intonation 8 28.6
Diction 5 17.9
Recordings and concert attendance were analyzed, as with the Shaw
Chorale, as agents for influence by the Roger Wagner Chorale. Survey item 43
revealed that 71.5 percent (twenty) of the conductors who responded
acknowledged listening to Wagner Chorale recordings at least sometimes. In
addition, the conductors personally owned an average of one to five
recordings of the group. Responses to survey item 44 reveal that fifty percent
(fourteen) are sometim es, often, or always influenced in their interpretation
of a score by these recordings. Again, the figures here are not as large as
120
those for the Robert Shaw Chorale, but they are noteworthy. Table 18 shows
data from item 44.
Table 18
The Effect of Wagner Chorale Recordings

Frequency that Wagner Number of Percentage of Total

Chorale Recordings Respondents3 Respondents
Influ en ce
In terp retatio n
Never 8 28.6
Sometimes 9 32.1
Often 3 10.7
Always 2 7.1
a Six respondents either omitted this item (44) or marked not applicable.
Table 19 illustrates the degree to which the respondents agreed with
three specific statements that addressed Wagner Chorale recordings. These
statements are found in survey section X~items 65, 66, and 67. Eighteen
respondents (64.3%) either agreed or strongly agreed that Wagner Chorale
recordings have been beneficial to subsequent professional choirs. Sixteen
(57.2%) either agreed or strongly agreed that the musicality achieved by the
Roger Wagner Chorale in its recordings is worthy of emulation. It is
noteworthy that this percentage is higher than that of the Robert Shaw
Chorale for the same statement. There is less agreement that Wagner Chorale
recordings have increased understanding of the music being recorded, with
the largest percentage of respondents (42.9%) having no opinion on this
statement (item 65).
121
Table 19

of Wagner Chorale Recordings
Influence of Recordings Strongly Dis No Agree Strongly

Dis agree Opinion Agree
agree
6 5 . Increased Personal 0 4 12 9 1
Understanding of Works ( 0 .0 % ) ( 1 4 .3 % ) ( 4 2 .9 % ) ( 3 2 .1 % ) ( 3 .6 % )
66 . Benefit to 0 1 7 15 3
Professional Choirs ( 0 .0 % ) ( 3 .6 % ) ( 2 5 .0 % ) ( 5 3 .6 % ) ( 1 0 .7 % )
6 7 . Musicality Emulated 0 3 7 12 4
by Respondent ( 0 .0 % ) ( 1 0 .7 % ) ( 2 5 .0 % ) ( 4 2 .9 % ) ( 1 4 .3 % )
Concerts
Because of its many years of existence, the Roger Wagner Chorale has
provided more opportunities to attend one of its concerts than was the case
with the shorter-lived Robert Shaw Chorale. Nonetheless, fewer respondents
indicated having attended a Wagner Chorale concert than occurred with the
Shaw Chorale. Eleven conductors ( 3 9 .3 % ) acknowledged that they sometimes,
often, or always attended Wagner Chorale concerts, compared to fifteen
( 5 3 .6 % ) for the Shaw group. Eleven also indicated that having experienced a
concert by the Wagner Chorale still affects to some extent their own
performance g o a ls .3 6 Table 20 illustrates these responses. Two of the eleven
36These data are from responses to survey items 46 & 47.
122
respondents who indicated having attended concerts, however, answered that

the experience n ever affects their performance goals. Likewise, two other
respondents who indicated that they have never attended a Wagner Chorale
concert answered that such concerts affected their goals.37 Nonetheless, this
data reflects a high ratio of attendance to impression and positive influence.
Table 20
Influence of Roger Wagner Chorale Concerts

Applicable
46. 10 8 2 1 5a
Attended (35.7%) (28.6%) (7.1%) (3.6%) (7.1%)
Concerts
47.
Concerts 6 6 3 2 10b
Affect (21.4%) (21.4%) (10.7%) (7.1%) (35.7%)
Personal
Goals
a The two respondents who omitted this item (46), while not included in this
n o t applicable figure, are, in fact, indicating as much.
b Likewise, it is assumed that the one person who neglected to respond to this
item (47) is indicating that the question is not applicable to him or her.
Table 21 contains the results for survey item 82, which asked
respondents to relate whether hearing the Wagner Chorale in concert
positively affected any particular musical area of their lives. Again, the
results here are only minimally significant. Twenty-five percent (seven
3 ?These two respondents were perhaps referring to the experience of

having heard and/or seen the Chorale on television, radio, or even recording.
123
conductors) claimed a positive influence by concert attendance on their
enjoyment of music and career. A slightly higher 28.6 percent (eight
conductors) claimed that concerts have positively affected their music-
m aking.
Table 21

at Wagner Chorale Concerts

Indicating Positive Respondents
Influence
Music-Making 8 28.6
Career 7 25.0
Other 2 7.1
None 0 0
Two respondents listed other aspects of their own musical endeavors
that have been positively affected by these concerts. One mentioned “concern
for music as dram a,” another “programming,” as areas in which Wagner
Chorale concerts have been influential to them.
124
Table 22
Wagner Chorale’s Importance to the Musical


No Importance 4 14.3
Im portant 7 25.0
Very Im portant 3 10.7
No Response 1 3.6
Only four respondents indicated that they had observed a rehearsal of
the Roger Wagner C h o ra le . 38 Therefore, no measurable influence relative to
such is presumed.
One of the most important questions asked about each of the Shaw,
Wagner, and Smith choirs is “How would you rate the overall work of the
38These data are from responses to survey item 50.
125
(Robert Shaw Chorale, Roger Wagner Chorale, Gregg Smith Singers) in terms
of importance to your musical education and career d e c is io n s ? ”3 9 Table 22
contains responses to this question for the Wagner group.
This table shows that 42.8 percent believe the work of the Wagner
Chorale to have been important, very important, or extremely im portant to
their educations and careers. A slightly greater percentage (46.4%), or
thirteen conductors, either claimed no importance in this regard or marked
n o t applicable to their situations. Two extremes, then, are present in the
answers to this question, which may be considered a microcosm of the pattern
of influence exerted by the Wagner Chorale upon professional choir activity.
Table 23 contains the results from survey item 81. This question
provided respondents with the opportunity to indicate the area or areas of
activity in which they felt the Roger Wagner Chorale had its greatest
influence. As with the Shaw Chorale, recordings and tours scored very high
as the most influential areas of activity by the Wagner group. Seventy-one
percent (twenty persons) selected recordings as the most influential
contribution. The Wagner Chorale scored slightly higher than Shaw’s for
tours as the area of greatest influence, with eighteen conductors (versus
seventeen) favoring this integral part of the group’s work. Thirty-nine
percent (eleven conductors) felt that the Wagner Chorale’s international tours
played a great role in the availability of international tours to choirs to d a y .4 0
Performance of new works was a unanimous choice as the area least
considered to be the group’s most important contribution.
39This is survey item 74 for the Wagner group.
40xhis information is from responses to survey item 63. Item 63 is

another of the few items for which Wagner’s group outscored that of Shaw.
126
Table 23
Most Influential Contributions by the Roger Wagner

Chorale as Perceived by the Respondents

Agreement
Recordings 20 71.4
Tours 18 64.3
Festivals/Workshops 3 10.7
Performing New Works 0 0
For those who numbered the accomplishments in order of importance,
tours actually received more first place rankings (Table 24). Essentially,
however, the data in Table 24 parallel that of Table 23, with recordings and
tours convincingly leading the way as the respondents’ choice for the Wagner
Chorale’s most influential contribution.
127
Table 24
Respondents’ Ranking of Wagner

Chorale Accomplishments'll

Area of 1 2 3 4 5 6
Activity
Recording 3 4 - - - -
Tours 4 2 1 - - -
Festivals/ - 1 - 1 - -
Workshop
Music “ “ 1 2 “ “
Education
Little-
Known 2
Works ' '
New Works - - - - - -
Rl-scores and The Roger

Wagner Chorale
In order to consider the real influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale,
the Rl-score for each returned survey was tabulated. The thirteen questions
by which the Rl-scores for the Wagner Chorale were tabulated are survey
41 Numbers in the body of this chart represent respondents who chose

to rank the areas of contribution listed in survey item 81. In this case, three
conductors ranked recordings first (or most important) in terms of influential
contributions.
128
items 4 3 , 46, 4 8 ,4 9 , 50, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 78, and 7 9 .4 2 The four categories of
high (level of influence), moderately-high, average, and m inim al were again
used to classify the number of respondents showing a significant amount of
direct, or real, influence from the Wagner Chorale. Table 25 delineates the
grouping of conductors by Rl-score category.
Table 2 5
Wagner Chorale Rl-Score Categories

Respondents
High (2 0 or greater) 4 14.3
Moderately-High (1 5 -1 9 ) 1 3 .6
Average (1 0 -1 4 ) 4 14.3
Minimal (less than 10) 19 6 7 .9
Table 25 shows that two-thirds of the respondent pool scored in the
m inim al category, having Rl-scores of less than ten. In fact, a large number
(twelve, or 4 2 .9 percent) had Rl-scores less than five. The evidence, therefore,
42xhese are the same thirteen questions (though survey item numbers
are different) used to tabulate the Rl-scores for all three groups (see footnote
2 3 ).
129
suggests that a large percentage of active choral professionals have
experienced little real influence from the Roger Wagner Chorale. It is
noteworthy, however, that two respondents from the high category had
Rl-scores of thirty-four and forty-six. The top Rl-score for the Robert Shaw
Chorale, which had one more high respondent than the Wagner Chorale, was
only twenty-seven. These facts point to a strong degree of influence within a

small percentage of respondents.
In order to determine further significance from the Rl-scores, as was
done for the Shaw Chorale, the four categories were cross-related to three key
survey questions--64, 69, and 74.43 Table 26 contains the results.
Those with the highest Rl-scores, as anticipated, tended to indicate
perceptions of greater influence. It is significant, however, that even among
those in the minimal category, a large percentage agreed that the Wagner
Chorale has influenced professional choral activity.44 Four m inim al
respondents even indicated that the Wagner Chorale had been im portant or
very im portant to their educational or career decisions.
43it should be noted that one of these items is focused toward personal
influence, while the other two elicit information relative to professional
choirs in general. All are perceived influence questions.
44pourteen of nineteen agreed that the Roger Wagner Chorale has

facilitated the emergence of other such groups, while eleven of nineteen
agreed that the Roger Wagner Chorale has helped shape the identity of them.
130
Table 26
Rl-Score Categories for the Roger Wagner

Chorale Compared to Key Questions4 ^
Category Item 64 Item 69 Ltem..74

Wagner Chorale Wagner Chorale Wagner Chorale’s
Emergence of Today’s Groups R espondent’s
Career
High strongly agree: 1 agree: 3 extreme: 2

(Rl-score 20 or agree: 3 no opinion: 1 very: 1
more) important: 1
Moderately High agree: 1 agree: 1 important: 1

(Rl-scores 15-19)
Average strongly agree: 2 strongly agree: 2 very: 1

(Rl-scores 10-14) agree: 2 agree: 2 important: 2
none: 1
Minimal strongly agree: 1 strongly agree: 1 veiy: 1

(Rl-scores 10 or agree: 13 agree: 10 important: 3
less) no opinion: 4 no opinion: 6 minimal: 3
disagree: 1 disagree: 2 none: 3
N/A: 9
Free Responses and Other Specific Influence
Some of the free responses from survey section XIII indicated
influence more from Wagner than the Roger Wagner Chorale.4^ Most,
however, credit the group for such contributions as being an inspiration for
4 ^Numbers in this chart represent conductors from the category who

4^This, however, is less of a problem than with Shaw, because the

majority of Wagner’s activity has been associated with the Chorale. Shaw’s
career has been more diverse and has involved more associations (with
different groups).
131
performance. More specifically, the freedom, vitality, and fullness of voice
for which the Roger Wagner Chorale is known give a life to the music that
evidently continues to inspire choral professionals in the 1990s. The Wagner

Chorale, according to one respondent, has done a great service to the
“profession of choral singing” by having an open commitment to the idea.

Also, the group is cited for helping eliminate the “chasm which often
separates the solo singer from the ensemble singer.” Certainly, professional
choirs seem uniquely suited to accomplish something of this nature.
Not all free responses were positive, or even favorable. One comment
alluded to the conductor’s abrasive personality, which Wagner openly
admitted. These comments, however, were in the extreme minority.
Evidence of a strong influence is found in one of the free-response
comments: “I’m certain if it hadn’t been for his work to achieve choral
excellence, I could not be in the position I’m in now, as a professional choral
d irecto r.”
Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers
The Gregg Smith Singers, with a history approaching forty years,
have had more continuous years of existence than either the Robert Shaw
Chorale or the Roger Wagner C h o ra le .4 7 Responses to the third section of the
47The Roger Wagner Chorale has only recently, with Wagner’s death
in September 1992, ceased official operations. Literally, therefore, its tenure
has been longer than that of the Smith Singers, but in later years the group
functioned only on a subscription basis, assembling (mostly members from the
Los Angeles Master Chorale) to make recordings or to do special tours or
concerts. Smith’s group has continued to function on a regular schedule each
year.
132
survey (items 85-126) proved helpful in determining influence of the Smith
Singers on professional choral activity through the years.
Three-fourths of the respondents (twenty-one of twenty-eight) either
agreed or strongly agreed that the work of the Gregg Smith Singers has
facilitated the emergence of subsequent professional choirs. Only one

respondent disagreed with this a s s e s s m e n t.4 8 Twenty-one respondents also
either agreed or strongly agreed with survey item 111, which states, “The
Gregg Smith Singers has helped to shape the identity of today’s professional
chorus.” In this instance, however, there were twice as many indications (six)
of strongly agree than were present in the responses to item 106. It is
significant that the Smith Singers scored higher for item 111 than did either
the Shaw or Wagner Chorale.
Only 39.3 percent of those responding to the survey agreed or strongly
agreed that former members of the Gregg Smith Singers have been a “force in
the development of professional choirs. ”49 A very high fifty percent
(fourteen conductors) had no opinion or did not respond to this statement. The
pool of respondents identified six persons by name as being “still active in any
capacity with professional c h o ir s .”5 0 Two of the responding conductors,
although they named no one specifically, indicated they had personally used
several former members (and even present members) of the Gregg Smith
Singers.
48These statements are from responses to survey item 106. Six

respondents either had no opinion or did not respond.
49 ih is figure reflects the responses to survey item 104.
SOThese data are from responses to survey item 125.
133
If The Choral Journal and other sources have called the Gregg Smith
Singers “the most recorded classical music ensemble in the world,” it is a

natural assumption that the recordings of the group have influenced to some
degree o ther professional choirs. Seventy-five percent (twenty-one
respondents) agreed or strongly agreed with this statement, and only one
person disagreed. The matter of Smith Singers’ recordings is addressed more
completely below in Table 31.
General indications, then, seem to point toward a notable degree of
influence by the Gregg Smith Singers on today’s professional chorus, with

some of this influence coming through the group’s many recordings and
former members. The more specific inquiries of the following section shed
further light on the evidence and scope of such influence.
Specific and Personal Influence
Results from survey section XV, which asked conductors if and to what
degree the work of the Smith Singers has affected certain specific areas of
their own work, is illustrated in Table 27 and Table 28. Table 27 suggests that
the area of greatest influence is program content, with 42.9 percent of the
respondents indicating that the Smith Singers influenced them in selecting
the content of their programs. Almost as many respondents, 35.7 percent
(ten), indicated influence in the areas of interpretive approach to music,
optimal choir size, and philosophical beliefs concerning professional choirs.
It is interesting that the Gregg Smith Singers scored higher in areas
related to business management than did the groups of Shaw and Wagner.
While only 10.7 percent (three) of the respondents indicated an influence in
tour planning, evidence of influence in the areas of administration and
134
fundraising was greater for the Smith Singers than for the two previous
groups.
Table 27
Specific Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers as

Indicated in Responses to Survey Section IX
Area of Influence Number of Number of Number that Did

(w/survey item #) Respondents Respondents Not Not Respond
93. Choral Tone 8 (28.6%) 11 (39.3%) 9 (32.1%)
94. Interpretive 10 (35.7%) 10 (35.7%) 8 (28.6%)

Approach to music
95. Choir Size 10 (35.7%) 10 (35.7%) 8 (28.6%)
96. Choral 7 (25.0%) 13 (46.4%) 8 (28.6%)

Formations
97. Administration 4(14.3%) 15 (53.6%) 9 (32.1%)
98. Fundraising 5(17.9%) 14(50.0%) 9 (32.1%)
99. Rehearsal of 5 (17.9%) 15(53.6%) 8 (28.6%)

Modem Works
100. Leadership 5 (17.9%) 15 (53.6%) 8 (28.6%)

Style
101. Program 12(42.9%) 7 (25.0%) 9 (32.1%)

Content
102. Philosophy- 10 (35.7%) 10 (35.7%) 8 (28.6%)

Professional
Choirs
103. Tour Planning 3 (10.7%) 16 (57.1%) 9 (32.1%)
135
Table 28
Degrees of Influence in Specific A re a s ^ 1
Area of Minimal Average Significant Extreme No

In flu en ce Influence Influence Influence Influence Response
(w/survey item #)
93. Choral Tone 8 2 2 1 15
94.
In te rp retiv e 5 6 3 0 14
Approach to
music
95. Choir Size 6 4 4 0 14
96. Choral 6 4 2 1 15
Formations
97. Administra 6 3 0 1 18
tion
99. Rehearsal,
Modem Works 5 2 3 1 17
100. Leadership
Style 5 4 1 0 18
101. Program 3 8 7 0 10
Content
102. 3 6 4 2 13
Philosophy-
Professional
Choirs
103. Tour 5 2 1 0 20
P lan n in g
51 Numbers in this table represent the frequency of responses for

each degree of influence relative to the aspects (Area of Influence) column.
136
Perhaps the most surprising figure from Table 27 is the num ber of
respondents indicating influence in their rehearsal of modem works. For an
area in which the Gregg Smith Singers have been widely recognized as leaders
(modem, avant-garde music), only five respondents (17.9%) indicated having
been influenced in rehearsing, or preparing, such literature. By contrast,
responses from survey item 110 show that 82.1 percent, or twenty-three
respondents, either agree or strongly agree that performance of modem and
new works has been an important achievement of the Smith Singers. 5 2
Furthermore, nine conductors, or about one-third of the respondents,
indicated for item 92 that they have observed rehearsals of the Gregg Smith
Singers at least sometimes. While it is possible that a significant number of
respondents may be aware of the work of the Gregg Smith Singers in modern
music but unfamiliar with their techniques of preparation, the disparity
apparent here seems curious.
Table 28 allows a more specific interpretation of data from Table 27.
Therefore, it is perhaps a more accurate indication of the respondent’s
attitudes regarding the degree of influence in these areas. Table 28 contains
more evidence of influence on preparation (or rehearsal) of modem works
than was present in Table 27.53 jn Table 28, program content is still among
the leading areas of influence, with seven respondents (25%) considering the
Smith Singers to have been a significant influence in shaping their attitude
52of the twenty-three respondents (82.1%) in agreement with this

statement, fourteen (50%) strongly agreed.
53while one respondent indicated extreme influence and three others

significant influence, the percentage of those reflecting influence of any
degree is still surprisingly small (39.3%), considering the work of the Smith
Singers.
137
toward the subject. Philosophy-Professional Choirs is also noteworthy in this
table, as two respondents credited the Singers as an extreme influence on them

in this area.
None of the other listed areas received enough significant or extrem e
indications to be statistically important. However, thirty-two percent (nine)

of the respondents indicated at least an average influence in their
interpretive approach to music, and twenty-eight percent (eight) indicated at
least average influence in the size of choir preferred.
It is also worth noting that the Gregg Smith Singers received more
total indications of extreme influence for the categories in Table 28 than did
either the Shaw or the Wagner Chorales for the same categories. The Smith
group also scored higher in the business-related areas of administration,
fundraising, and tour planning. A cross-reference to survey item 91,
however, which addresses business practices directly, does not corroborate the
slight evidence of influence found in Table 28. Thirty-two percent of the

respondents (nine) related that they never model the business practice of the
Gregg Smith Singers, and sixty percent (seventeen) either omitted the
question or responded not applicable.
Table 29 contains the results for survey item 122, which listed five
choral concepts and asked respondents to indicate whether the Smith Singers
had influenced their ideas on the subject. Data from this table suggests that
less influence has been exerted on professional choirs by the Gregg Smith
Singers where these concepts are concerned than by the Shaw and Wagner
groups. Rhythmic vitality had the most evidence of influence, but still less
than one-third of the responding conductors were affected.
138
Table 29
Choral Concepts Influenced by the Gregg Smith Singers

Respondents
Choral Tone 8 28.6
Intonation 8 28.6
Diction 4 14.3
The two principal mediums of influence that have been addressed for
both the Shaw and Wagner choirs-recordings and concert attendence-are
now examined as mechanisms of influence effected by the Gregg Smith
Singers. The following four tables focus on those survey items pertinent to
recordings and concerts and the data yielded thereby.
Almost half of the respondents (46.4%) maintained that recordings of
the Gregg Smith Singers never influence their interpretation of a musical
score. This is surprising in one sense, because of both the group’s voluminous
output of recordings and the generally flattering reviews its work has
received. However, 35.8 percent of the conductors who responded (ten)
revealed that they sometim es or often allow Smith Singers’ recordings to
139
affect their interpretation, and one respondent (3.6%) indicated that influence
is always present. A very high percentage of the respondents (85.7%)

revealed they do listen to recordings of the Smith Singers at least sometimes.
Twenty-five percent (seven) indicated that they listen to the group’s

recordings often or always. 54
Table 30
The Effect of Smith Singers Recordings

Frequency that Number of Percentage of Total

Recordings of the Smith Respondentsa Respondents
Singers Influence
In terp retatio n
N ever 13 46.4
Sometimes 5 17.9
Often 5 17.9
Always 1 3.6
a Four respondents either omitted this item (question 86) or marked not
applicable.
The high percentage answering never in Table 30 could be attributed
to the fact that the Gregg Smith Singers are known for their unusual choice of
literature. Perhaps the reason many conductors are not influenced by Smith
Singers recordings is that they do not customarily perform the same
literature.
54xhese data come from survey items 85 & 86.
140
Survey items 107, 108, and 109 also addressed the Smith Singers’
recordings, in an effort to clarify even further any influence thereof. Item
108 was an attempt to determine the respondent’s perception of any general

influence on professional choral groups effected by recordings. Items 107 and
109 solicited from respondents a personal response to the recordings and two
possible expressions of influence: (1) a clearer understanding of the music
being performed, and (2) a level of musicality for which the conductor strives.
Table 31 contains the results.
Table 31

of Smith Singers Recordings
Influence of Recordings Strongly Disagree No Agree Strongly

Disagree Opinion Agree
107. Increased Personal 0 3 6 11 5

Understanding of Works (10.7%) (21.4%) (39.3%) (17.9%)
108. Benefit to 0 1 3 15 6
Professional Choirs (3.6%) (10.7%) (53.6%) (21.4%)
109. Musicality Emulated 1 8 5 8 3

by Respondent (3.6%) (28.6%) (17.9%) (28.6%) (10.7%)
Table 31 contains evidence that recordings of the Smith Singers
have had some influence. Fifty-seven percent (sixteen) of the respondents
agreed or strongly agreed that the recordings have increased their personal
141
understanding of the music performed. A significant seventy-five percent

(twenty-one conductors) either agreed or strongly agreed that these
recordings have been a benefit to subsequent professional choirs. 5 5 The
musicality of the Smith Singers was an issue eliciting diverse responses. As
Table 31 illustrates, almost as many respondents (nine) disagreed or strongly
disagreed as agreed or strongly agreed that the musicality of the Smith Singers
is worthy of emulation. 5 6
Concerts
Concerts by the Gregg Smith Singers appear to have provided notable
influence on professional choral activity. The results of survey items 88 and
89, both of which inquired about the respondent’s experience with Smith
Singers concerts, are contained in Table 32. It is significant that 78.6 percent
(twenty-two) of the respondents indicated they sometimes, often, or always
have attended Smith Singers concerts. Furthermore, forty-two percent
(twelve) related that Smith Singers concerts attended have affected their
personal performance goals sometimes, often, or always. It is also noteworthy
that five respondents indicated they often or always have attended concerts,
and five indicated that the experience often or always has affected their
goals. 57
55six conductors (21.4%) strongly agreed with this statement.
56Nebulous interpretations of the term musicality (and/or its many

interpretations) may have something to do with the responses here.
57ft is noteworthy that the “concerts affected” row from Table 32 has
more always responses than does “concerts attended.”
142
Table 32
Influence of Gregg Smith Singers Concerts

Applicable
88. Attended 5 17 4 1 0a
Concerts (17.9%) (60.7%) (14.3%) (3.6%)
89. Concerts 8 7 3 2 &b

Affect (28.6%) (25.0%) (10.7%) (7.1%) (21.4%)
Personal
Goals
a The one respondent omitting this item (question 88), in effect reveals by the
omission that Gregg Smith Singers concerts were never attended.
b Likewise, it can be assumed that those neglecting to respond to this item

(question 89) are indicating that the question is n o t applicable them. There
were two.
Table 33 contains results from survey item 124, which asked
respondents to indicate areas within their own experience where attendance
at a Smith Singers concert has had a positive effect. Like Table 33, Table 34
presents data revealing that significant percentages of the responding
conductors perceive that Smith Singers concerts have affected both their
enjoyment of music and their music-making. While twenty-five percent
either did not respond or indicated not applicable, 28.6 percent (eight) of the
respondents indicated that Smith Singers concerts positively affected their
careers. It is also noteworthy that evidence of influence effected by concert
143
performances is greater for the Gregg Smith Singers than for the Roger
Wagner Chorale and virtually equal to that for the Robert Shaw C h o ra le . 58
Table 33

at Smith Singers Concerts

indicating Positive Respondents
Influence
Music-Making 10 35.7
Career 8 28.6
Other 2 7.1
None 2 7.1
Other areas reflecting influence of Smith Singers concerts were listed
in survey item 124 by some respondents. These comments centered around the
Singers’ active involvement in new music and innovative ideas for the
performance of it.
58see Tables 8, 9, 20, and 21.
144
Table 34
Smith Singers’ Importance to the Musical


No Importance 3 10.7
Im portant 6 21.4
Very Important 3 10.7
No Response 4 14.3
Table 34 is informative, as it contains data comparing the general
importance of the Gregg Smith Singers to the education and career of the
respondents. Significantly, 39.2 percent of the respondents felt that the Smith
Singers were important, very important or even extremely im portant to their

education and career decisions. Only three persons (10.7%) indicated that the
overall work of the Smith Singers has had no importance on their musical
lives. Another twenty-eight percent (eight persons), however, by either
omission of the item or a not applicable response, indicated they were not
influenced by the Gregg Smith Singers. It is significant, nonetheless, that
145
more respondents indicated some degree of influence by the Gregg Smith
Singers than did not.
Table 35 presents data from survey item 123, which allowed
respondents an opportunity to express their perceptions regarding which
Smith Singers’ activity or activities may have been most influential.
Table 35
Most Influential Contributions by the Gregg Smith

Singers as Perceived by the Respondents

Agreement
Recordings 18 64.3
Tours 13 46.4
Festivals/Workshops 9 32.1
Performing New Works 18 64.3
This table shows that performance of new works is considered equally
as influential as recordings. Indeed, these two areas are closely related, as
many Smith Singers recordings have been premieres. The sixty-four percent
response in these two areas is a significant one, representing a majority of the
respondents. The data reveal that performance of little-known works is also
perceived to be important, with 57.1 percent of those responding marking this
item. Similarly, tours of the Gregg Smith Singers were rated an important
146
contribution, with 46.4 percent, or thirteen respondents, selecting tours as an
influential contribution.
Table 36
Respondents’ Ranking of Accomplishments
by the Gregg Smith S i n g e r s 5 9

Area of 1 2 3 4 5 6
Activity____________________________________________________________
Recording 1 1 1 1 1
Tours 1 1 - 1
Festivals/ 1 1
Workshop
Music 1 1
Education
Little-
Known 1 1 1 -
Works
New Works 3 1
Rl-Scores and the Greg£ Smith Singers
The Rl-score for each returned survey was tabulated as previously

described, using data from the key q u e s tio n s .6 0 Table 37 reveals the number
S^The numbers in this chart represent the number of times the area
in column one was chosen (by respondents who chose to rank them) as most
important, second most important, third most important, etc.
60jhese questions are survey items 85, 88, 90, 91, 92, 113, 114, 115, 117,
118,119,120, and 121.
147
of respondents scoring in the High, Moderately-High, Average, and Minimal
Rl-score categories. As before, a high Rl-score is indicative of more real
influence upon the respondent by the Smith Singers. Conversely, a low Rl-
score is evidence there has been less real influence and suggests that any
indication of influence from other survey items is a perceived influence.61
Table 37
Smith Singers Rl-Score Categories

Respondents
High (20 or greater) 2 7.1
Moderately-High (15-19) 8 28.6
Average (10-14) 4 14.3
Minimal (less than 10) 14 50.0
Half of the respondents (fourteen) reflected at least an average
amount of real influence. The 28.6 percent indicating a moderately-high
degree of real influence is substantial. In fact, though only two respondents
are in the high category, the total number in the combined top two categories
for the Gregg Smith Singers is greater than that of the same categories
61 Perceived influence is not necessarily less valid than real

influence. It is different, however, and affects conclusions in a different way.
148
relative to the Wagner and Shaw C h o ra le s . 62 Thirty-six percent of those who
responded revealed significant evidence of real influence by the Smith

Singers.
By comparing the Rl-scores with the three key “perceived influence”
questions, as has been done for the Shaw and Wagner groups, additional data
was discovered. The key questions are survey items 106, 111, and 116. The
comparison is illustrated in Table 38.
Rl-scores of the respondents generally parallel answers to the three
key questions. Somewhat unusual are the two respondents from the
moderately-high category who indicated minimal and no importance of the
Smith Singers to their educations and careers. It should be remembered,
however, that real influence is not exclusively positive in nature.
Theoretically, one could have had a great deal of contact or association (or real
influence) with such a professional group and still be determined not to
emulate them in any way.
It is also noteworthy that a considerable percentage from the minimal
category were in agreement or strong agreement that Smith’s Singers have
both facilitated the emergence of subsequent professional choirs (item 106)
and helped shape the identity of today’s professional chorus (item 111). One
conductor from this category responded that the Singers have been very
important to his professional life (item 116).
62see Table 13 and Table 25.
149
Table 38
Rl-Score Categories for the Gregg Smith

Singers Compared to Key Q p e s t i o n s 6 3
Category Item-106 Item.111 Item, 116.

Smith Singers Smith Singers Smith Singers’
Emergence of Today’s Groups Respondent’s
Career
High strongly agree: 1 strongly agree: 2 extreme: 1

(Rl-score 20 or agree: 1 very: 1
more)
Moderately High strongly agree: 2 strongly agree: 1 extreme: 1

(Rl-scores 15-19) agree: 5 agree: 6 very important: 1
important: 3
minimal: 1
none: 1
A verage agree: 4 strongly agree: 1 important: 2

(Rl-scores 10-14) agree: 3 minimal: 1
N/A: 1
Minimal agree: 8 strongly agree: 2 very: 1

(Rl-scores 10 or no opinion: 3 agree: 6 important: 1
less) disagree: 1 no opinion: 3 minimal: 4
disagree: 1 none: 2
N/A: 3
Free Responses and Other Specific Influence
While the comments by the respondents from the free-response
section on the Smith Singers (section XIX) were concerned almost exclusively
^ N u m b ers in this chart represent conductors from the category who

150
with Smith himself, most imply influence of the Singers because Smith’s
career has been so inextricably linked to the work of the group.
Programming was mentioned several times as an area of influence, including

an emphasis on American music, living composers, and use of space in
performance. The Vox Box series of American recordings was singled out for
its importance to one respondent. Smith was cited for his ability to teach
m odem works.
There was evidence in the free response section to support the data
from Table 27 and Table 28 indicating minimal influence in the areas of
business and administration.
Finally, Smith was commended for his perseverence in advocating the
cause of professional choirs. This is certainly a consideration in any attempt
to determ ine influence of the Singers on the phenomenon.
Final Observations
A final look at data from the survey is appropriate before concluding
this chapter. The Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the
Gregg Smith Singers have been given individual attention as groups that have
made a distinct contribution to the professional choral field. Data collected
from the survey have provided the basis for discussion regarding the impact
of these three organizations. A final look at selected mean responses and
average mean responses for all three groups will now be introduced for
consideration.
Perceived Influence
Perceptions of the respondents regarding the influence of the Shaw
Chorale, the Wagner Chorale, and the Smith Singers were the fundamental
151
product of the survey. Two survey items (per group), both from the “levels of
agreem ent” s e c t i o n s , 64 are general but salient inquiries designed to determine
such perceptions regarding the general influence of each group on
professional choral activity. These items state (1) The work of the group
(Shaw Chorale, Wagner Chorale, or Smith Singers) helped facilitate the
emergence of subsequent professional choirs, and (2) The group’s work has
helped to shape the identity of today’s professional chorus. Responses to these
two inquiries, more than those of any other two items on the survey, provide
an immediate indication of how the respondents view the impact of the group
in question. Hence, these statements were selected as key items the mean
responses of which indicate (1) the industry’s perception regarding the
influence of each of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups, and (2) overall
perception regarding the cumulative influence of the groups.
Numerical values, assigned in the statistical program to each possible
statem ent response, were as follows:

Strongly Disagree 1
Disagree 2
No Opinion 3
Agree 4
Strongly Agree 5
Knowledge of these values is necessary in order to interpret the mean
responses revealed in Table 39. Key questions are compared to mean

responses.
64These are sections IV, X, and XVI.
152
Table 39 reflects the respondents’ cumulative perception that the
three groups have positively affected growth of subsequent professional
choirs. The average mean for responses to the second statement is only .088
less than 4.0, which is the value for agreement. The average mean 3.912 is
obviously much closer to agree (4.0) than to no opinion (3.0), thereby pointing
toward a conclusion that the cumulative assessment of respondents agreed that
the professional choirs of Shaw, Wagner, and Smith have helped shape the
identity of today’s professional chorus. In fact, both average means have
surprisely similar values, with a difference of only .184.
Table 39
Key Questions and Mean Responses
--Mean Responses fo r-
Survey Statement Shaw W agner Smith Average
Items Chorale Chorale Singers Mean
The work of the (Shaw,

22,64, Wagner, Smith group) 4.370 4.000 3.920 4.096
106 helped facilitate the
emergence of
subsequent professional
choirs
The (Shaw, Wagner,

27,69, Smith group) has helped 3.926 3.769 4.040 3.912
111 to shape the identity of
today’s professional
chorus
Rl-Score Means and Real Influence
Table 39 indicates that active conductors of professional choirs
generally perceive the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and
153
the Gregg Smith Singers to have been a positive influence on the field. This
perceived influence will now be compared to the real influence factor.
Rl-scores have been used throughout this chapter to suggest actual,
direct, or real influence present in the survey data. A final usage of these
scores involved compilation of the Rl-scores for each group and a subsequent
comparison of the means. This technique provided another application of the
Rl-scores in the attem pt to identify influence of the groups, both individually
and collectively. Table 40 contains the results and offers a succinct conception
of real influence attributable to the three groups.
Table 40
Mean Rl-Scores
Organization Composite RI-Scorea Mean Rl-Score^
Robert Shaw Chorale 332 11.85
Roger Wagner Chorale 258 9.21
Gregg Smith Singers 313 11.18
Cumulative Results 903 10.75
a the sum of the Rl-scores from all respondents
b composite Rl-score divided by the number of respondents (28)
154
A comparison of the cumulative mean Rl-score from Table 40 to the

four categories used thus far to interpret these scores is illu m in a tin g .^ The
cumulative mean Rl-score (10.75) falls into the average category of real
in f lu e n c e .6 6 Such a statistic, however, is only useful when considered in
association with the other data presented in this chapter.
Table 41
Ranking of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith

Groups in Terms of Influence
Organization Perceived Real

Influence Rating Influence Rating
1. Robert Shaw Chorale 4.148 11.85
2. Gregg Smith Singers 3.980 11.18
3. Roger Wagner Chorale 3.885 9.21
Comparing Influences of the Shaw.

Wagner, and Smith Choirs
It is possible to compare perceived influence and real influence of the
Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups and arrive at a ranking of the groups in
terms of which has been most influential, according to collected data, on
6 5The four categories used in relation to the Rl-scores have been

identified as high, moderately-high, average, and minimal.
66Ri-scores in the 10-14 range have been considered to represent an

average amount of real influence.
155
American professional choruses. Table 41 contains such a comparison. The
perceived influence rating for each group was formulated by averaging the
mean responses to the two statements in Table 39. The real influence rating
for each group is simply the mean Rl-score from Table 40.
Conclusion
There are other ways of presenting and analyzing data from the
survey. The methods used and discussed in this chapter, however, represent a
direct and logical methodology aimed at discovering trends and tendencies that
were present in the responses. The conclusions of chapter 5, therefore, are

drawn principally from the above data analyses.
Chapter 5
CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER OBSERVATIONS
The purpose of chapter 5 is to present those conclusions that have
been formulated from analysis of the survey data. In so doing, the general
hypotheses of the study will be addressed.
Problems with the Project
Projects such as this one are not presumed to be flawless. Typically,
problematic issues, perhaps unforeseen during the inception and planning
stages of the research, arise as the project is realized. For this project, such
issues are acknowledged below.
The attem pt to quantify, or measure, influence is at best difficult and
at worst extremely imprecise. Obviously, influence is subjective. It involves
many subtleties that often cannot be recognized, much less precisely
measured. One survey respondent went to great lengths to express a distaste
for any such attempt (as was made by this research). This project does not
presume to be definitive, nor does it claim to be completely authoritative.
However, it has made an attempt to gauge perceptions of professionals in the
field regarding the influence of the three focal groups, both upon them and
the professional chorus phenomenon. 1
lln addition to the perceptions of the respondent, the survey sought to

discover any contact or personal involvement of the respondent with the focal
groups. This has been elaborately addressed in the preceding chapter as “real
in flu en c e .”
156
157
Another general problem with this research, from a statistical
perspective, was a relatively small data base upon which to base conclusions.^
While the num ber of respondents represents a valid percentage of the total
num ber of surveys mailed, the field of study was limited by the definition of
professional choir set forth in chapter 1. Had there been a larger field of
study, there would have been a greater num ber of respondents and thereby a
larger data base, which would have provided a greater likelihood of indicating
more clearly patterns and tendencies of influence. This could have been
accomplished by broadening the working definition of professional choir,

perhaps to include all groups that are full voting members of Chorus America.
Various other definitions of professional choir exist, each with its own
limitations, normally pertaining to payment of singers and num ber of yearly
concerts. For instance, by defining professional choir as a chorus that must
have a paid membership of at least twenty-five percent, the num ber of
respondents, and thereby the amount of data, could have been greatly
increased.
Other problems related more directly to the survey instrument. While
every attem pt was made to elicit responses that would help reveal influence of
the choirs as a whole (not just their esteemed conductors), many respondents
seemed to answer certain survey items with only the conductors in mind. This
was less of a problem in the cases of Wagner and Smith, whose professional
choirs have spanned most of their musical careers. For Shaw, however, it was
harder for respondents to ignore the contributions and influence of the
conductor through his many other endeavors with groups such as the
Ânother way of stating this would be to say that the num ber of
respondents was relatively small.
158
Collegiate Chorale, the Cleveland Orchestra, and the Atlanta Symphony
Orchestra. This assessment is supported by many of the free responses found

in Appendix D.
In addition, there were certain survey items which, because of
wording or a somewhat ambiguous meaning, did not produce the intended data.
During the course of data analysis, certain questions or issues that were
neglected on the survey surfaced as noteworthy. Likewise, some of the survey
items turned out to be essentially useless in the research. Problems with the
survey could perhaps have been lessened through the use of a pilot survey. A
technique frequently used in this type of research, the pilot survey is
administered to a small num ber of persons not from the actual pool of potential
respondents.^ The purpose of using such a technique is to help isolate
problems and allow for their correction before administration of the actual
survey.
Despite its problems, however, the survey yielded a significant amount
of worthwhile data. Percentage responses to all survey items are included in
Appendix C. The following conclusions reflect what are considered to be the
most im portant tendencies present in the survey responses.
Conclusion?
Conclusions related to the individual influence of the Robert Shaw
Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers are
^ A group such as choral directors from all colleges and universities in

Kentucky would have been appropriate for such a pilot survey. An easier,
perhaps equally effective, field may have been all members of the Kentucky
Choral Directors Association living in the Louisville area.
159
presented first. More general conclusions pertaining to the collective or

overall influence of the three groups are then delineated.
Influence of the Robert Shaw Chorale
The Robert Shaw Chorale was determined to be the most influential of
the three groups .4 The following are specific deductions, supported by the
data analysis of chapter 4, regarding the group’s influence on professional

choirs.
Recordings. The Shaw Chorale recordings have been the group’s most
tangible medium of influence upon professional choral activity. From serving
as inspiration to many who have been involved in the field of professional
choruses, to serving as a reference even today to many who are studying and
performing the same music, the impact of Shaw Chorale recordings is notable.
Concerts. Concerts of the Robert Shaw Chorale inspired many who
have since become involved in a professional chorus. These memorable
events, in addition to positively affecting the music-making of countless
choral professionals who attended, influenced the career choices of a number

of subsequent professional choristers.
Specific choral concepts. The Shaw Chorale became a model for
professional choral ensembles with regard to certain aspects of choral music-
making (choral concepts). The work of the Robert Shaw Chorale raised
standards related to the concepts of choral tone, rhythmic vitality in singing,

and diction.
4See chapter 4, Table 41.
160
Pioneers. The work of the Robert Shaw Chorale influenced
subsequent professional choirs by its “pioneer” work as one of the earliest
groups in the field to gain national and international recognition. Largely as
a result of Shaw Chorale activity, professional choirs began to be recognized
for the unique contributions they can make, and began to be paid in a manner
comparable to other professional musicians.
Shaw’s philosophy. After the Robert Shaw Chorale ceased activity,
Shaw changed his philosophy regarding the value of professional choirs. 5
This fact has not significantly altered the industry’s perception that the Shaw
Chorale has had an important influence on their work.
Administrative model. There seems to be one general area wherein
the Robert Shaw Chorale has had little or no influence on professional
choirs—the area involving the issues of administration and business
management. Because the Shaw Chorale functioned almost exclusively as a
“prescription-type” organization^ and touring ensemble, it has had little in
common with the typical American professional choir of the late twentieth
century, which has found stability and success as a residence-type chorus.
5lt was around this time that Shaw’s interest in and support of
professional choirs waned. Believing strongly in the volunteer choir, his
philosophy reflected that perhaps the spirit of choral art is damaged by
professional organizations. Some of the survey respondents noted this fact
and suggested that because of it the perception of Shaw Chorale influence on
the field is perhaps not as great as that of others. In recent years, however,
Shaw seems to have softened this position. He makes allusion to this issue in
“The Genius and Heart of Robert Shaw,” by Helen C. Smith, The Atlanta
Toumal/The Atlanta Constitution. Sunday, December 1, 1991, sec. K, p. 3.
6 “Prescription” here refers to the practice of assembling a choir to

meet the requirements of a specific situation such as a tour, a recording, or a
broadcast. See chapter 3, p. 51.
161
Neither has the Shaw Chorale had notable influence on methods of funding
the professional choir. Shaw often used his own money to stay afloat, though
as the group gained in popularity, financial problems were lessened
considerably. 7 Funding problems for the professional chorus of today are
handled much differently than were those of the Shaw Chorale.
Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale
The influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale on professional choral
activity, though apparently not as great overall as that of the Shaw Chorale or
the Smith S in g e rs ,8 seems to have been more intense within certain c irc le s .9
The following conclusions relate specifically to the Wagner Chorale.
Choral sound. The Wagner Chorale is noted for the unique ability to
sing with a full, rich, comfortable choral tone while maintaining a cohesive
blend. This factor has been a model for many subsequent professional choirs.
Recordings. Recordings of the Roger Wagner Chorale have been
considerable influential upon other professional choirs. Probably the group’s
strongest medium of influence, Wagner Chorale recordings have
communicated in such a way as to be a source of inspiration to others who
work with professional choirs.
7See Joseph A. Mussulman, Dear People. . . Robert Shaw (Bloomington:

Indiana University Press, 1979), pp. 81-185.
^See Table 41.
9ln other words, the num ber of survey respondents indicating

influence was less for the Wagner Chorale than for the groups of Smith and
Shaw, but the responses of those who indicated having been influenced by
Wagner’s Chorale seemed to be stronger, revealing a more definitive
perception of influence than did responses for the other two groups.
162
General. The Roger Wagner Chorale has contributed to the growth
and nurturing of professional choirs and the professional choral field.
Conductors and members of other professional choirs have credited the
Wagner Chorale for much of their s u c c e s s . *0 Wagner’s use of soloistic voices
in the Chorale helped demonstrate that a professional singer need not be
exclusively either a soloist or a choral singer, but could combine the two
singing roles in one choral organization. H This was im portant for the future
of professional choruses.
Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers
The Gregg Smith Singers have also made unique contributions, not
only to the choral art in a broad sense, but also within their particular sphere
of activity—professional choirs. The following conclusions support this

opinion.
Innovators. The Gregg Smith Singers were innovators in many facets
of choral art. Their influence on professional choirs, therefore, has been
principally that of stretching the boundaries of tradition, both in
performance and operation. More specifically, the Smith Singers’ innovative
l^This statement was based on free responses from the Wagner

Chorale section of the survey. It is notable that there were more former
members of the Wagner Chorale present in the pool of respondents than
former Shaw Chorale or Smith Singers members (See Appendix D).
significant num ber of Wagner Chorale members, after leaving

the group, went on to enjoy successful careers as solo performers.
163
programming and imaginative presentation th e r e o f ^ have had notable
influence on professional choirs.
Recordings. Recordings of the Gregg Smith Singers, because of the
body of literature represented therein, have been a significant factor in the
promotion of modem, avant-garde, and little-known music (from all periods).

Therefore, Smith Singers recordings, by helping to increase levels of
understanding for this music, have stimulated other professional choirs to
embrace literature and techniques that are not as accessible for the non
professional chorus.
Modem literature. Because they have championed modem music, the
Gregg Smith Singers have had a significant influence on professional choirs
with regard to choral literature. However, this influence has been more
clearly manifested in the performance of this literature by other professional
choirs than by emulation of either the Singers’ rehearsal methods for such
literature or the quality of their performances.
Members’ influence. Members of the Gregg Smith Singers--both
former and present-have been and continue to be influential in the
professional choral arena. By singing in various other professional choruses,
^"im aginative presentation" here is in reference not only to the

group's reputation for employing "multi-dimensional sound presentation"
(discussed in chapter 3, pp. 89-90) in performance of traditional choral
literature, but also to the fact that much new and avant-garde music-styles in
which the Smith Singers specialize-encourages or mandates imaginative
presentation (creative or unusual use of spatial elements, performance forces,
etc.).
164
in some instances while still a member of the Smith S in g e rs , 13 those most
directly influenced by Smith’s group-the singers who were part of it-h av e
multiplied this influence on the professional choral field.
Smith’s philosophy and work. The Gregg Smith Singers, and
particularly Smith himself, have been arguably the most important advocates
for the legitimacy of professional choirs in America. At a time when there

seemed to be little interest or room in the musical life of the United States for
professional choruses, Smith and his Singers labored feverishly and under
financial stress to promote the cause and confirm the need for such
o rg a n iz a tio n s . 14 As a result, Smith’s philosophy with regard to professional
choirs has had a notable influence on the professional choral scene of today.
General Conclusions of the Study
The following conclusions are drawn from patterns that became
apparent in the data during the course of the study. For the most part, these
represent deductions germane to all three groups being examined and the
project as a whole.
13Professional singers must often hold down more than one job in
order to make a living. Among professional ensembles, sharing singers is not
an uncommon occurrence. This was true even for singers in the Shaw and
Wagner Chorales. Gregg Smith, however, has seemed to encourage this
practice, possibly as a means of keeping the singers gainfully employed, and
thereby in his group.
14This period occurred during the 1970s, which were the years when
Chorus America (then the Association of Professional Vocal Ensembles) was
being established. A related article is “Choral Conductors Forum: The Question
of the Professional Chorus,” by Raymond Ericson, American Choral Review. 17
(Summer 1975), 26-28.
165
Pioneer work. The Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale,
and the Gregg Smith Singers have been im portant in demonstrating the
effectiveness, fostering the growth, and establishing the distinctives of
professional choirs in America. This is the broad interpretation of a majority

of persons presently active in the field. It is difficult, however, to
authenticate specific ways in which such influence has occurred.
Former members. Former members of the Shaw Chorale, Wagner
Chorale, and Smith Singers have been the most direct influence on the
professional choir phenomenon. Significantly, several have since held
conductorships or positions as musical director of a professional chorus;
others have performed or otherwise worked with one or more other
professional choirs.
Recordings. The most prominent medium of influence for the three
groups has been that of recordings. Recordings of the Shaw Chorale, Smith
Singers, and Wagner Chorale have inspired, educated, and challenged leaders
and members of similar organizations for nearly four decades.
Administration and management. Influence of the Robert Shaw
Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers has been
most apparent in the artistic aspects of subsequent professional choirs. They
have exerted no significant discemable influence relative to the mechanics of
operation for such an organization. 15 in fact, management of an American
15“Mechanics of operation” here refers to all aspects of business,

administration, and operation of a professional choral organization.
166
professional chorus in the late twentieth century is considerably different
from that of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith choirs.
Evolution of the professional chorus. Professional choirs have
evolved considerably since the flourishing of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith
groups. Consequently, these three groups have had little influence as
administrative models for the professional choirs of today. The most notable
differences between management (or organization) of the three groups and
that of today’s professional chorus are: ( 1 ) today’s active professional choir is
generally less of a “prescription” choir than those of Shaw, Wagner, and

S m ith ; (2 ) today’s professional choir is less of a touring ensemble and more
of a resident chorus than has been the practice of the Shaw, Wagner, and
Smith g ro u p s; 17 and (3 ) today’s professional choir is required to be more
sophisticated and creative in its approach to funding and management, in
order to function, than were the Shaw Chorale, the Wagner Chorale, and the
early Gregg Smith Singers. Chorus America is the resource to which many
active organizations attribute their effectiveness in these matters.
The generation factor. The majority of persons involved with
professional choruses in the late twentieth century are a generation removed
from the period in which the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale,
l^The Gregg Smith Singers have tended to be less of a “prescription”

chorus than both the Shaw and Wagner Chorales.
1 Ône respondent suggested that the most positive aspect about the
current professional choir phenomenon in America is “that it is primarily
based on the constituency of a limited geographical area, rather than the
once-over-lightly of touring. Residence-based choirs will lead the way in
changing America’s perceptions vis a vis choral music.”
167
and the Gregg Smith Singers were at their peaks of a c tiv ity . 18 Therefore, the
influence of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups on presently active
professional choirs, in some cases, has been less than other groups established
after them. 19
Influence: perceived and real. The analysis of “real influence”
presented in the survey data is valuable only as an attem pt to objectively
measure direct influence on presently-active professional choirs. The
“perceived influence” revealed by the responding conductors is more useful
as an indication of influence on the industry and on its development over the

past four decades.
Recommendations for Further Study
As was implicit in chapter 1, there is much about professional choir
development in the United States that is worthy of examination. The following
are suggested as topics for further research:
l^The Robert Shaw Chorale, of course, has not been active since 1967.
The Gregg Smith Singers continue to be active, but are still considered to be a
“senior” professional chorus.
l^Some respondents suggested that other organizations have been

more influential on today’s professional choir. One respondent wrote, “Shaw’s
and Wagner’s groups are now essentially passe. Current groups you should
use as models would include the Dale Warland Singers, Philadelphia Singers,
Musica Sacra, Music of the Baroque for today’s environment.” Another stated,
“Other choirs and conductors have had much stronger impact on me--George
Lynn and the Lynn Singers or Dale Warland and The Warland Singers are two
examples . . . . Others such as Smith and Korn have had a positive influence on
the organization of choirs thru [sic] the founding of Chorus America etc.”
168
1. While in recent years there have been efforts to address, albeit

briefly, the history of professional choruses in A m e ric a , 20 a thorough
historical account of the development of American professional choirs is yet to

be done.
2. A more focused historical project that would be worthwhile is a
study of the growth and development of professional choirs in the last twenty
years. Perhaps such a study would reveal the impact effected by the
establishment of Chorus America.
3. A survey should be designed and implemented to elicit from active
professional choir administrators data that would be beneficial to those
seeking to establish a professional chorus. Such a survey might also be
directed toward the discovery of any characteristics common to successful
professional choirs. With data of this nature, a document could be produced
that would offer suggestions, set forth guidelines, and illuminate the realities
of establishing and maintaining a professional chorus. This study, therefore,
would be helpful not only for prospective professional choirs (or more
precisely, those who would found and lead them) but also for new,
inexperienced, or struggling professional choirs. Chorus America would be a
logical resource for such a study, since it seeks to provide similar information
to professional choral organizations.
20Examples of such would be “The Professional Choir in America: A

History and a Report on Present Activity,” by Paul Hill, The Choral loumal. 20
(April 1980), 10-14, 16; and some of the published materials from Chorus
America. This issue is also addressed in “An Interview with Vance George,
Michael Korn, and Dale Warland: Professional Choirs,” conducted by Dennis
Shrock, The Choral loum al. 30 (February 1990), 5-11.
169
4. Since professional choirs have had to prove their worth both to the
arts community and to the music industry ,2 1 a study should be done in an
attem pt to answer the question, “Why have professional choirs?" The focus of
such a project would be to identify, as accurately as possible, the role (or
function) of the professional chorus in American society. One interesting
methodology might involve an approach from the perspective of literature

and types of performances .2 2
5. A project yielding a detailed profile of the professional chorister
would serve to educate both the academic community and the interested
concert-goer concerning the distinctives of these musicians. A small but
varied group of these persons could serve as the principal resource for the
project. Significant issues such as how the person came to be a professional
chorister, pay, working conditions, other sources of income, educational
background, and performing background might be addressed. Perhaps a
comparison to the professional orchestral musician could be included as part

of the study.
6. A comparison study relating representative professional choirs
from the United States to selected professional choirs of other countries is
needed. The critical issue of funding should be investigated, with the objective
being the identification of the most effective methods and ideas thereof.
21 This statement is based on three journal articles of the last three

decades: the aforementioned article by Ericson, “Choral Conductors Forum,”
pp. 26-28; Hill, “The Professional Choir in America,” pp. 10-14, 16; and Shrock,
“An Interview with Vance George, Michael Korn, and Dale W arland,” pp. 5-11.
2 2 For instance, the research could center on the printed programs of

twenty active professional choirs over a five-year period.
170
Factors of government, culture, and tradition might also be evaluated as to
their general effect on professional choral activity.
7. The influence of prominent professional choirs upon other areas-
such as education-should be examined. On the Survey for Conductors of
American Professional Choirs, one respondent expressed a belief that former
members of the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups have had a greater impact
upon education than upon the field of professional choral activity. Whether
o r not this is true, research indicating the influence of professional choirs
(via former members and other mediums) upon education would be beneficial
to those who are concerned about the value of professional choirs in the
musical world.
8. Historical research focusing on any number of prominent
professional choirs would yield meaningful historical documents. A group
such as the Dale Warland Singers, who are highly regarded by both their
peers and the music world in general, would be a worthy subject for this type
of study.23
23Perhaps even another study of influence, using more contemporary

organizations, such as the Warland Singers, the Philadelphia Singers, Musica
Sacra, Chanticleer, etc., should also be done.
APPENDIX A
THE SURVEY FOR CONDUCTORS OF AMERICAN

PROFESSIONAL CHOIRS
171
172
SURVEY
fo r
Conductors of
American Professional Choirs
This survey asks ab o u t your associations with and opinions regarding th re e groups: The Robert
Shaw Chorale, T he Roger Wagner Chorale, and The Gregg Smith Singers. In an a tte m p t to elicit
th e m o st a ccu rate responses, a sep arate section is devoted to each of th e se groups below. The
questions for each, however, are essentially th e sam e.
Please respond openly and honestly. Confidentiality for all resp o n d en ts will be strictly
m aintained.
S e c tiQ n I
Please provide the following personal information.
N am e:_____________________________________________________
Professional choir of which you are c o n d u c to r :___________________________________________
Years in th is p o s i t i o n : _______________
Number of singers in th e c h o i r : ________ ( _____ s o p ra n o ,_____ a l t o ,_____ te n o r ,_____ bass)
Are all singers p a i d ? yes no
Is th e jo b considered part-tim e or f u l l - t i m e ? ____ P T ____________ FT
Have you co n ducted oth er professional c h o i r s ? yes no
If so , please l i s t : ______________________________________________________________________
173
< T he R obert Shaw Chorale >

Section II
Please respond to the following statements by indicating how frequently they apply to you.
1 = never
2 = som etim es
3 = often
4 = always
8 = n ot applicable
1. Ihave listened to recordings of The RobertShaw Chorale. 1 2 3 4 8
2. The recordings o f The Robert Shaw Chorale influence my 1 2 3 4 8

interpretation o f a musical score.
3. Having sung in The Robert Shaw Chorale shapes my approach 1 2 3 4 8

t o th e m usic I conduct.
4. I a tte n d e d co n certs by The Robert Shaw Chorale. 1 2 3 4 8
5. The rem em brance of The Robert Shaw Chorale in concert still 1 2 3 4 8

affe c ts goals I s e t for a perform ance.
6. In my rehearsal procedures, I use choral techniques th a t Robert 1 2 3 4 8

Shaw u sed with th e Chorale.
7. The professional choir I conduct models its business operation 1 2 3 4 8

a fte r The Robert Shaw Chorale.
8. I observed, or “s a t in on,” rehearsals of The Robert Shaw Chorale. 1
S ection III
Listed below are certain facets o f choral music-making, functions o f a professional choir, and
philosophical and personal concerns. To the le ft o f each item, please indicate whether you
would credit either participation in or observation o f The Robert Shaw Chorale with exerting
influence upon your attitude concerning the item (y = yes, n = no). If yes, please indicate to
what extent (circle number to the right o f each item).
1 = minimal
2 = average; one o f many such influences
3 = significant; n o t th e only influence, but
probably th e g re a te st
4 = extrem e; th e sole basis o f your a ttitu d e
y n 9. Choral tone 1 2 3 4
y n 10. Interpretive approach to th e music 1 2 3 4
y n 11. The optimal size (num ber of singers) for a professional choir 1 2 3 4
174
y n 12. A rrangem ent of voices in th e choral formation 1 2 3 4
y n 13. Administrative model for th e functioning of a professional choir 1 2 3 4
y n 14. Raising funds/capital for a professional choir budget 1 2 3 4
y n 15. M ethods for teaching/rehearsing modem works 1 2 3 4
y n 16. Your personal leadership style 1 2 3 4
y n 17. Program co n ten t 1 2 3 4
y n 18. Your philosophical beliefs about th e value of professional choirs 1 2 3 4
y n 19. Planning a to u r 1 2 3 4
Section IV
Please circle the letter which most closely represents your level o f agreement or disagreement
with each o f the following statements.
SD = strongly disagree
D = disagree
N = no opinion (or not applicable)
A = agree
SA = strongly agree
20. The Robert Shaw Chorale has been a force in the developm ent o f SD D N A SA
professional choirs via former m em bers who have gone on to
conduct, perform in, or otherwise be involved with other such
groups.
21. The Shaw Chorale, because of its international tours, is largely SD D N A SA

responsible for th e receptivity of foreign countries to to d ay ’s
touring choirs.
22. The work of The Robert Shaw Chorale helped facilitate th e SD D N A SA

em ergence of subsequent professional choirs.
23. The recordings o f The Robert Shaw Chorale generally have SD D N A SA

increased my understanding of the music being performed.
24. The recordings of The Robert Shaw Chorale have been a benefit SD D N A SA
t o subsequent professional choirs.
25 . In its recordings, The Robert Shaw Chorale achieves a level of SD D N A SA

musicality th a t I strive for as a conductor.
26. An im portant achievem ent of The Robert Shaw Chorale was th e SD D N A SA

perform ance of modern and new works.
27. The Robert Shaw Chorale has helped to shape th e identity of SD D N A SA
to d ay ’s professional chorus.
28. The Robert Shaw Chorale has been th e m ost influential group SD D N A SA
upon my career as a choral conductor.
Section V
Please rate the following in terms of their relative importance to your musical education and
career decisions.
1 =
no im portance
2 =
minimal im portance
3 =
im portant
4 =
very im portant
5 =
extrem ely im portant; the
single m ost influential force
8 = not applicable
29. The experience of having sung in The Robert Shaw Chorale. 1 2 3 4 5 8
30. Hearing The Robert Shaw Chorale in concert(s). 1 2 3 4 5 8
31. Experiencing an apprenticeship (e.g. assistant conductor, 1 2 3 4 5 8

adm inistrator, e tc .) relationship to Shaw with The Robert
Shaw Chorale.
32. The overall work of The Robert Shaw Chorale. 1 2 3 4 5 8
Section .VI
For the following, please check the answers that correctly answer the question or finish the
statement. In some instances there may be multiple answers.
3 3. Which of th e following b e st describes your relationship with Robert Shaw?
do not know him

have m et him
casual acquaintance
personal friend
m e n to r/stu d e n t relationship
colleague
o th e r _____________________
34. Indicate th e num ber of workshops and/or festivals you participated in under Robert
Shaw during his ten u re with th e Chorale.
0
1-3
4-6
7-10
m ore than 10
176
3 5 . Did The Robert Shaw Chorale participate in any of th e above festival/w orkshops?
y es no If yes, indicate th e number.
1-3
4-6
all
3 6 . How m any years w ere you a m em ber of The Robert Shaw Chorale?
0
1-3
4-5
6-8
9 -10
11-15
m ore than 15
3 7 . Approximately how m any recordings do you own of The Robert Shaw Chorale?
0
1-5
6 -10
11-15
1 6 -1 9
2 0 or more
3 8 . Below is a list o f a sp e c ts of choral perform ance. Check each one you think has been
influenced in your personal philosophy by The Robert Shaw Chorale.
choral to n e
intonation
rhythm ic vitality
diction
blend and balance
39 . Through which of th e following do you think The Robert Shaw Chorale has made th e m ost
influential contribution? (You may number th e se in order of im portance, if you wish)
recordings
tours
festivals/w o rk sh o p s
effo rts to provide/prom ote music education
perform ances of little-known works
perform ances of new works
4 0 . The Robert Shaw Chorale concerts I atte n d ed had a positive effect upon . . .
my enjoym ent of music

my music-making
my career
o th e r _____________________________________________________
no positive effect
not applicable
Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited w ithout permission.
177
Section VII
41. List any form er Robert Shaw Chorale m em bers of whom you are aware th a t are still
active in any capacity with professional choirs. Please cite th e choir, if known.
42. Please com m ent upon any ways in which your choral work has been influenced by The
Robert Shaw Chorale th a t have n ot been previously cited in your responses.
< The Roger W agner Chorale >
Section VIII
Please respond to the statements below by indicating how frequently they apply to you.
1 = never
2 = som etim es
3 = often
4 = always
8 = not applicable
43. I listen to recordings of The Roger Wagner Chorale. 1 2 3 4 8
44. The recordings of The Roger Wagner Chorale influence my 2 3 4 8

interpretation of a musical score.
45. Having sung in The Roger Wagner Chorale shapes my approach

to th e music I conduct.
178
46. I a tte n d e d concerts by The Roger Wagner Chorale. 1 2 3 4 8
47. The rem em brance of The Roger Wagner Chorale in concert still 1 2 3 4 8
affects goals I s e t for a performance.
48. In m y rehearsal procedures, I use choral techniques th a t Roger 1 2 3 4 8

Wagner has used with th e Chorale.

a fte r The Roger Wagner Chorale.
50. I have observed, or “s a t in on,” rehearsals of The Roger Wagner 1 2 3 4 8

Chorale.
Section IX
philosophical and personal concerns. To the left o f each item, please indicate whether you
would credit either participation in or observation o f The Roger Wagner Chorale with exerting
1 = minimal
2 = average; one o f many such influences
3 = significant; not th e only influence, b u t
probably th e g rea test
4 = extrem e; th e sole basis o f your attitu d e
y n 51. Choral to n e 1 2 3 4
y n 53. The optimal size (number of singers) for a professional choir 1 2 3 4
y n 54. Arrangem ent of voices in th e choral formation 1 2 3 4
y n 57. Methods for teaching/rehearsing modem works 1 2 3 4
y n 59. Program content 1 2 3 4
y n 60. Your philosophical beliefs about th e value of professional choirs 1 2 3 4
y n 61. Planning a tour 1 2 3 4
179
Section X
D = disagree
N = no opinion (or n o t applicable)
A = agree
SA = strongly agree
6 2. The Roger Wagner Chorale has been a force in th e developm ent SD D N A SA

of professional choirs via former members who have gone on to
conduct, perform in, or otherwise be involved with other such
groups.
6 3 . The W agner Chorale, because of its international tours, is largely SD D N A SA

touring choirs.
6 4. The work of The Roger Wagner Chorale helped facilitate th e SD D N A SA

em ergence of subsequent professional choirs.
65. The recordings of The Roger Wagner Chorale generally have SD D N A SA

increased my understanding of th e music being performed.
6 6. The recordings of The Roger Wagner Chorale have been a SD D N A SA

benefit to subsequent professional choirs.
67. In its recordings, The Roger Wagner Chorale achieves a level SD D N A SA

of musicality th a t I strive for as a conductor.
68. An im portant achievem ent of The Roger Wagner Chorale has been SD D N A SA
th e perform ance of m odem and new works.
6 9. The Roger Wagner Chorale has helped to shape th e identity o f SD D N A SA

to d a y ’s professional chorus.
70. The Roger Wagner Chorale has been th e m ost influential group SD D N A SA
180
Section XI
Please rate the following in terms o f their relative importance to your musical education and
career decisions.
1 =
no im portance
2 =
minimal im portance
3 =
im portant
4 =very im portant
5 =
extrem ely im portant; th e
single m o st influential force
8 = n o t applicable
71. The experience o f having sung in The Roger Wagner Chorale. 1 2 3 4 5 8
72. Hearing The Roger Wagner Chorale in concert(s). 1 2 3 4 5 8
73. Experiencing an apprenticeship (e.g. assistan t conductor, 1 2 3 4 5 8

adm inistrator, e tc .) relationship to W agner with The
Roger W agner Chorale.
74. T he overall work of The Roger W agner Chorale. 1 2 3 4 5 8
Section XII
75. Which o f th e following b e st describes your relationship with Roger W agner?
do n o t know him
have m et him
casual acquaintance
personal friend
colleague
o th e r _________________________________________________
76. Indicate th e num ber of workshops a n d /o r festivals you have participated in under
Roger Wagner.
0
1-3
4-6
7 -10
m ore than 10
77. Did The Roger Wagner Chorale participate in any of th e above festival/w orkshops?
y e s no If y es, indicate th e number.
1-3
4-6
all
181
78. How m any years w ere you a member of The Roger W agner Chorale?
0
I-3
4-5
6-8
9 -1 0
II-1 5
m ore than 15
79. Approximately how many recordings do you own by The Roger W agner Chorale?
0
1-5
6-10
11-1 5
16-1 9
2 0 or more
80. Below is a list o f asp e c ts of choral performance. Check each one you think has been
influenced in your personal philosophy by The Roger Wagner Chorale.
choral to n e
intonation
rhythm ic vitality
diction
blend and balance
81. Through which of th e following do you think The Roger W agner Chorale has m ade its m ost
influential contribution? (You may number th ese in order of im portance, if you wish)
recordings
tours
festivals/w orkshops
effo rts to provide/prom ote music education
82. The Roger W agner Chorale concerts I have attended have had a positive effect upon

my music-making
my career
o th e r _________________
no positive effect
N/A
Section XIII
83. List any form er Roger Wagner Chorale m em bers of whom you are aw are th a t are still
active in any capacity with professional choirs. Please cite th e choir, if known. Use
th e back of this sh e e t if more space is needed.
182
Roger W agner Chorale th a t have not been previously cited in your responses.
< The Gregg Smith Singers >

Section XIV
Respond to the statements below by indicating how frequently they apply to you.
1 = never
2 = som etim es
3 = often
4 = always
85. I listen to recordings of The Gregg Smith Singers. 1 2 3 4 8
86. The recordings of The Gregg Smith Singers influence my 1 2 3 4 8

interpretation of a musical score.
87. Having sung in The Gregg Smith Singers shapes my approach 1 2 3 4 8

to th e music I conduct.
88. I atten d ed concerts by The Gregg Smith Singers. 1 2 3 4 8
89. The rem em brance of The Gregg Smith Singers in concert still 1 2 3 4 8
affects goals I s e t for a performance.
90. In my rehearsal procedures, I use choral techniques th a t Gregg 1 2 3 4 8

Smith u ses with his group.

a fte r The Gregg Smith Singers.
92. I have observed, or “s a t in on,” rehearsals of The Gregg Smith 1 2 3 4 8

Singers.
183
Section XV
philosophical and personal concerns. To the left o f each item, please indicate whether you
would credit either participation in or observation o f The Gregg Smith Singers with exerting
1 = minimal
2 = average; one of many such influences
3 = significant; n ot th e only influence, but
probably th e g re a te st
4 = extrem e; th e sole basis o f your attitu d e
y n 93. Choral tone 1 2 3 4
y n 95. The optimal size (number of singers) for a professional choir 1 2 3 4
y n 96. Arrangem ent o f voices in th e choral formation 1 2 3 4
y n 99. Methods for teaching/rehearsing modern works 1 2 3 4
y n 101. Program content 1 2 3 4
y n 102. Your philosophical beliefs about th e value of professional choir 1 2 3 4
y n 103. Planning a tour 1 2 3 4
Section XVI
D = disagree
N = no opinion (or n o t applicable)
A = agree
SA = strongly agree
104. The Gregg Smith Singers has been a force in the developm ent SD D N A SA
of professional choirs via former members who have gone
on t o conduct, perform in, or otherwise be involved with
o th er such groups.
184
1 0 5 . T he Smith Singers, becau se of its international to u rs, is largely SD D N A SA

touring choirs.
106. T he work of The Gregg Smith Singers helped facilitate th e SD D N A SA

em ergence o f subsequent professional choirs.
107. T he recordings o f The Gregg Smith Singers generally have SD D N A SA

increased my understanding of th e music being performed.
1 0 8 . T he recordings of The Gregg Smith Singers have been a benefit SD D N A SA

to su b seq u en t professional choirs.
1 0 9 . In its recordings, The Gregg Smith Singers achieves a level o f SD D N A SA

musicality th a t I strive for as a conductor.
110. An im portant achievem ent of The Gregg Smith Singers has been SD D N A SA
th e perform ance of m odern and new works.
111. The Gregg Smith Singers has helped to shape th e identity of SD D N A SA

to d a y ’s professional chorus.
112. The Gregg Smith Singers has been the m ost influential group SD D N A SA
Section XVII
Please rate the following in terms o f their relative importance to your musical education and
career decisions.
1 =
no im portance
2 =
minimal im portance
3 =
im portant
4 =
very im portant
5 =
extrem ely im portant; the
single m ost influential force
113. The experience of having sung in The Gregg Smith Singers. 1 2 3 4 5 8
114. Hearing The Gregg Smith Singers in concert(s). 1 2 3 4 5 8
115. Experiencing an apprenticeship (e.g. assistan t conductor, 1 2 3 4 5 8

adm inistrator, e tc .) relationship to Smith an The Gregg
Smith Singers.
116. The overall work o f The Gregg Smith Singers. 1 2 3 4 5 8
185
Section XVIII
117. Which o f th e following b e st describes your relationship with Gregg Smith?
do n o t know him
have m et him
casual acquaintance
personal friend
colleague
o t h e r ________________________________________________
118. Indicate th e num ber o f workshops an d /o r festivals you have participated in under
Gregg Smith.
0
1-3
4-6
7 -1 0
m ore than 10
119. Did The Gregg Smith Singers participate in any o f th e above festival/w orkshops?
yes no If yes, indicate th e number.
1-3
4-6
all
120. How many years were you a member of The Gregg Smith Singers?
0
1-3
4-5
6-8
9 -1 0
11-1 5
m ore than 15
121. Approximately how many recordings do you own by The Gregg Smith Singers?
0
1-5
6-10
11-15
16-1 9
2 0 or more
186
122. Below is a list of asp ects of choral performance. Check each one you think has been
influenced in your personal philosophy by The Gregg Smith Singers.
choral tone
intonation
rhythm ic vitality
diction
blend and balance
123. Through which o f th e following do you think The Gregg Smith Singers has m ade its m ost
influential contribution? (You may num ber th e se in order of im portance, if you wish)
recordings
tours
festivals/w orkshops
efforts to provide/prom ote music education
124. The Gregg Smith Singers concerts I have atten d ed have had a positive e ffe c t upon

my music-making
my career
o th e r __________________________ __________________
no positive effect
not applicable
Section XIX
125. List any form er Gregg Smith Singers m em bers of whom you are aw are th a t are still
active in any capacity with professional choirs. Please cite th e choir, if known.
Gregg Smith Singers th a t have not been previously cited in your responses.
187
Section XX
Please complete the following sentences.
127. The m ost positive asp ect about th e professional choir phenomenon in America is . . .
1 28. Problems which m ust be addressed among professional choirs include . . .
129. The m ost distinctive asp ect of th e choir I conduct is . . .
Use th e remaining space to express any th o ughts you wish regarding professional choirs or
ab o u t this project.
Thank you for your tim e and opinion. Please return this docum ent in th e pre-addressed stam ped
envelope by F e b ru a ry 1, 1 9 9 2 to
Phillip J. Morrow
2 7 1 2 Hillside T errace
Louisville, KY 4 0 2 0 6
APPENDIX B
CORRESPONDENCE THAT ACCOMPANIED

MAILINGS OF THE SURVEY
188
189
Phillip J. Morrow
2712 Hillside Terrace
Louisville, KY 40206
January 18, 1992
[Appropriate address & salutation]
I am a doctoral student in choral music at The Southern Baptist Theological

Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. I hold the Bachelor of Science degree in
music education from the University of North Alabama, the Master of Music
degree from The University of North Carolina—Greensboro, and presently
teach on the faculty at Indiana University Southeast. Having long held an
interest in professional choral ensembles and their work, I have chosen to
pursue for my dissertation a study dealing with this significant facet of the
choral art.
The title of my dissertation is The Influence o f The Robert Shaw Chorale, The
Roger Wagner Chorale, and The Gregg Smith Singers on The Professional
Chorus in the United States. The methodology for the project hinges on data
collected from conductors of active professional choirs via the enclosed
instrum ent.
Therefore, I am asking for your assistance. Would you please take 30-45
minutes and complete the enclosed survey? As the conductor of an active
professional choral group, your response is important to the success of this
study. A pre-addressed, stamped envelope is provided for ease in returning the
survey. Please respond by February 10.
I am aware that the request for time from your busy schedule is one which
asks a great deal. Please know that I am grateful, and thank you in advance
for your help. As I am sure you are aware, scholarly studies of the
professional chorus phenomenon in America are virtually non-existent. It is
my hope that the study in which you are participating will foster more
interest in professional choral groups and thereby more studies of them.
I hope someday to have occasion to meet you personally and attend a

performance by your group. Should you need to contact me in person for any
reason, my phone number is (502) 897-0605.
Sincerely yours,
Phillip J. Morrow
190
Postcard
I am writing to again request that you please respond to the

SURVEY FOR CONDUCTORS OF AMERICAN PROFESSIONAL CHOIRS
mailed to you a couple of weeks ago. I am confident that 30-
45 minutes will be ample time to complete the instrument, and
the value of your input into this research is immeasurable.
Thank you for sharing your insights and that most precious
of commodities—time.
Please retu rn the survey, if possible, within the next week.
Happy music-making.
Phillip Morrow
(502) 897-0605
191
Phillip J. Morrow
2712 Hillside Terrace
Louisville, KY 40206
April 7, 1992
[Appropriate address & salutation]
A few weeks ago I mailed to you a survey asking for your response to questions
concerning three professional choirs, in relation to my doctoral dissertation.
In case that mailing became misplaced or never reached you personally, I
have enclosed another copy of the survey. Please take a few minutes and
respond honestly to these statements and questions.
You are one of only 57 conductors selected as potential participants in this

project, based on data from Chorus America and the definition of “professional
chorus” by which I have chosen to abide in research for my dissertation. To
date, only slightly over forty percent of the conductors have responded. I
sincerely want your input. By taking time to share your opinions and
perceptions, you will lend additional credibility to this project.
A self-addressed, stamped envelope is provided for convenience in returning

the survey. I would welcome a personal call if you have questions or concerns
regarding the study (502-897-0605). You may call collect.
Again, thanks for your time. The professional chorus phenomenon in

America is worthy of scholarly study. Thank you for helping me in such an
endeavor.
Sincerely,
Phillip J. Morrow
APPENDIX C
STATISTICAL RESULTS OF TWENTY-EIGHT CONDUCTORS’

RESPONSES TO THE SURVEY
< The Robert Shaw Chorale >

Section II
Please respond to the following statements by indicating how frequently they

apply to you.
1 = never
2 = sometimes
3 = often
4 = always
8 = not applicable
1. I have listened to recordings of The Robert Shaw Chorale.

1 0 ( 0 .0%)
2 10 (35.7%)
3 13 (46.4%)
4 4 (14.3%)
8 0 (0 .0%)
2. The recordings of The Robert Shaw Chorale influence my interpretation of

a musical score.
1 1 (25.0%)
2 11 (39.3%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 5 (17.9%)
8 1 (3.6%)
3. Having sung in The Robert Shaw Chorale shapes my approach to the music I
conduct.
1 5 (17.9%)
2 2 (7.1%)
3 3 (0.0%)
4 2 (7.1%)
8 17 (60.7%)
4. I attended concerts by The Robert Shaw Chorale.

1 10 (35.7%)
2 8 (28.6%)
3 6 (21.4%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 2 (7.1%)
192
193
5. The remembrance of The Robert Shaw Chorale in concert still affects goals I
set for a performance.
1 9 (32.1%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 4 (14.3%)
8 8 (28.6%)
6. In my rehearsal procedures, I use choral techniques that Robert Shaw used

with the Chorale.
1 3 (10.7%)
2 10 (35.7%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 6 (21.4%)
8 6 (21.4%)
7. The professional choir I conduct models its business operation after The
Robert Shaw Chorale.
1 12 (42.9%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 0 ( 0.0%)
4 0 ( 0.0%)
8 11 (39.3%)
8. I observed, or “sat in on,” rehearsals of The Robert Shaw Chorale.

1 19 (67.9%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 1 ( 3.6%)
8 0 ( 0.0%)
194
Section III
Listed below are certain facets o f choral music-making, functions o f a

professional choir, and philosophical and personal concerns. To the left o f
each item, please indicate whether you would credit either participation in or
observation o f The Robert Shaw Chorale with exerting influence upon your
attitude concerning the item (y = yes, n = no). I f yes, please indicate to what
extent (circle num ber to the right o f each item).
1 = minimal
3 = significant; not the only influence, but probably the greatest
4 = extreme; the sole basis of your attitude
9. Choral tone
y 11 (39.3%)
n 11 (39.3%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 5 (17.9%)
3 8 (28.6%)
4 1 ( 3.6%)
10. Interpretive approach to the music

y 13 (46.4%)
n 8 (28.6%)
1 7 (25.0%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 6 (21.4%)
4 1 (3.6%)
11. The optimal size (number of singers) for a professional choir

y 9 (32.1%)
n 12 (42.9%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 8 (28.6%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 0 (0.0%)
12. Arrangement of voices in the choral formation

y 8 (28.6%)
n 14 (50.0%)
1 8 (28.6%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 1 (3.6%)
195
13. Administrative model for the functioning of a professional choir

y 3 (10.7%)
n 18 (64.3%)
1 8 (28.6%)
2 1 ( 3.6%)
3 1 ( 3.6%)
4 0 ( 0.0%)
14. Raising funds/capital for a professional choir budget

y 3 (10.7%)
n 18 (64.3%)
1 9 (32.1%)
2 1 (3.6%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
15. Methods for teaching/rehearsing modern works

y 9 (32.1%)
n 12 (42.9%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 7 (25.0%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 1 (3.6%)
Your personal leadersh:

y 8 (28.6%)
n 13 (46.4%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 1 (3.6%)
Program content
y 11 (39.3%)
n 10 (35.7%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 8 (28.6%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 0 (0.0%)
196
18. Your philosophical beliefs about the value of professional choirs
y 11 (39.3%)
n 10 (35.7%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 5 (17.9%)
3 6 (21.4%)
4 1 (3.6%)
tanning a tour
y 3 (10.7%)
n 18 (64.3%)
1 7 (25.0%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
Section IV
Please circle the letter which m ost closely represents yo u r level o f agreement
or disagreement with each o f the following statements.
D = disagree
A = agree
SA = strongly agree
20. The Robert Shaw Chorale has been a force in the development of
professional choirs via former members who have gone on to conduct,
perform in, or otherwise be involved with other SD 0 (0.0%)
D 1 (3.6%)
N 7 (25.0%)
A 12 (42.9%)
SA 7 (25.0%)
21. The Shaw Chorale, because of its international tours, is largely responsible
for the receptivity of foreign countries to today’s touring choirs.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 4 (14.3%)
N 13 (46.4%)
A 8 (28.6%)
SA 2 (7.1%)
197
22. The work of The Robert Shaw Chorale helped facilitate the emergence of
subsequent professional choirs.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 0 (0.0%)
N 1 (3.6%)
A 15 (53.6%)
SA 11 (39.3%)
23. The recordings of The Robert Shaw Chorale generally have increased my
understanding of the music being performed.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 5 (17.9%)
N 5 (17.9%)
A 12 (42.9%)
SA 5 (17.9%)
24. The recordings of The Robert Shaw Chorale have been a benefit to
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 1 (3.6%)
N 4 (14.3%)
A 15 (53.6%)
SA 7 (25.0%)
25. In its recordings, The Robert Shaw Chorale achieves a level of musicality
that I strive for as a conductor.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 6 (21.4%)
N 8 (28.6%)
A 6 (21.4%)
SA 7 (25.0%)
26. An im portant achievement of The Robert Shaw Chorale was the

performance of modern and new works.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 7 (25.0%)
N 9 (32.1%)
A 9 (32.1%)
SA 2 (7.1%)
27. The Robert Shaw Chorale has helped to shape the identity of today’s
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 2 (7.1%)
N 7 (25.0%)
A 9 (32.1%)
SA 9 (32.1%)
198
28. The Robert Shaw Chorale has been the most influential group upon my
career as a choral conductor.
SD 6 (21.4%)
D 9 (32.1%)
N 5 (17.9%)
A 2 (7.1%)
SA 5 (17.9%)
Section V
Please rate the following in terms o f their relative importance to your musical
education and career decisions.
1 = no importance
2 = minimal importance
3 = important
4 = very important
5 = extremely important; the single most influential force
8 = not applicable
29. The experience of having sung in The Robert Shaw Chorale.

1 4 (14.3%)
2 0 ( 0 . 0%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 0 (0.0%)
5 2 (7.1%)
8 19 (67.9%)
30. Hearing The Robert Shaw

1 3 (10.7%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 6 (21.4%)
5 2 (7.1%)
8 9 (32.1%)
31. Experiencing an apprenticeship (e.g. assistant conductor, administrator,

etc.) relationship to Shaw with The Robert Shaw Chorale.
1 4 (14.3%)
2 0 (0.0%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 2 (7.1%)
5 0 (0.0%)
8 4 (14.3%)
32. The overall work of The Robert Shaw Chorale.
1 1 (3.6%)
2 7 (25.0%)
3 6 (21.4%)
4 5 (17.9%)
5 4 (14.3%)
8 4 (14.3%)
Section VI
For the following, please check the answers that correctly answer the
question or finish the statement. In some instances there m ay be multiple
answers.
33. Which of the following best describes your relationship with Robert
Shaw?
do n o t know him 7 (25.0%)
have m et him 11 (39.3%)
c a su a l a c q u a in ta n c e 2 (7.1%)
p e rs o n a l f rie n d 3 (10.7%)
m e n to r /s tu d e n t r e la tio n s h ip 3 (10.7%)
c o lle a g u e 6 (21.4%)
o th e r 6 (21.4%)
34. Indicate the number of workshops an d /o r festivals you participated in

under Robert Shaw during his tenure with the Chorale.
0 14 (50.0%)
1-3 12 (42.9%)
4-6 2 (7.1%)
7-10 0 (0.0%)
m ore th a n 10 0 (0.0%)
35. Did The Robert Shaw Chorale participate in any of the above
festival/workshops? If yes, indicate the number.
y 0 (0.0%)
n 19 (64.3%)
1-3 0 (0.0%)
4 -6 0 (0.0%)
a ll 0 (0.0%)
36. How many years were you a member of The Robert Shaw Chorale?
0 25 (89.3%)
1-3 1 (3.6%)
4-5 0 (0.0%)
6-8 0 (0.0%)
9-10 0 (0.0%)
11-15 0 (0.0%)
m ore th a n 15 0 (0.0%)
37. Approximately how many recordings do you own of The Robert Shaw
Chorale?
0 2 (7.1%)
1-5 15 (53.6%)
6-10 8 (28.6%)
11-15 1 (3.6%)
16-19 0 (0.0%)
20 o r m ore 1 (3.6%)
200
38. Below is a list of aspects of choral performance. Check each one you think
has been influenced in your personal philosophy by The Robert Shaw Chorale.
c h o ra l to n e 15 (53.6%)
in to n a tio n 9 (32.1%)
rh y th m ic v ita lity 21 (75.0%)
d ic tio n 14 (50.0%)
b len d a n d balan ce 12 (42.9%)
39. Through which of the following do you think The Robert Shaw Chorale has
made the most influential contribution? (You may num ber these in order of
importance, if you wish)
re c o rd in g s 24 (85.7%)
to u r s 17 (60.7%)
f e s tiv a ls /w o r k s h o p s 7 (25.0%)
effo rts to p ro v id e /p ro m o te m usic e d u catio n 6 (21.4%)
p e rfo rm a n c e s o f little-k n o w n w orks 7 (25.0%)
p erfo rm a n ce s o f new w orks 7 (25.0%)
40. The Robert Shaw Chorale concerts I attended had a positive effect upon . . .
m y en jo y m en t o f m usic 11 (39.3%)
m y m u sic-m ak in g 11 (39.3%)
m y c a re e r 10 (35.7%)
o th e r 2 (7.1%)
no p o sitiv e effect 28 (100.0%)
n o t a p p lica b le 10 (35.7%)
< The Roger W agner Chorale >
Section VIII
Please respond to the statements below by indicating how frequently they

apply to you.
1 = never
2 = sometimes
3 = often
4 = always
8 = not applicable
43. I listen to recordings c f The Roger Wagner Chorale.

1 5 (17.9%)
2 15 (53.6%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 2 (7.1%)
201
44. The recordings of The Roger Wagner Chorale influence my interpretation
of a musical score.
1 8 (28.6%)
2 9 (32.1%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 2 (7.1%)
8 5 (17.9%)
45. Having sung in The Roger Wagner Chorale shapes my approach to the
music I conduct.
1 3 (10.7%)
2 1 (3.6%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 0 (0.0%)
8 21 (75.0%)
46. I attended concerts by The Roger Wagner Chorale.
1 10 (35.7%)
2 8 (28.6%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 5 (17.9%)
47. The remembrance of The Roger Wagner Chorale in concert still affects
goals I set for a performance.
1 6 (21.4%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 2 (7.1%)
8 10 (35.7%)
48. In my rehearsal procedures, I use choral techniques that Roger Wagner

has used with the Chorale.
1 6 (21.4%)
2 7 (25.0%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 12 (42.9%)
49. The professional choir I conduct models its business operation after The
Roger Wagner Chorale.
1 7 (25.0%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
8 15 (53.6%)
50. I have observed, or

i “sat in on,” rehearsals of The Roger Wagner Chorale.
1 16 (57.1%)
2 1 (3.6%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 6 (21.4%)
202
Section IX

professional choir, and philosophical and personal concerns. To the left o f
each item, please indicate whether you would credit either participation in or
observation o f The Roger Wagner Chorale with exerting influence upon your
attitude concerning the item (y = yes, n = no). If yes, please indicate to what
1 = minimal
51. Choral tone

y 10 (35.7%)
n 10 (35.7%)
1 2 (7.1%)
2 10 (35.7%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 0 (0.0%)

y 11 (39.3%)
n 9 (32.1%)
1 4 (14.3%)
2 7 (25.0%)
3 5 (17.9%)
4 0 (0.0%)

y 6 (21.4%)
n 14 (50.0%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 2 (7.1%)
3 6 (21.4%)
4 0 (0.0%)

y 6 (21.4%)
n 14 (50.0%)
1 4 (14.3%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 0 (0.0%)
203

y 1 (3.6%)
n 17 (60.7%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 2 (7.1%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)

y 1 (3.6%)
n 17 (60.7%)
1 7 (25.0%)
2 0 (0.0%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)

y 4 (14.3%)
n 15 (53.6%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
58. Your personal leadership style

y 5 (17.9%)
n 14 (50.0%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 0 (0.0%)
59. Program content

y 7 (25.0%)
n 12 (42.9%)
1 2 (7.1%)
2 9 (32.1%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 0 (0.0%)
204
60. Your philosophical beliefs about the value of professional choirs
y 7 (25.0%)
n 12 (42.0%)
1 2 (7.1%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 1 (3.6%)
61. Planning a tour

y 2 (7.1)
n 17 (60.7%)
1 4 (14.3%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
Section X
Please circle the letter which m ost closely represents your level o f agreement
D = disagree
A = agree
SA = strongly agree
62. The Roger Wagner Chorale has been a force in the development of
perform in, or otherwise be involved with other such groups.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 3 (10.7%)
N 10 (35.7%)
A 8 (28.6%)
SA 5 (17.9%)
63. The Wagner Chorale, because of its international tours, is largely

responsible for the receptivity of foreign countries to today’s touring choirs.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 4 (14.3%)
N 11 (39.3%)
A 8 (28.6%)
SA 3 (10.7%)
64. The work of The Roger Wagner Chorale helped facilitate the emergence of
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 1 (3.6%)
N 2 (7.1%)
A 19 (67.9%)
SA 4 (14.3%)
65. The recordings of The Roger Wagner Chorale generally have increased my
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 4 (14.3%)
N 12 (42.9%)
A 9 (32.1%)
SA 1 (3.6%)
66. The recordings of The Roger Wagner Chorale have been a benefit to
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 1 (3.6%)
N 7 (25.0%)
A 15 (53.6%)
SA 3 (10.7%)
67. In its recordings, The Roger Wagner Chorale achieves a level of musicality
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 3 (10.7%)
N 7 (25.0%)
A 12 (42.9%)
SA 4 (14.3%)
68. An im portant achievement of The Roger Wagner Chorale has been the
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 8 (28.6%)
N 11 (39.3%)
A 7 (25.0%)
SA 0 (0.0%)
69. The Roger Wagner Chorale has helped to shape the identity of today’s
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 2 (7.1%)
N 5 (17.9%)
A 16 (57.1%)
SA 3 (10.7%)
70. The Roger Wagner Chorale has been the most influential group upon my
SD 6 (21.4%)
D 8 (28.6%)
N 7 (25.0%)
A 4 (14.3%)
SA 1 (3.6%)
Section .XI
1 = no importance
3 = important
4 = very important
8 = not applicable
71. The experience of having sung in The Roger Wagner Chorale.

1 2 (7.1%)
2 1 (3.6%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 2 (7.1%)
5 1 (3.6%)
8 21 (75.0%)
72. Hearing The Roger Wagner Chorale in concert(s).

1 4 (14.3%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 7 (25.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
5 2 (7.1%)
8 11 (39.3%)

etc.) relationship to Wagner with The Roger Wagner Chorale.
1 2 (7.1%)
2 0 ( 0 .0 %)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
5 1 (3.6%)
74. The overall work of The Roger Wagner Chorale.
1 4 (14.3%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 7 (25.0%)
4 3 (10.7%)
5 2 (7.1%)
207
Section XII
answers.
75. Which of the following best describes your relationship with Roger
Wagner?
ca su a l a c q u a in ta n c e 4 (14.3%)
p e rs o n a l frie n d 3 (10.7%)
m e n to r /s tu d e n t r e la tio n s h ip 4 (14.3%)
c o lle a g u e 2 (7.1%)
o th e r 5 (17.9%)
76. Indicate the number of workshops a n d /o r festivals you have participated
in under Roger Wagner.
0 14 (50.0%)
1-3 11 (39.3%)
4-6 1 (3.6%)
7-10 1 (3.6%)
m ore th a n 10 0 (0.0%)
77. Did The Roger Wagner Chorale participate in any of the above
y 2 (7.1%)
n 12 (42.9%)
1-3 4 (14.3%)
4-6 0 (0.0%)
a ll 0 (0.0%)
78. How many years were you a member of

0 23 (82.1%)
1-3 1 (3.6%)
4-5 0 (0.0%)
6-8 1 (3.6%)
9-10 0 (0.0%)
11-15 0 (0.0%)
m ore th a n 15 1 (3.6%)
79. Approximately how many recordings do you own by The Roger Wagner
Chorale?
0 9 (32.1%)
I-5 13 (46.4%)
6-10 2 (7.1%)
II-1 5 2 (7.1%)
16-19 0 (0.0%)
20 o r m ore 0 (0.0%)
208
80. Below is a list of aspects of choral performance. Check each one you think
has been influenced in your personal philosophy by The Roger Wagner
Chorale.
c h o ra l to n e 15 (53.6%)
d ic tio n 5 (17.9%)
b le n d a n d balance 10 (35.7%)
81. Through which of the following do you think The Roger Wagner Chorale
has made its most influential contribution? (You may number these in order
of importance, if you wish)
r e c o rd in g s 20 (71.4%)
to u rs 18 (64.3%)
e ffo rts to p ro v id e /p ro m o te m usic ed u catio n 3 (10.7%)
p e rfo rm a n c e s o f little-k n o w n w orks 5 (17.9%)
p e rfo rm an c es o f new works 0 (0.0%)
82. The Roger Wagner Chorale concerts I have attended have had a positive
effect upon
my en jo y m en t of m usic 7 (25.0%)
m y m u sic-m ak in g 8 (28.6%)
m y c a re e r 7 (25.0%)
o th e r 2 (7.1%)
N /A 12 (42.9%)
< The Gregg Smith Singers >

Section XIV
Respond to the statements below by indicating how frequently they apply to
you.
1 = never
2 = sometimes
3 = often
4 = always
8 = not applicable
85. I listen to recordings of The Gregg Smith Singers.

1 2 (7.1%)
2 17 (60.7%)
3 6 (21.4%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 0 (0.0%)
209
86. The recordings of The Gregg Smith Singers influence my interpretation of

a musical score.
1 13 (46.4%)
2 5 (17.9%)
3 5 (17.9%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 0 ( 0 .0 %)
87. Having sung in The Gregg Smith Singers shapes my approach to the music
I conduct.
1 4 (14.3%)
2 0 ( 0 .0%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 0 (0.0%)
8 20 (71.4%)
88. I attended concerts by The Gregg Smith Singers.

1 5 (17.9%)
2 17 (60.7%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 0 ( 0 .0 %)
89. The remembrance of The Gregg Smith Singers in concert still affects goals
I set for a performance.
1 8 (28.6%)
2 7 (25.0%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 2 (7.1%)
8 6 (21.4%)
90. In my rehearsal procedures, I use choral techniques that Gregg Smith uses
with his group.
1 7 (25.0%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 12 (42.9%)
91. The professional

Gregg Smith Singers.
1 9 (32.1%)
2 1 (3.6%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 15 (53.6%)
92. I have observed, sat in on,” rehearsals of The Gregg Smith Singers.
1 12 (42.9%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 1 (3.6%)
8 5 (17.9%)
210
Section. XV

professional choir, and philosophical and personal concerns. To the left of
each item , please indicate whether you would credit either participation in or
observation o f The Gregg Smith Singers with exerting influence upon your
attitude concerning the item (y = yes, n = no). I f yes, please indicate to what
1 = minimal
93. Choral tone

y 8 (28.6%)
n 11 (39.3%)
1 8 (28.6%)
2 2 (7.1%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 1 (3.6%)

y 10 (35.7%)
n 10 (35.7%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 0 (0.0%)

y 10 (35.7%)
n 10 (35.7%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 0 (0.0%)

y 7 (25.0%)
n 13 (46.4%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 2 (7.1%)
4 1 (3.6%)
y 4 (14.3%)
n 15 (53.6%)
1 6 (21.4%)
2 3 (10.7%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 1 (3.6%)

y 5 (17.9%)
n 14 (50.0%)
1 7 (25.0%)
2 2 (7.1%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 1 (3.6%)

y 5 (17.9%)
n 15 (53.6%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 2 (7.1%)
3 3 (10.7%)
4 1 (3.6%)
100. Your personal leadership style

y 5 (17.9%)
n 15 (53.6%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 4 (14.3%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 0 (0.0%)
101. Program content
y 12 (42.9%)
n 7 (25.0%)
1 3 (10.7%)
2 8 (28.6%)
3 7 (25.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
102. Your philosophical beliefs about the value of professional choir

y 10 (35.7%)
n 10 (35.7%)
1 3 (10.7%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 4 (14.3%)
4 2 (7.1%)
212
103. Planning a tour
y 3 (10.7%)
n 16 (57.1%)
1 5 (17.9%)
2 2 (7.1%)
3 1 (3.6%)
4 0 (0.0%)
Section XVI
Please circle the letter which m ost closely represents your level o f agreement
D = disagree
A = agree
SA = strongly agree
104. The Gregg Smith Singers has been a force in the development of
perform in, or otherwise be involved with other such groups.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 3 (10.7%)
N 11 (39.3%)
A 7 (25.0%)
SA 4 (14.3%)
105. The Smith Singers, because of its international tours, is largely

responsible for the receptivity of foreign countries to today’s touring choirs.
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 6 (21.4%)
N 13 (46.4%)
A 5 (17.9%)
SA 0 (0.0%)
106. The work of The Gregg Smith Singers helped facilitate the emergence of
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 1 (3.6%)
N 3 (10.7%)
A 18 (64.3%)
SA 3 (10.7%)
107. The recordings of The Gregg Smith Singers generally have increased my
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 3 (10.7%)
N 6 (21.4%)
A 11 (39.3%)
SA 5 (17.9%)
213
108. The recordings of The Gregg Smith Singers have been a benefit to
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 1 (3.6%)
N 3 (10.7%)
A 15 (53.6%)
SA 6 (21.4%)
109. In its recordings, The Gregg Smith Singers achieves a level of musicality
SD 1 (3.6%)
D 8 (28.6%)
N 5 (17.9%)
A 8 (28.6%)
SA 3 (10.7%)
110. An im portant achievement of The Gregg Smith Singers has been the
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 0 (0.0%)
N 2 (7.1%)
A 9 (32.1%)
SA 14 (50.0%)
111. The Gregg Smith Singers has helped to shape the identity of today’s
SD 0 (0.0%)
D 1 (3.6%)
N 3 (10.7%)
A 15 (53.6%)
SA 6 (21.4%)
112. The Gregg Smith Singers has been the most influential group upon my
SD 5 (17.9%)
D 8 (28.6%)
N 8 (28.6%)
A 1 (3.6%)
SA 3 (10.7%)
214
S fiC flQ E L M
1 = no importance
3 = important
4 = very important
8 = not applicable
113. The experience of having sung in The Gregg Smith Singers.

1 1 (3.6%)
2 0 (0 .0%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
5 1 (3.6%)
8 23 (82.1%)
114. Hearing The Gregg Smith Singers in concert(s).

1 1 (3.6%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 8 (28.6%)
4 2 (7.1%)
5 1 (3.6%)
8 7 (25.0%)

etc.) relationship to Smith an The Gregg Smith Singers.
1 0 (0.0%)
2 0 (0.0%)
3 0 (0.0%)
4 0 (0.0%)
5 1 (3.6%)
8 24 (85.7%)
116. The overall work of The Gregg Smith Singers.

1 3 (10.7%)
2 6 (21.4%)
3 6 (21.4%)
4 3 (10.7%)
5 2 (7.1%)
8 4 (14.3%)
215
Section XVIII
answers.
117. Which of the following best describes your relationship with Gregg
Smith?
c a su a l a c q u a in ta n c e 0 (0.0%)
p e rs o n a l frie n d 7 (25%)
m e n to r /s tu d e n t re la tio n s h ip 3 (10.7%)
c o lle a g u e 9 (32.1%)
o th e r 2 (7.1%)
118. Indicate the number of workshops and/or festivals you have participated
in under Gregg Smith.
0 13 (46.4%)
1-3 11 (39.3%)
4 -6 0 (0.0%)
7-10 0 (0.0%)
m ore th an 10 1 (3.6%)
119. Did The Gregg Smith Singers participate in any of the above
y 8 (28.6%)
n 7 (25.0%)
1-3 4 (14.3%)
4 -6 0 (0.0%)
a ll 2 (7.1%)
120. How many years were you a member of 1

0 23 (82.1%)
1-3 1 (3.6%)
4-5 0 (0.0%)
6-8 0 (0.0%)
9-10 0 (0.0%)
11-15 0 (0.0%)
m ore th a n 15 0 (0.0%)
121. Approximately how many recordings do you own by The Gregg Smith
Singers?
0 4 (14.3%)
1-5 16 (57.1%)
6-10 3 (10.7%)
11-15 0 (0.0%)
16-19 1 (3.6%)
20 o r m ore 0 (0.0%)
216
122. Below is a list of aspects of choral performance. Check each one you
think has been influenced in your personal philosophy by The Gregg Smith
Singers.
c h o ra l tone 8 (28.6%)
d ic tio n 4 (14.3%)
b len d a n d balance 6 (21.4%)
123. Through which of the following do you think The Gregg Smith Singers
has made its most influential contribution? (You may number these in order
of importance, if you wish)
re c o rd in g s 18 (64.3%)
to u r s 13 (46.4%)
effo rts to p ro v id e /p ro m o te m usic ed u catio n 3 (10.7%)
p e rfo rm an c es o f little-k n o w n works 16 (57.1%)
p erfo rm an ces o f new works 18 (64.3%)
124. The Gregg Smith Singers concerts I have attended have had a positive
effect upon
my enjoym ent o f m usic 12 (42.9%)
my m usic-m aking 10 (35.7%)
my c a re e r 8 (28.6%)
o th e r 2 (7.1%)
n o t ap p lica b le 5 (17.9%)
APPENDIX D
FREE RESPONSES TO OPEN-ENDED SURVEY ITEMS
41. List any form er Robert Shaw Chorale members o f whom you are aware
that are still active in any capacity with professional choirs. Please cite the
choir, i f known.
Ql: Maurice Casey-Cantari Singers of Columbus (Ohio)
03: Jay Stenger, Shepherd College, West Virginia

Barbara Stenger, Shepherd College, West Virginia
Q6: I know I have met many, yet I’m unsure or don’t remember
their names.
Q15: Jacqui Pierce, NYC
Q19: Maurice Casey-Cantari, Columbus, Ohio
Q24: none
026: Doralene Davis, soprano soloist, Boston area
Q29: Raymond Keast
42. Please com ment upon any ways in which your choral work has been
influenced by the Robert Shaw Chorale which have n o t been previously cited
in this questionnaire.
Ql: A pioneer in creating opportunities for professional singer, &

inspirational in that regard-(R.S.C. not a musical role model)
Q2: My contact with Robert Shaw was enhanced during my tenure as

a member of the choral panel of the NEA for three years.
Wendell Whalum made this relationship special.
03: The joy & love of singing which permeates everything Shaw
does-m y professional “idol”
Q6: I was profoundly influenced by an “observation” workshop of

the B Minor Mass with the Atlanta group (‘82? ‘837). It has since
then become a work, that upon retrospect, that I couldn’t live
without as a conductor. It played an enormous role in my
217
with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
218
development as a musician, both the work itself and Shaw’s

exacting performance of it.
Q7: It’s hard for me to separate the Robert Shaw Chorale from Shaw
and his more recent workshops. I’m not that familiar with the
Chorale. I am. strongly influenced by Shaw himself and his
teaching.
02 I never knew this group so can’t comment.
Oil: Since my training and experience is largely European, I have

little to offer you on the question of these gentlemen.
Q12: I was 16 when I sang in the USC National Workshop Chorale (I

was the youngest in the choir of 100). I had been in awe of
conductors and he was the 1st famous conductor I ever saw up
close. The entire experience was fantastic-he showed a
“hum an” side and, although under incredible pressurre to put
together 2 major works in only 2 weeks, he brought warmth &
hum or to the rehearsals, as well as perfectionism I had never
encountered before.
QJ5: extra-musical, i.e., humanity that Shaw brings to the music.
019: The model of his professional choir as being an arena where

gifted, proficient singers are being paid commensurate with
professional instrumentalists, actors, dancers.
021: arranging—influenced my composing
022: Listening to recordings as a child helped influence my love of

choral literature.
(24: In the beginning of my training I was very influenced by h im -

Choral sound and repertoire since then has changed greatly but
he has changed very little. Ex: his performances or Baroque
works.
(25: [I have] prepared [a professional chorus] on several occasions for

Robert Shaw’s appearances as guest conductor, and was able to
observe him closely.
026: There are not any.

(27: My contact with Robert Shaw came during the 1966 & 67
Meadowbrook festivals. I was a young, aspiring conductor
singing in the festival adult chorus and taking the conducting
and other seminars as well as vocal training. His influence was
more of a religious nature than of a musical nature. I became
converted to the idea that I could lead music. His charisma, his
obvious devotion to the music, and his love affair with the
composers, had a profound influence on me and, I must say, still
219
does. But, and this is a point I want to stress, not as a “choral”

musician. In fact, I don’t think there is any such thing.
One of my problems with your survey is that it asks a lot of
questions for which not only do I not think there are any good
answers, but which are misleading as questions. Anyone who
considers “choral tone” an apprehendible [sic] object has missed
the point of singing. There is, really, no large number of
approaches to intonation. What is a philosophy of rhythmic
vitality. That seems rather like sexual vitality. Can one have too
much? Is less rather than more better? I’m afraid I really don’t
understand the questions and I’m not sure Mr. Shaw would either.
What I got from him, besides the religious awakening
described above, was a respect for the music itself as opposed to
anything that I, as an individual musician, might bring to it.
(Shaw is not the only influence here, but it is the only one listed
in your survey.) If Shaw and I were to talk about choruses, we
would agree on points and disagree on others, but, I hope, we
would respect each other’s approach because they are based, it
seems to me, on the idea of recreating as closely as we can
conceive of it what we think was in the composer’s mind when
the music was written.
Even more to the point, I don’t think either of us sees
choruses as an essentially separable artifact of musical
production. Choruses, orchestras, instrumental ensembles, vocal
ensembles, and mixed ensembles are all alike in being means to
the end of producing music and all are treated, to a large extent,
the same way. We look for the appropriate means to recreate
whatever piece of music we have in mind, we try to find the most
appropriate talent, and then to faithfully follow the intentions of
the composer to the best of our ability. What happens in that
pursuit determines the “choral tone,” the “string sound,” the
“blend and balance” and so on. This devotion to the composer and
his or her music, regardless of the medium of its performance, is
what I got from Shaw. I watched him rehearse choirs and
orchestras. His approach is different from many, but one that
merits attention. His is not a technical approach, but almost a
philosophical one. This does not address whether or not he is a
technical master. In many areas I am sure he has no equal. It
only means that each of us must solve the technical problems in
our own way. The overall philosophy is what is important.
Another thing I acquired was a number of physical
gestures which took me a number of years to cast off. Shaw is
very beautiful and moving to watch and it is tempting for young
conductors to attem pt to imitate him. It is a mistake to do so, and it
was a hard mistake to overcome. I expect this influence is more
widespread than most of his adherents would like to admit. Just as
we see Bernstein or Ozawa gestures in a lot of young conductors
who have gone through the Tanglewood experience, so there are
many out there lifting their shoulders, cocking their heads, and
do all the other little things Shaw does because they work for
him. They are not transferable.
I really don’t wish to be rude with this reply. I expect your
dissertation will go fine without my help. I know getting a
doctorate is a trying experience and anything to make it easier is,
220
I suppose, ok. It is just that I feel rather strongly that there are
serious underlying problems with your premise, and, if there
aren’t, there are serious problems with the community that you
are addressing. If others routinely think in the terms your
survey uses, then they are missing the point of a lot of music and
music making. Of course, I can’t speak about the influence of the
Shaw organization, or of being a member of the Chorale, or any
of that. I didn’t have that experience. It is just that every time
choral music is singled out, it is belittled. Every time we look for
influences among great men or women, we usually focus on
trivialities and miss their real contribution. Finally, I object to
any attem pt to quantify influence, feelings, understanding.
So, I guess, as I always have, I dislike surveys, doubt their
value, and hope they will go away. Yours is the first I have
answered in any way in years. I answered it at all because 1
think there is, somewhere within it, something of value. These
men have had an influence on music in America, not entirely for
good. I think that could be explored, but not in the way you have
gone about it.
Q28: Perhaps I am too young (50) to have worked first hand with the
Chorale. I have, however, attended numerous workshops
(Meadowbrook & Westminster as well as Carnegie Hall Brahms’
Requiem). Shaw has on many occasions let me borrow his scores
overnight so I could study them and transfer his meticulous
markings into my score. Further, I prepared a choir and
orchestra which Shaw conducted in a benefit concert.
83. List any former Roger Wagner Chorale members o f whom you are aware
choir, i f known.
Q2: Salli Terri

Paul Salamunovich -- LA Master Chorale
Cg: Paul Hill of Paul Hill Chorale
Q6c I have used several singers from his group. John Mack Ousley
(who is from NY but sometimes went with Roger on tour) sang
several seasons with us.
QlCk Paul Salamunovich - LAMC

Doralene Davis - Philadelphia Singers
Qll: Howard Sutherland (tenor) - Board member of the St. Louis
Chamber Chorus.
Q12: Tons! too many to name. Maybe 50 people singing professionally.
Q18: Pamela Bertin — Desert Chorale
221
019: Gregg Smith

Paul Hill
Paul Salamunovich
Cg4: Cindy Richards -- choral contractor for Pro Arte & Musica Sacra.
I have one singer who sang in the Chorale.
Q25: Paul Hill - Paul Hill Chorale
84. Please comment upon any ways in which your choral work has been
influenced by the Roger Wagner Chorale which have n ot been previously
cited in this questionnaire.
Cg: As a member of Roger’s Boychoir at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church,

Los Angeles, his knowledge of French choral music and
Gregorian chant was awesome. He was a fabulous organist also.
Cg: marvelous stage presence -- comfortable, full-voice singing. [I

have had little opportunity to attend Wagner Chorale concerts],
but [have] loved recordings! I have worked with several
colleagues of Roger Wagner
Cg; I sang in a Durefle concert he conducted for a Chorus America

conference in *85(?). I was very moved.
C&. I never knew this group either.
Q10: vitality-getting music “off the page”
QJ2: I’m certain if it hadn’t been for his work to achieve choral
excellence, I could not be in the position I’m in now, as a
professional choral director.
019: The intensity of commitment to the profession of choral singing.

The elimination of the chasm which often separates the solo
singer from the ensemble singer (e.g., Carol Neblett, Marilyn
Horne, Doralene Davis).
Q£4: No. He is one of the most distasteful men I know.
(g& None
125. List any form er Gregg Smith Singers members o f whom you are aware
choir, i f known.
Q& I have used 10-15 singers from his group in the past 5 years
alone. At the moment, Linda Eckard and Michael Reed are in my
group. Linda still sings with Gregg, and Michael sang with Gregg
for 2 years.
222
Q1& Gina Skaggs — Desert Chorale
QJ.9: Sam Hutcheson

William Cruse
024: Several have sung for me.
026: Pamela Warrick Smith
126. Please com m ent upon any ways in which yo u r choral work has been
influenced by the Gregg Smith Singers which have not been previously cited
in this questionnaire.
QJ: innovative voice placement & contem porary music
03: He is a grand conducting teacher in his ability to demonstrate

physical ease & grace & simplifying m odem works
07: programming ideas
09: Gregg Smith’s Vox Boxes of American Music have been very
im portant to me over the years in planning my programs of
American music. In addition, he has personally directed me to
some wonderful pieces over the years when I asked him for
advice.
012: As a conductor of only modem works including U. S. and world

premieres, his influence on me has been tremendous.
019: The Smith Singers have had a positive effect on my appreciation

of new, unusual repertoire. Gregg is a zealot for professional
choirs: for their being recognized, respected & paid, all of this
with much personal & fiscal sacrifice. He, almost single-handed,
has influenced contemporary composers to write for the choral
idiom rather than ignore it.
022: Smith Singers concerts attended have given me ideas for my

chorus
025: Have only heard the Gregg Smith singers in one concert and only
own one recording so I feel unqualified to answer this section
(chapter 3),
026: new literature, American composers.
Q2& 1) His enthusiasm and support for living composers

2) His ideas regarding music and space
223
127. The m ost positive aspect about the professional choir phenomenon in
America is . . .
Ql: growth in past twenty years.
Cg: its ability to maintain high standards & still be accessible to

singers and audiences.
Cg: its growth and recognition.
C& the encouragement of first rate musical skills to accomodate these

choirs. Also, a) a standard of excellence that avocational choirs
can strive for. b) the recognition of a singer as a professional
m usician.
Q7: Chorus America—the support & information it & its members give
to new groups.
Q£fc that it is growing despite economic hard times. I almost think the
most positive “thing” is Chorus America, which is really helping
people to network; learn from each other and keep the faith.
Q1& it is alive in many cities.
Oil: that there are so many musicians wanting to strive to build

choruses from scratch, and daring to dream that they will
succeed.
Q12: more recognition as being a serious art form and not only for
church music.
Q13: a renaissance of choral music.
QJ4: the num ber of regional choruses they help develop.
Q15: choral singers’ craft is respected & paid for.
QJ6: repertoire can be rehearsed & performed which might not

otherwise be done—by another or volunteer choir.
QJ.7: that currently it is opening up to sounds & styles growing out of

the historical performance movement.
QJ& that it is primarily based on the constituency of a limited

geographical areas, rather than the once-over-lightly of
touring. Residence-based choirs will lead the way in changing
America’s perceptions vis-a-vis choral music.
QJ9: professionally trained singers have an arena in which they can

make at least a portion of their livelihood. Role models in
rehearsal responsibilities, versatility of singing/styles, and in
complete musicality for volunteer/am ateur ensembles.
224
Q20: the number and quality, rate of growth.
Q21: career goals for professional singers.
Q23: increasing number of professional choirs.
024: it has brought up the level of choral standards for performance.
025: I really don’t think it is a “phenomenon.” In my opinion there

aren’t enough professional choirs or audiences. There are,
however, a great many recordings being published offering the
opportunity to educate and promote choral singing.
026: The professional choir has shown that there is a difference

between choirs in their singers’ attitude toward performing. The
level is so much higher.
Q2& that singers and choral repertoire are gaining in professional

stature.
029: standard of performance.
128. Problems which m ust be addressed among professional choirs

in clu d e. . .
Ql: quality of performance, funding
02: (a) proper funding

(b) educating the American people to understand the function of
professional choirs in our society
(c) to educate university, college, and conservatory students in
preparing for a career in professional choirs
03: not only funding (of course) but opportunities to perform!!
05'- pay and working conditions.
06: funding, of course. Also, is music education in the U. S. providing

the level of musicianship we need from a singer?
Q7: how to get the public to respect and love professional choral
music the way they do symphonic music.
09: - lack of government support compared to Canada & European

choirs; therefore constant money worries - lack of cultural
s u p p o rt-schools. families don’t value “singing” so we don’t have
so many well-trained singers, sight readers, stong natural voices-
-radio stations don’t play choral music, etc.
010: $$$$$$$$$$$
225
Oil: adopting a rigor to repertoire selection so as to enlist the support

of instrumentalists to recognize choral music as an equivalent
facet of performance, & not to be dismissed as a charming
deversion.
QJ2: better musicianship must be required. Professional

instrumentalists are light years beyond singers in musicianship
and overall professionalism (attitude).
013: fundraising, establishing a status of importance in the local

community, establishing payment standards & guidelines for
professional choirs—just being paid doesn’t make me
professional.
014: funding, audience awareness, and government support.
015: artistic quality.

“packaging” the product—’’staging.”
016: to distinguish them from “singing societies;” i.e., to equate them

more fully with a regional professional orchestra, ballet, opera,
etc., rather than with inferior organizations.
017: keeping the art alive by reaching and inspiring coming
generations of potential singers and audience members.
Q1& poor musical leadership & standards.
019: 1) Education of the audience to be more discriminative in

listening to choral music.
2) Visibility & recognition of the choral idiom as a musical
expression rather than a sociological or self-enrichment
experience.
CgCk persuading the public that singers need to be paid if we are going
to see high quality in choral performance.
(21: recognition, funding
023: 1) Innovative programming

2) Funding
3) Audience development.
(24: funding
(25: Budgetary constraints

Decrease over the past years in music training and appreciation
in the educational system
Lack of audiences
Q2& to be recognized as a professional being not just a singer.
(28: funding, funding, & funding.
226
Q29: advocacy. Reason to pay persons to sing in a choir.
129. The m ost distinctive aspect o f the choir I conduct is . . .
Ql: purity of sound, blend, balance & precision.
Q2‘ its unique repertory--the choral music of African-Americans

(i.e., spirituals, Gospels, African and African/American folk
songs, Black theatre)
Q3: its ability to sing many styles (Baroque to Broadway) with

credibility.
05: its dedication and conscientiousness.
06: We are half Soviet emigre, and we sing a lot of Russian

repertoire. Although we also do other stuff, this is what is most
in demand right now. So~you go where you get paid!
Q7: unity of spirit, and a deep friendship among the members blend
& ensemble
Q& rep erto ire
Qffc probably our dedication to our wonderful local composers.
QJ0: its expressive qualities -- its involvement with the meaning of

the texts.
011: its diverse and exclusively a cappella repertoire.
012 as mentioned before, we are a new-music choir, the only one in

Southern California (maybe all of CA).
013: diversity of literature, reaching out to the audience through the

music, making it personal—not just musically perfect.
014: choral tone, energy and programming.
015: versatility & breadth of repertoire. We are the only fully

professional salaried chorus in the U. S.
016: musical intelligence and beauty of tone.
017: our sound. We sing senza vibrato and place much emphasis on
perfect intonation and blend, while still achieving a vigorous,
healthy tone.
Q1& the breadth of literature, the high level of musical (as opposed to
vocal) skills of my singers, as compared to virtually any
ensemble, our ability to illumine the text.
227
QJ.9: its versatility in repertoire, its musicality and the skills of the
members.
CgQ their enthusiasm, growth as musicians and their desire to excell.
(21: flexibility; lightness of tone; melodic vitality.
(22: the programming, the blend of voices
C23: diverse repertoire
C25: their ability to adapt tonal quality to suit the style of the
particular music they are performing.
(26: variety of choral literature, tone and energy.
<2& 1) all singers in an area without a great choral tradition are paid
and
2) the variety of musical styles is quite exceptional (from
Renaissance to Avant garde)
O ther com m ents
<2: Please feel free to call me if you wish—I do a lot of theatre work &
find that a new “venue” for choruses.
I just returned from the Shaw workshop in N. Y.
I can’t answer this, but believe Gregg [Smith] would be very
helpful to former members.
Have attended workshops [where Gregg Smith has been serving
as clinician] & loved working [with him].
Q& I’m sorry-[section III] not applicable to me since I have little

knowledge of [Shaw Chorale]. I only know Shaw from the Atlanta
chorus and other workshops.
This section [IX] not applicable since 1 am not at all familiar with
the [Wagner] group. I have sung under Wagner in a workshop
choir only.
Swell idea! Please, please, let me know of your results. I’m so glad
someone will finally give these guys proof of the recognition
they deserve (in this area of professional influence), because all
of us are very, very, grateful.
Q7: Please send me a copy of the results.
QJfc My very best wishes for your project. I would be interested in

the results. Sorry that I can not give you honest, useful data in
these categories regarding the 3 ensembles. #127, 128 would
require 30 pages to give a valid perspective . . . and we are now
on t o u r . . .
228
Q&. My only experience [with Shaw] is in France (I was an auditor at

Souillac in 1989) & I saw people were scared--not what I try to
bring out in singers.
I was in a Saranac Lake APVE workshop with [Wagner],
When they [the Gregg Smith Singers] are near [in concert] I
always go.
[Gregg Smith] introduced me to many, many, American works.
Sorry' I can’t speak from much experience with Wagner or Shaw-
-I’d like to think I’m too young to have heard them, but I’m
almost 45 so I need another excuse. I was growing up in Iowa &
head a lot of the”Lutheran choir sound” a la St. Olaf’s etc.
(Although my choirs sound more like British choirs-m inim al
vibrato--than Lutheran) Good Luck!
Oil: I have found an amazing attitude in the USA towards the building
of a library: photocopying and repetition are “de regeur,” &
boards in particular need to be more awarre of their legal
responsibility. I am lucky and am allowed considerable freedom
to select & purchase.
012: I am constantly trying to raise the level of professionalism in my

group. I think singers need to take their art more seriously, and
with Gregg Smith, Wagner & Shaw as models, we can see the way
toward that goal more easily. The only question I have is (for the
truly professional choristers): Where’s the money to pay
them??? Good luck!
013: Why were only these 3. ensembles chosen. Chanticleer is the only
full-time professional vocal ensemble in this country. Why
weren’t they included or the Dale Warland Singers?
QJ4: Other choirs & conductors have had much stronger impact on
me-George Lynn & the Lynn Singers or Dale Warland & the
Warland Singers are two examples. I think Shaw & Wagner spoke
to another generation & were very important to choral
development; their influence now is not so great. Others such as
Smith & Korn have had a positive influence on the organization
of choirs through the founding of Chorus America etc. I feel
Warland is our greatest choral musician at this time & try to
model his program.
015: I hope you are in contact with Chorus America in Philadelphia,

Ken Gamer (executive director) (215) 563-2430. You may call me
if you wish.
016: [I sang] with his [Shaw’s] summer choir at Princeton, 1978-

1988.Shaw doesn’t believe in them [professional choirs] anymore.
Good luck & keep me posted. I believe in this.
018: The poor musical training of singers is holding the industry

back! Too much rehearsal time is spent on ill-educated singers.
229
019: Many questions/concerns are not addressed, but at least this is an

im portant “first step.” Shaw’s & Wagner’s groups are now
essentially passe—Current groups you should use as models would
include the Dale Warland Singers, Philadelphia Singers, Musica
Sacra, Music of the Baroque for today’s choral environment.
022: My chorus is paid AGMA rates. I am disturbed that all choruses

that call themselves professional do not follow union rules.
Singers need to be treated more seriously.
023: More qualified administrators.
024: The European professional choirs have had more influence on

our choirs in the last 20 years than any American choirs. They
have expanded our repertoire & refined our sound &
m usicianship.
025: At the end of each group’s questions you asked for a list of
members who are still active in any capacity with professional
choirs. In this respect I think you should have also included
participation in the educational system since each of these
groups has turned out disciples who have continued on in the
extremely important area of teaching.
026: The Shaw Chorale when I first heard them over 30 years ago
thrilled me ever so much as a young singer. Other choirs singing
Bach just have not been the same.
027: For me, Roger Wagner and Gregg Smith have been no influence.
Robert Shaw was, admittedly, a strong influence, but the
questions in the survey are not designed to elicit that
inform ation.
Q2& Professional choirs and the work of the late Michael Korn are
now well established in the form of Chorus America, whose
accomplishments are monumental for the professional choral
musician. Good luck.
APPENDIX E
THE THIRTEEN REAL-INFLUENCE ITEMS FROM THE SURVEY,

INCLUDING RESPONSE VALUES FOR COMPUTING RI-SCORES
Item #
1, 43, 85. I have listened to recordings of the [RSC, RWC, GSS].1
Response RI-Score value

1 (never) 0
2 (sometimes) 2
3 (often) 3
4 (always) 4
8 (N/A) 0
4,46, 88. I attended concerts by the [RSC, RWC, GSS].

1 (never) 0
2 (sometimes) 2
3 (often) 3
4 (always) 4
8 (N/A) 0
6,48, 90. In my rehearsal procedures, I use choral techniques that

[RS, RW, GS] used with [his organization].

1 (never) 0
2 (sometimes) 2
3 (often) 3
4 (always) 4
8 (N/A) 0
^The abbreviations RSC, RWC, and GSS are used in this appendix rather
than write out the names of the Shaw Chorale, Wagner Chorale, and Smith
Singers each time. This, together with the 3 item numbers in the left column
is done in order to acknowledge that the item appeared in the survey 3 times,
once for each group.
230
231
7,49,91. The professional choir I conduct models its business operation

after the [RSC, RWC, GSS].
Eesponse RI-Score value

1 (never) 0
2 (sometimes) 2
3 (often) 3
4 (always) 4
8 (N/A) 0
8, 50, 92. I observed, or “sat in on,” rehearsals of the [RSC, RWC, GSS].

1 (never) 0
2 (sometimes) 2
3 (often) 3
4 (always) 4
8 (N/A) 0
29,71,113. The experience of having sung in the [RSC, RWC, GSS].
Response Rl-Score value

1 (no importance) 0
2 (minimal importance) 2
3 (important) 3
4 (very important) 4
5 (extremely important) 5
8 (N/A) 0
30, 72,114. Hearing the [RSC, RWC, GSS] in concert(s).

1 (no importance) 0
3 (important) 3
8 (N/A) 0
232
31,73,115. Experiencing an apprenticeship (e.g. assistant conductor,
administrator, etc.) relationship to [RS, RW, GS] with the
[RSC, RWC, GSS].

1 (no importance)
3 (important) 3
8 (N/A) 0
answers. 2
33,75,117. Which of the following best describes your relationship with

[RS, RW, GS] ?

do not know him 0
have met him 1
casual acquaintance 2
personal friend 3
m entor/student relationship 4
colleague 3
other^_________________ ?
34, 76,118. Indicate the number of workshops an d /o r festivals you have

participated in under [RS, RW, GS] during his tenure with the
[RSC, RWC, GSS].
Response RI-Scoi
0 0
1-3 1
4 -6 2
7-10 3
m o re th a n 1 0 4
2 In the event more than one response was indicated, the response
with the highest Rl-score value was chosen when figuring the Rl-score.
^Depending on the relationship specified by the respondent for other,

an Rl-score value of up to 5 was assigned here.
233
35,77,119. Did the [RSC, RWC, GSS] participate in any of the above
festival/workshops? yes no If yes, approximate the
num ber.4

No 0
1-3 1
4-6 2
all 3
36,78,120. How many years were you a member of the [RSC, RWC, GSS] ?

0 0
1-3 1
4-5 2
6-8 3
9-10 4
11-15 5
m o re th a n 15 6
37, 79,121. Approximately how many recordings do you own of the [RSC,
RWC, GSS] ?

0 0
1-5 1
6-10 2
11-15 3
16-19 4
20 or more 5
4 A no response carried the Rl-score value of 0. Rl-scores for yes

responses were assigned based on the number of workshops indicated in the
choices that follow.
APPENDIX F
TABLE 42
LISTING AND COMPARISON OF RI-SCORES
----------------------Rl-Scores for-----------------
Respondent # Shaw Chorale Wagner Chorale Smith Singers
0.1 14 10 8
Q.2 17 25 18
Q.3 12 8 16
Q. 5a 25 11 16
0 .6 4 5 45
0.7 7 4 3
0.8 6 9 6
09 9 2 15
0.10 13 34 16
0.11 2 0 3
0.12 9 22 9
0.13 2 0 4
0.14 6 7 11
0.15 6 1 11
O
a ie 24 L. 15
on 4 0 0
234
235
----------------------Rl-Scores for------------------
Respondent # Shaw Chorale Wagner Chorale Smith Singers
Q.18 12 8 14
0.19 14 13 24
Q20 10 15 3
021 26 2 10
022 13 3 8
023 6 6 9
024 11 3 7
025 11 46 3
026 19 8 15
027 2 0 0
028 21 10 15
029 27 4 9
Total 332 258 313
Average 11.9 9.2 11.2
a There was no Respondent #0.4. This oddity is due to the fact that one survey
was discovered to be unusable only after the process of recording the data had
begun.
APPENDIX G
PROFESSIONAL CHOIRS CURRENTLY

ACTIVE IN THE UNITED STATES1
Amor A rtis New York, New York; Johannes Somary, conductor
Basically Bach Chicago, Illinois; Daniel V. Robinson, conductor; [x]2
Bel Canto Singers Allentown, Pennsylvania; George Boyer, musical

director
Bel Canto Singers o f York York, Pennsylvania; Larry J. Carey,

conductor; [x]
C antari Singers o f Columbus Columbus, Ohio; Maurice Casey,

conductor; [x]
C antata Academy Ferndale, Michigan; Frederick Bellinger, artistic

director; [x]
C ham ber Choir of G rand Rapids Grand Rapids, Michigan;

Larry G. Biser, conductor; [x]
C h an ticleer San Francisco, California; Louis Botto, artistic director; [x]
C horal A rts Society of C hattanooga Chattanooga, Tennessee;

John Hamm, musical director; [x]
Choral Cross-Ties Portland, Oregon; Bruce Browne, conductor
1In following the practice of this paper, this listing does not include
choirs that are semi-professional (see Definition of Terms. Chapter 1). Chorus
America (2111 Sansom St., Philadelphia, PA 19103) maintains up-to-date
records of virtually all choruses active in this country that either designate
themselves “professional” or meet certain criteria set forth by Chorus
America for the purpose of designating groups as such. As has been discussed,
interpretations of the term “professional choir” vary (even for Chorus
America); therefore many semi-professional groups would be included on
such a list.
^This symbol ( [x] ) indicates input by the conductor into this project.
Basically Bach, while active during the research phase of this effort, has
apparently ceased operation as a professional chorus.
236
237
Cleveland Choral Artists Cleveland, Ohio; Paul D. McGahie, conductor
Concert A rtists of Baltimore Baltimore, Maryland; Edward Polochick,

conductor
C onnecticut Choral A rtists (CONCORA) New Britain, Connecticut;

Richard Coffey,
artistic director; [x]
The R obert Dale Chorale Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania;
Robert Dale Herrema, conductor; [x]
The D esert Chorale Santa Fe, New Mexico;

Lawrence Bandfield, conductor; [x]
El Paso Pro Musica El Paso, Texas; Bruce Nehring, artistic director
eXindigo! Woodland Hills, California; Laurie Gurman, conductor; [x]
The W illiam Ferris Chorale Chicago, Illinois;

William Ferris, music director
Gloria Musicae Sarasota, Florida; David Brunner, conductor
Goodman Cham ber Choir New York, New York;

Andrea Goodman, conductor; [x]
H andel a n d H aydn Society Boston, Massachusetts;
Christopher Hogwood, artistic director
The H arrisburg Singers Harrisburg, Pennsylvania;
Ronald Sider, conductor
His M ajestie’s Clerkes Evanston, Illinois;

Anne Heider, artistic director; [x]
The James Chorale Chicago, Illinois; James A. Rogner, music director

The L ancaster Chorale Lancaster, Ohio;
Robert Trocchia, music director; [x]
The Lira Singers Chicago, Illinois; Lucy J. Ding, conductor; [x]
Los Angeles M aster C horale Los Angeles, California;

Paul Salamunovich, conductor; [x]
A lbert McNeil Ju b ilee Singers Hermosa Beach, California;
Albert McNeil, director; [x]
M elodious Accord New York, New York; Alice Parker, conductor; [x]
Music of th e Baroque Chicago, Illinois; Thomas Wikman, music director
Musica Sacra New York, New York; Richard Westenburg, conductor
238
M usikanten Bethesda, Maryland; Kerry Krebill, conductor; [x]
N ational L utheran Choir Minneapolis, Minnesota;

Larry Fleming, conductor; [x]
New Classic Singers Glen Ellyn, Illinois; Lee R. Kesselman, music director
The New York C oncert Singers New York, New York;

Judith Clurman, conductor; [x]
The New York V irtuoso Singers New York, New York;
Harold Rosenbaum, conductor
Nova Singers Galesburg, Illinois; Laura Lane, conductor; [x]
The O rpheon Chorale New York, New York; Dino Anagnost, conductor
R obert Page Singers Lakewood, Ohio; Robert Page, conductor; [x]
The P h ila d e lp h ia Singers Philadelphia, Pennsylvania;

David Hayes, acting director
P hoenix Bach Choir Phoenix, Arizona; Jon Washburn, artistic director
P rinceton Pro Musica Princeton, New Jersey; Frances Slade, conductor
Pro A rte Singers o f C onnecticut Stamford, Connecticut;

Arthur Sjogren, artistic director; [x]
R ic-C harles C horal Ensem ble Plainfield, New Jersey;

Charles E. Evans, music director
St. Louis Cham ber Chorus St. Louis, Missouri;

Philip Barnes, music director; [x]
St. Thom as Choir New York, New York; Gerre Hancock, conductor; [x]
San F ran cisco C ham ber Singers San Francisco, California;

Robert Geary, director
San Francisco Choral A rtists San Francisco, California;
Ralph Hooper, conductor
Sarum Singers Paioli, Pennsylvania; Martha N. Johnson, director; [x]
Soli Deo G loria C antorum Omaha, Nebraska;

Almeda Berkey, artistic director
VOICES Pennington, New Jersey; Lynne Ransom, music director

The Dale W arland Singers Minneapolis, Minnesota;
Dale Warland, conductor
W ashington Bach Consort Washington, DC; Reilly Lewis, conductor
239
The W ashington Singers Washington, DC; Paul Hill, conductor; [x]

W ashington Vocal A rtists Chevy Chase, Maryland;
Rosemary Dyer, director; [x]3
3The Washington Vocal Artists, while active during the research

phase of this project, have apparently ceased operation as a professional
chorus.
APPENDIX H
DISCOGRAPHY OF THE ROBERT SHAW CHORALE1
1242
Poulenc, Francis. Mass in G. RCA Victor, DM/WDM 1409,1949.
1252
Bach, Johann Sebastian. Christ lag in Totesbanden (Cantata no. 4). With RCA
Victor Orchestra. RCA Victor, DM 1096,1950.
_________Passion according to St. John. With Collegiate Chorale, RCA Victor

Orchestra. RCA Victor, LM 6103, WDM 1587, LVT 3000,1950.
Brahms, Johannes. Alto Rhapsody, op. 53. Marian Anderson, Men of the
Robert Shaw Chorale, RCA Victor Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, conductor. RCA
Victor, LM 1146,1950.
Cherubini, Luigi. Requiem Mass in C Minor. With NBC Symphony Orchestra,

Arturo Toscanini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM 2000,1950.
Debussy, Claude. Sirenes. Women of the Robert Shaw Chorale, Leopold

Stokowski and his orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, conductor. RCA Victor,
WDM 1560, LM 1154,1950.
Gems from Sigmund Romberg Shows, Vols. 4 and 5. Sigmund Romberg,

conductor. RCA Victor, LM 93, DM/WDM 1529, WDM 1600,LM 138,1950.
Gershwin, George. Porgy and Bess (excerpts). Robert Russell Bennett,

conductor. RCA Victor, DM/WDM 1496, LM 1124, 1950.
Great Sacred Choruses. RCA Victor, DM/WDM 1478, LM 1117, 1950.
Hymns o f Thanksgiving. With Hugh Porter, organ. RCA Victor, WDM 1559, LM
108,1950.
Margaret Truman-American Songs. With Margaret Truman, RCA Victor

Orchestra. RCA Victor, DM/WDM 1445, LM 57,1950.
iAll recordings are by the Robert Shaw Chorale with Robert Shaw
conducting, unless otherwise indicated.
240
241
Poulenc, Francis. Mass in G; Benjamin Britten. Ceremony o f Carols. RCA

Victor, LM 1088, DM 1409,1950.
Strauss, Johann. Die Fledermaus (excerpts). With RCA Victor Orchestra, Fritz
Reiner, conductor. RCA Victor, LM/VLM 1114, 1950.
Sweet and Low. With Shirlee Emmons, soprano, Raymond Keast, baritone,
Raymond Viola, piano, Frank Glazer, piano. RCA Victor, LM 1800, LM 96,
WDM 1528,1950.
A Treasury o f Easter Songs. With Collegiate Chorale. RCA Victor, WDM 1623, LM
1201.1950.
Verdi, Giuseppe. Falstaff. With NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini,

conductor. RCA Victor, LM 6111,1950.
_________ Rigoletto. With Jan Peerce, tenor, Renato Cellini, conductor. RCA
Victor, LM/VLM 6021, 1950.
_________ Highlights from Rigoletto. With Jan Peerce, tenor. DM 1414, LM

1104.1950.
1251
Bizet, Georges. Carmen. With RCA Victor Orchestra, Fritz Reiner, conductor.
RCA Victor, LM 6102, AVM 3-0670,1951.
Joy to the World. RCA Victor, LM 1112, DM 1007, CAL 448,1951, (1964).
Milanov Sings. With RCA Victor Orchestra, Renato Cellini, conductor. RCA
Victor, LM 1777,1951.
Verdi, Giuseppe. Manzoni Requiem. With NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo

Toscanini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM 6018, 1951.
1952
Beethoven, Ludwig von. Ninth Symphony. With NBC Symphony Orchestra,

Arturo Toscanini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM 6900, 1952.
Christmas Hymns and Carols, Vol. 2. RCA Victor, DM/LM/WDM 1711, ERA 225,
ERA 226,1952.
Gluck, Christoph Willibald Von. Orfeo ed Euridice, Act 2. With NBC Orchestra,
Arturo Toscanini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM 1850, LVT 1041, 1952.
Mozart, Wolfgang A. Requiem Mass in D Minor, K. 626. With Yvonne

Ciannella, soprano, Doris Okerson, contralto, Walter Carringer, tenor,
Raymond Keast, baritone, Millard Neiger, solo trombone, RCA Victor
Orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/WDM 1712,1952.
Verdi, Giuseppe. II Trovatore. Renato Cellini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM/VLM

6008, LM 7011, AVM 2-0699,1952.
242
m i
Bach, Johann Sebastian. Komm, Jesu, komm; Franz Schubert. Mass in G; and
Johannes Brahms. Der Abend, Nachtens and Zum Schluss. RCA Victor, LM
1784,1953.
Beethoven, Ludwig von. Missa solemnis. With NBC Symphony Orchestra,

Arturo Toscanini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM 6013, 1953.
Mascagni, Pietro. Cavalleria rusticana (excerpts); and Ruggero Leoncavallo. I

Pagliacci (excerpts). Renato Cellini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM 1828, 1953.
Verdi, Giuseppe. La Forza del destino (excerpts). With Renato Cellini and Jonel
Perlea, conductors. RCA Victor, LM1916, 1953.
1254
Bach Cantatas and Arias. With Bach Aria Group, William H. Scheide and Frank
Brieff, conductors. RCA Victor, LM 6023, 1954.
Boito, Arrigo. Mefistofele (Prologue); and Giuseppe Verdi. Quattro pezzi sacri
(no. 4) and Te Deum. With NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo Toscanini,
conductor. RCA Victor, LM 1849,1954.
Saint-Saens, Camille. Samson and Delilah (excerpts). With members of the

NBC Symphony Orchestra, Leopold Stokowski, conductor. RCA Victor, LM
1848,1954.
Verdi, Giuseppe. Un Ballo in maschera. With NBC Symphony Orchestra, Arturo

Toscanini, conductor. RCA Victor, LM 6112, 1954.
With Love from a Chorus. Men of the Robert Shaw Chorale. RCA Victor,
LM/ERB 1815, ERA 256, CC 40.
1255
My True Love Sings. RCA Victor, LM 1998,1956.
1251
Best Loved Sacred Songs, Vol. 1. RCA Victor, LPM 1765, VCM/VCS 7023, 1957.
Christmas Hymns and Carols, Vol. 1. RCA Victor, LM/LSC/ERA 2139, FTC 2026,
KCS 4048, CCS 86,1957.
Deep River and Other Spirituals. With Thomas Pyle, baritone, Paul Westbrook,
bass, John Wustman, piano. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2247, 1957.
A M ighty Fortress. With Thomas Dunn, organ. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2199, KCS
4032, ACS 107,1957.
243
ms
Bach, Johann Sebastian. Jesu, meine Freude and Christ lag in Todesbanden.
With RCA Victor Orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2273, 1958.
On Stage with Robert Shaw. With RCA Victor Orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC
2231, KCS 6009,1958.
Stephen Foster Song Book. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2295, 1958.
1252
A Chorus o f Love from the Men o f the Robert Shaw Chorale. Men of the Robert
Shaw Chorale. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2402, FTC 2013, KCS 4038,1959.
Mallotte, Albert Hay. The Lord’s Prayer; and Franz Schubert. Ave Maria. Men
of the Robert Shaw Chorale, Perry Cc-mo, Mitchell Ayres, orchestra
conductor. RCA Victor, #47-7650,1959.
Operatic Choruses. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2416, FTC 2072, KCS 4077,1959.
What Wondrous Love. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2403,1959.
mo.
Bach, Johann Sebastian. Mass in B Minor. With orchestra. RCA Victor,
LM/LSC 6157, I960.2
The Immortal Victor Herbert With orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2515, FTC
2086, KCS 4082,1960.
Sea Shanties. Men of the Robert Shaw Chorale. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2551, 1960.
1221
23 Glee Club Favorites. Men of the Robert Shaw Chorale. RCA Victor, LM/LSC
2598, FTC 2107,1961.
I’m Goin’ to Sing. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2580, 1961.
1222
This Is My Country. With RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra. RCA Victor,
LM/LSC 2662, FTC 2132, KCS 4090,1962.
Yours Is M y Heart Alone. With orchestra. RCA Victor VCM/VCS 7023, FTC 2140,
1962.
2This recording received a Grammy Award.
244
mi
Britten, Benjamin. Ceremony o f Carols, Rejoice in the Lamb, and Festival Te
Deum. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2759,1963.
The Many Moods o f Christmas. With RCA Victor Symphony Orchestra. RCA
Victor, LM/LSC 2684, FTC 2157.
The Robert Shaw Chorale “On Tour.” RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2676, 1963.
15M
Songs o f Faith and Inspiration. With orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2760,
1964.
Stravinsky, Igor. Sym phony o f Psalms; Francis Poulenc. Gloria. With RCA
Victor Orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2822.3
mi
Brahms, Johannes. Liebeslieder Waltzes (op. 52) and Neue Liebeslieder Waltzes
(op. 65). RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2864, 1965.
The Robert Shaw Chorale on Broadway. With orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC
2799, FTC 2202,1965.
Vivaldi, Antonio. Gloria and Chamber Mass: Kyrie; and J. S. Bach. Jesus,
Dearest Master. With orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2883, R8S 5040, 1965.
m &
Handel, George Frideric. Messiah. With orchestra. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 6175,
1966.
Sing to the Lord. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2942, 1966.
mi
Irish Folk Songs. RCA Victor, LM/LSC 2992, 1967.
iam
A Christmas Sing-in. Victrola, VIC 1509, 1970.4
3This recording received a Grammy Award.
4 Albums after 1967 represent re-releases by RCA Victor of earlier

recordings. The Robert Shaw Chorale ceased operations in 1967.
245
The American Family Album o f Favorite Christmas Music. With Robert Conant,
harpsichord, Robert Arnold, organ, Chorale Orchestra, Robert Shaw,
conductor, Boston Pops Orchestra, Arthur Fiedler, conductor. RCA Victor,
VCS 7060,1970.
mi
Handel, George Frideric. The Great Choruses from Handel’s Messiah. With
Florence Kopleff, contralto, Richard Lewis, tenor, Robert Conant,
harpsichord, Robert Arnold, organ, Chorale Orchestra. RCA Victor, LSC
3293,1972.
NOTE: Other recordings were released in the 45 rpm format, most being
abridged versions of the LP recordings listed here.
APPENDIX I
DISCOGRAPHY OF THE ROGER WAGNER CHORALE1
America the Beautiful. Toshiba EMI, Laitca, RW046, n.d.
Ave Maria. Toshiba EMI, NA,2 n.d.
Bach, Johann Sebastian. Cantatas #65 and #108. Allegro, NA, n.d.
_________ The St. Matthew Passion (The University o f California at Los

Angeles). Private Pressing, NA, n.d.
Barbershop Quartet. Layos, NA, n.d.
The Beauty o f Christmas. Salvation Army, NA, n.d.
Best o f the Roger Wagner Chorale. Capitol, P8682, n.d.
Best o f the Roger Wagner Chorale Christmas Carols. Capitol, SM2591, Laitca,
RW009, n.d.
Brahms, Johannes. A German Requiem (The University o f California at Los

Angeles). Private Pressing, NA, n.d.
_________Liebeslieder Waltzes and Folksongs. Capitol, P8176, n.d.

Capitol Home Album. Capitol, CSC5071-C, n.d.
Capitol Stereo Highlights. Capitol, SPRO-18467, n.d.
Capitol Wedding Album. Capitol, NA, n.d.

Camptown Races. Toshiba, NA, n.d.
Cherubini, Luigi. Requiem Mass in C Minor. Capitol, SP8570, n.d.
iAH recordings are by the Roger Wagner Chorale with Roger Wagner
2The designation “NA” within this discography is used to indicate that

the recording num ber (or album number) was not obtainable from the
recording company. The Roger Wagner Center for Choral Studies was also
unable to provide this information.
246
Chihara, Paul. Missa Carminum. Candide, 31101, n.d.
The Children at Christmas. Salvation Army, NA, n.d.
Christmas Songs. Layos, LL108, n.d.
A Christmas Festival. Angel, S36018, Laitca, RW010, n.d.

Christmas is Love. Salvation Army, NA, n.d.
The Christmas Story. Salvation Army, NA, n.d.
Echoes from a 16th Century Cathedral. Capitol, P-8460, Angel/EMI, S-36013, n.d.
Eight Fragments from Shelly. Spa Records, SPA36, n.d.
Encore. Capitol, CA8195, n.d.
Encore. Real Time Records, Laitca, RW028, n.d.

Familiar Catholic Hymns. Layos, LL102, n.d.
Faure, Gabriel. Requiem. Capitol, P8241, n.d.
________ Requiem. Capitol, SP8586, n.d.
_________Requiem. Toshiba EMI, NA, n.d.
_________Requiem. With Marie Gibson, soprano, Michel Roux, baritone,

Orchestre de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire De Paris. H. T.
Fitzsimons, F8051R, 1985.
Folk Songs o f the Frontier: Favorite Cowboy Songs. Capitol, P8332, Laitca,
RW033, n.d.
Folk Songs o f the New World. Capitol, P8324, n.d.
Folk Songs o f the Old World. Capitol, PBR8345, n.d.
Folk Songs o f the Old World: Volume 1. Capitol, P8367, n.d.
Folk Songs o f the Old World: Volume 2. Capitol, P8368, n.d.

Foreign Folk Songs. Layos, NA, n.d.
Foss, Lukas. Behold, I Build a House. Composer’s Recordings, CRI 123, n.d.
Gloria. Salvation Army, NA, n.d.
The Good Old Hymns. Capitol, SW1923, n.d.

Great Choral Music o f Christmas. Capitol, STBB-488, n.d.
Gregorian Chants. Layos, NA, n.d.
248
Gregorian Introits in Modes. Layos, LL111, n.d.
Herbert, Victor. Victor Herbert. Capitol, T1707, n.d.

Holst, Gustav. The Planets. Capitol, SP8389, n.d.
Holy, Holy, Holy: Music o f the Christian Faith. Capitol, SP8498, Laitca, RW033,
n.d.
Home on the Range. Seraphim, NA, n.d.
Home Sweet Home. Toshiba EMI, NA, n.d.
House o f the Lord: Songs o f Many Faiths. Capitol, SP8353, Laitca, RW005, n.d.
1 Dream ofjeannie: Stephen Foster/Folk Songs. East World, RW027, n.d.
Irish Songs. Layos, NA, n.d.
It Came upon a Midnight Clear. Capitol SW1760, n.d.
Joy to the World!. Capitol, C2 7 94688 2, n.d.
Joy to the World. Capitol, P8353, Laitca, RW006, n.d.
Lazarof, Henri. Conti. Composer’s Recordings, CRI 465, n.d.
The Magnificat. Angel, S-36012, n.d.
Monteverdi, Claudio. Madrigals for Five Voices: Book I (1587). Lyrichord,

LL 43, n.d.
Negro Spiritual: Roger Wagner and Salli Terri. With Salli Terri, soloist.
Capitol, P8600, n.d.
Non-Denominational Hymns. Layos, LL110, n.d.
The Old Folks at Home. Toshiba EMI, NA, n.d.
Opera Gala.3
Orff, Carl. Catulli Carmina. Angel, S36023, n.d.
Paint Your Wagon. MCA, NA, n.d.
Palestrina, Giovanni Pierluigi da. Missa Papae Marcelli. Capitol, P8126, Laitca,
RW042, n.d.
3 Neither the record label name nor the album number were available
for this recording, though it is suspected that the label is Real Time Records.
249
Peace. Salvation Army, NA, n.d..
Plaisir D’Amour: European and American Songs. Toshiba, Laitca, RW047, n.d.
Reflections. Angel EMI, CDM 7 63255 2, n.d.
Reflections: A Selection o f Old Favorites. Capitol, SP8491, Laitca, RW026, n.d.
Respighi, Ottorino. Laud to the Nativity. Capitol, SP8572, n.d.

Romberg, Sigmund. The Desert Song. Capitol, NA, n.d.
Salve Regina: Choral Music o f the Spanish New World 1550-1750. With
instrumental ensemble. Angel, S-36008, n.d.
Sea Chanties. Capitol, SP8462, Laitca, RW029, n.d.
Song o f Twilight Capitol, SP8543, n.d.
Songs o f Latin America. Capitol, P8408, n.d.
Songs o f Stephen Foster. Angel, S36071, n.d.

Songs o f Stephen Foster. Capitol, P8267, n.d.
Starlight Chorale: Great Opera Choruses. Capitol, SP8390, Laitca, RW018, n.d.
The Story o f Christmas. With Tennessee Ernie Ford, soloist. Capitol, ST1964, n.d.
Student Prince. Capitol, SW1841, n.d.
Texas Songs. Layos, LL109, n.d.
Thou Bethlehem. Salvation Army, NA, n.d.
To Catch a Christmas Star: Christmas with Roger Wagner. Delos, D/CD 3072,
1987.
Tour Concert (Spring 1982). Laitca, RW045, n.d.
Vaughan Williams, Ralph. Mass in G minor, and Johann Sebastian Bach.

Christ Lay in the Bonds o f Death (Cantata No. 4). With Concert Arts
Orchestra. Capitol, SP8535, Angel, S-36014, n.d.
Verdi, Giuseppe. Four Sacred Pieces. London, NA, n.d.
__________ Requiem. With North Arizona Symphony. Private Pressing, NA,

n.d.
Villa-Lobos, Heitor. Nonetto and Quatuor. Capitol (Lyrichord), P8191, 1953.
250
Virtuoso!. Capitol, P8431, Laitca, RW004, n.d.4
The Virtuoso Orchestra Conductor. WEI (Teldec), Laitca, RW001, n.d.

Vivaldi, Antonio. Gloria, and Flor Peeters. Entrata festiva. With Paris
Conservatoire Orchestra. Angel, S-36003, n.d.
Vive la France: Favorite Songs o f France. Capitol, SP8554, Laitca, RW022, n.d.
Voices o f the South: Old Songs and Spirituals. Capitol, SP 8519, Laitca, RW003,
n.d.
Walton, William. Belshazzar’s Feast With John Cameron, baritone, Royal

Philharmonic Orchestra. Capitol, SP8577, Angel, S-36015, n.d.
Warren, Elinor Remmick. Abram in Egypt. Composer’s Recordings, CRI 172,

n.d.
__________ Requiem. Private Pressing, NA, n.d.
Wright, Robert, and George Forrest. Kismet. Capitol, NA, n.d.
4This recording won a Grammy Award.
APPENDIX J
DISCOGRAPHY OF THE GREGG SMITH SINGERS1
Adolphe: Time as Breath. With Metropolitan Brass Quartet. Orion 82443, n.d.
American Chamber Operas: The Mighty Casey (Schuman), The Harpies

(Biltzstein), Hand o f Bridge (Barber). Premier, PRCD, 1009, n.d.
American Choral Masters. Vol. 4 (music of Louise Talma, Ann Calloway, Libby
Larsen), GSS Recordings, GSS 112, n.d.
American Choral Masters. Vol. 5 (music of Aaron Copland, Ernst Krenek,

Virgil Thomson), GSS Recordings, GSS 114, n.d.
America Sings: American Choral Music after 1950. Vox/Turnabout, SVBX 5354,
n.d.
America Sings: Choral Music after 1950-The Non-Traditionalists.

Turnabout/Vox, TV 34759, n.d.
America Sings: The Founding Years, 1620-1800 With Chamber Orchestra. Vox,
SVBX-5350,1976.
America Sings: The Great Sentimental Age, 1850-1900. With New York Vocal
Arts Ensemble. VoxBox, SVBX-5304, CDX 5016, n.d. This recording has been
re-released in CD format.
America Sings: The 1920s-1950s. Vox/Turnabout, SVBX-5353, n.d.
An American Triptich: Music o f Copland, Barber, and Schuman. With Margery

MacKay, mezzo-soprano. Everest, 6129, 3129, n.d.
The A rt o f the Round. Grenadilla Records, GS 1041, n.d.
Beeson, Jack. Three Rounds (the Gregg Smith Sound), Composers Recordings,
SD-241, n.d.
1A11 recordings are by the Gregg Smith Singers with Gregg Smith
251
252
Billings, William. The Continental Harmony o f William Billings. Columbia,

MS 7277,1969.2
__________ Music o f William Billings. Premier, PRCD, 1008, n.d.
Blumenfeld, Harold. New American Choral Music. Vol. 1, War Lament. Gregg
Smith Singers Records, 102, n.d.
Brahms: The Complete Quartets For Four Voices and Piano. Everest, 3249, n.d.
Brubeck, Dave. Once When I Was Very Young. Music Masters, 65083-2, n.d.
Carter, Elliot. American Choral Masters. Vol. 1, Emblems. With Long Island
Symphonic Chorale. GSS Recordings, 103, n.d.
A Ceremony o f Carols. MMG/Allegretto, ACD 8407, n.d. This recording has been
re-released in CD format.
Chrismas Carolling Through the Ages. MMG/Allegretto, ACD 8410, n.d. This
recording has been re-released in CD format.
Contemporary Chamber Theater. Grenadilla Records, GS-1033, n.d.
Duckworth, William. Southern Harmony: Music o f William Duckworth. With

Bucknell College Choir. Lovely Music, [no number], n.d.
Feldman, Morton. Rothko Chapel for Chorus. With Phillips and Holland,
instrumentalists. Odyssey/Columbia, Y-34138, n.d.
A Festival o f Carols. With Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir and Instrumental Ensemble.
Vox/Turnabout, QJV 34710, n.d.
A Festival o f Christmas. MMG/AUegretto, ACD 8406, n.d.
Festival o f Folksongs, Volume 1. With Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir, Texas Boy’s
Choir. MMG, 117(D), n.d.
Festival o f Folksongs, Volume 2. With Dorothy Shaw Bell Choir, Texas Boys’
Choir. MMG, 1156, n.d.
Fine, Irving. Alice in Wonderland (Series 1 and 2). Odyssey, 32160272, n.d.
__________ Hour-Glass: The Choral Music o f Irving Fine. Composer’s
Recordings, S-376E, n.d.
Folk Songs o f the World. Everest, 3126,6126, n.d.
2This recording was selected by Hi-Fi Stereo Review magazine to be

“Record of the Year” and nominated for a Grammy Award in 1969.
253
Foss, Lukas. The Prairie. With Brooklyn Philharmonia Orchestra, Long Island
Symphonic Choral Association, Lutes Foss, conductor. Vox/Turnabout,
TV-s 34649, n.d.
Foster, Stephen. The Stephen Foster Songs. With The New York Vocal Arts
Ensemble. Vox/Turnabout, TV-S 34609, n.d.
A French-American Salute. With Ensemble Josquin Des Pres. Vox Cum Laude,
MCD 10052, n.d.
Gabrieli, Giovanni. The Glory o f GabrieU. Vol. 1,1 0 Motets. With E. Power
Biggs, organ, Texas Boys’ Choir, Edward Tarr Brass Ensemble, Vittorio
Negri, conductor. Columbia, MS-7071,1968.3
__________ The Glory o f Gabrieli. Vol. 3, Motets. With Texas Boy’s Choir, Gregg
Smith and George Gragg, conductors. Columbia, MS-7334, n.d.
Gershwin: Blue Monday. Vox/Turnabout, TV-S 34638, n.d.
The Glory o f Venice: Music for Organ and Brass. With Texas Boys’ Choir,
Edward Tarr Brass Ensemble, Vittorio Negri, conductor. Columbia,
M-30937, n.d.
Gould, Morton. Time and the River: Choral Music o f Morton Gould. Koch
International, 3-7026-2 Hi, n.d.
Herbert, Victor. The Red Mill. With Lake Placid Sinfonietta. Vox/Turnabout,
TV-34766, n.d.
Sweethearts. MMG, 1129, n.d.
Hiller, Lejaren. Portfolio fo r Diverse Performers and Tape. Composer’s

Recordings , S-438, n.d.
Ives, Charles. Celestial Country. With Columbia Chorus and Orchestra.

4-Columbia, M4-32504, n.d.
_________ Ives: Music for Chorus: General William Booth Enters into Heaven.
With Ithaca College Concert Choir, Texas Boy’s Choir, Columbia Symphony
Orchestra. Columbia, MS-6921, 1966.4
_________ The New Music o f Charles Ives: Let There Be Light. With Adrienne
Albert, soloist, William Feuerstein, soloist, Texas Boys’ Choir, Columbia
Symphony Orchestra. Columbia, MS-7321, 19 71.5
3This recording won a Grammy Award and a Montreaux Award in 1968.
4This recording won a Grammy Award in 1966.
^This recording won a Grammy Award in 1971.
254
Jergenson, Dale. The Music o f Dale Jergenson: The Vision. Grenadilla Records,
GS 1013, n.d.
Lewis: Three Prayers o f Jane Austen. Composer’s Recordings, S-438, n.d.
Madrigals and All That Jazz. Newport Classic, [no number], n.d.
Modern Ayres, Canzonets and European Madrigals. Grenadilla Records,

GS 1034, n.d.
Monteverdi, Claudio. Vespro della Beata Vergine. With Texas Boys’ Choir,
Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Robert Craft, conductor. 2-Columbia,
M2S-763, n.d.
Music for Antiphonal Choirs. Verve, 2137, n.d.

Music for Antiphonal Choirs. Verve, 6151, n.d.
Music o f the Polish and Italian Renaissance. Desto, 7178, n.d.
Music from 2001. Leonard Bernstein, Eugene Ormandy, and Gregg Smith,
conductors. Columbia, MS 7176, n.d.
Najera, Edmund. The Music o f Edmund Najera. Grenadilla Records, GS-1012,

n.d.
New American Choral Music. Vol. 1 (music of Blumenfeld, Fox, Smit, Orland),
GSS Recordings, GSS 102, n.d.
New American Choral Music. Vol. 2 (music of Riley, Houkom, Silver, Silsbee),
Oriens splendor lucis aetemae. GSS Recordings, GSS 106, n.d.
New American Choral Music. Vol. 3 (music of Fenneley, Finney, Furman,

Handel, Murray, Powell, Stern), GSS Recordings, GSS 111, n.d.
Presenting the Gregg Smith Singers: American Folk Songs. Everest, 3117,
6117, n.d
Red, Buryi. Celebrate Life. Genevox Music Group, 4193-04, n.d.
Reif, Paul. Eight Vignettes for Four Singers. Soloists from the Gregg Smith
Singers. Orion, OR-S 76228, n.d.
Rorem, Ned. The Choral Masters Series. Vol. 2, Letters from Paris. With
Adirondack Chamber Orchestra, n.d.
Ruggles, Charles. Organum. With brass ensemble. 2-Coiumbia, M2-34591, n.d.
Sarmento, Heikki. New Hope Jazz Mass. Gregg Smith Singers quartet, with
Maija Hapuoja, soprano, Long Island Symphonic Chorus, Heikki Sarmanto
Ensemble. Finlandia, 1978.
Schifrin, Lalo. Rise and Fall o f the Third Reich. With MGM Studio Symphony.
MGM, S1SE-12ST, n.d.
255
Schoenberg, Arnold. Dreimal tausend Jahre. Everest, 3182, 1967.6
________ . The Music o f Schoenberg. Vol. 1, Die Glucklichte Hand. With Robert
Oliver, bass, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Robert Craft, conductor.
Columbia, M2S-679, n.d.
__________ The Music o f Schoenberg. Vol. 6, Four Pieces for Mixed Chorus (Op.
27). With Columbia Choral Ensemble, Robert Craft, conductor. Columbia,
M2S-762,19677
__________ The Music o f Schoenberg. Vol. 7, Eleven Choral Canons. Robert

Craft, conductor. Columbia, M2S-780,1969.8
Schubert, Franz. Choral Music o f Franz Schubert: Songs for Male Chorus. Men
of the Gregg Smith Singers. Grenadilla Records, 1014, n.d.
Schiitz, Heinrich. Sacred and Secular Vocal Works o f Heinrich Schiitz. Vox
Records, SVBX 5103, n.d.
Small Pieces for Large Choir. Turnabout, 34759, n.d.
Smith, Gregg. Music o f Gregg Smith. Premier, PRCD, 1020, n.d.
_________ Music for an Urban Church: Music o f Gregg Smith. GSS Recordings,
GSS 101, n.d.
Soler, Antonio. Four Villancicos. With Frederic Marvin, harpsichord, Texas

Boys’ Choir, Winterthur Chamber Orchestra. Columbia, MS-7278, n.d.
Stravinsky, Igor. Cantata and Mass. With Columbia Choral Ensemble, Columbia
Symphony Winds and Brass. Columbia, MS-6992, n.d.
_________Mass, The Flood. With Laurence Harvey, Sebastian Cabot, Elsa

Lancaster, narrators, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky,
conductor. Columbia, MS-6357, 6992.
_________ New Music o f Stravinsky: Requiem Canticles, Introitus. With Ithaca

College Choir, Columbia Symphony Orchestra, Igor Stravinsky and Robert
Craft, conductors. Columbia, MS-7386, n.d.
_________Les Noces (in Russian). With Ithaca College Choir, Robert Craft,
conductor. Columbia, MS-6991, n.d.
^This recording was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1967.
7This recording was chosen by Hi-Fi Stereo Review magazine to

receive their “Record of the Year” award in 1967.
®This recording won a Montreaux Award in 1969.
_________Les Noces (orchestra version). With Orpheus Chamber Ensemble,
Robert Craft, conductor. Columbia, M-33201, n.d.
__________ Persephone. With Vera Zorina, narrator, Michel Molese, tenor,

Ithaca College Choir, Texas Boys’ Choir, Columbia Symphony Orchestra,
Igor Stravinsky, conductor. Columbia, MS-6919, n.d.
_________Russian Credo: Russian Peasant Songs. With Columbia Brass

Ensemble. Columbia, [no number], n.d.
_________Stravinsky Conducts Stravinsky: Four Russian Peasant Songs; Credo.

With Brass Ensemble, Igor Stravinsky, conductor. Columbia, M 31124, n.d.
_________Igor Stravinsky. Vol. 2. With Robert Craft, conductor. Music

Masters, 67086-2, n.d.
_________Igor Stravinsky: Persephone, Zvezdollkl. Vol. 3. With Robert Craft,

conductor. Music Masters, 67103-2, n.d.
The Stephen Foster Songs. With New York Vocal Arts Ensemble.
Vox/Turnabout, TV-S, 34609, n.d.
Swickard, Ralph. Music o f Ralph Swickard. Cardas, [no number], n.d.
Sym phony Sacrae: Sacred and Secular Vocal Works o f Heinrich Schiitz. Vox,
SVBX-5103, n.d.
What Child Is This. With E. Power Biggs, organ, Texas Boy’s Choir, Columbia
Brass Ensemble. Columbia, MS-7164, n.d.
Zaimont: Sunny Airs and Sober. GC-5051, n.d.
NOTE: Columbia has re-released in compact disc format the Glory o f Gabrieli
recordings, a Complete Stravinsky set, and Ives’ Four Songs with Orchestra.
In most cases, these re-releases constitute a combining of more than one of the
original albums.
with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.
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Josquin Des Pres, The Gregg Smith Singers. MMG, MCD, 10052, 1987.
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Hand Bell Choirs, Fort Worth Chamber Ensemble, Oresta Cybriwsky, Pianist.
Turnabout, QTV, 34710,1977.
264
Less, Helen H. “[Program Notes]” for Joy to the World. Robert Shaw Chorale,
Robert Shaw, conductor. RCA, CAS-448, 1958.
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with Roger Wagner. The Roger Wagner Chorale, Roger Wagner,
conductor. Delos, D/CD 3072,1987.
Petker, Allan Robert. “[Program Notes]” for Faure’s Requiem. Marie Gibson,
soprano, Michel Roux, baritone, The Roger Wagner Chorale, The Orchestre
de la Societe des Concerts du Conservatoire de Paris, H. T. Fitzsimons,
F8051R, 1985.
“[Program Notes]” for Christmas Caroling with the Gregg Smith Singers and
Friends. The Adirondack Community Chorus, The Arkansas Boys Choir, The
Concert Choir of the University of Arkansas—Little Rock, The Adirondack
Chamber Players, The Winds of the University of Arkansas-Russelville,
Gregg Smith, conductor. MMG, MWCD, 7165,1987.
Smith, Gregg. “[Program Notes]” for America Sings: Vol. I: The Founding
Years (1620-1800). The Gregg Smith Singers, Gregg Smith, conductor. Vox
Box, SVBX, 5350,1975.
_________ “[Program Notes]” for America Sings, (1920-1950). The Gregg Smith
Singers, Gregg Smith, conductor, The Texas Boys’ Choir, The Columbia
University Men’s Glee Club, The Peabody Conservatory Concert Singers.
Vox Box, SVBX, 5353,1976.
Other
Chorus America. “Chorus America: Profiles 1991.” Philadelphia: Chorus

America, 1991.
_________ “Information Available from Chorus America.” Philadelphia:

Chorus America, 1991.
_________ “Summary: History, Development and Activities.” Philadelphia:

Chorus America, 1991.
Foster, David. “Gregg Smith Singers.” Columbia Artists. New York: Columbia.
ABSTRACT

Phillip Jeffery Morrow, D.M.A.

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, 1993
Chairperson: Dr. S. Milbum Price, Jr.
The purpose of the dissertation was to examine the influence of three
distinguished professional choirs upon the broader phenomenon of
professional choir activity and its development in the United States. The
principal instrum ent of research was a survey, or questionnaire, which was
distributed to the conductors of fifty-six American professional choruses. The
survey instrum ent elicited from the respondents objective and measurable
data regarding influence of the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner
Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers. Exactly fifty percent of those receiving
the survey, or twenty-eight respondents, contributed usable responses.
Chapter 2 provides a general overview of the history of American
professional choirs. Noting the emergence and maturation of choral art in the
United States, the phenomenon of “professional” choirs is described as a
natural development in the growth of the art.
Chapter 3 presents historical synopses of the Robert Shaw Chorale, the
Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith Singers. For each organization,
origins and purposes are discussed and an account given of the group’s
activity. Particular attention is given to the extraordinary accomplishments
and innovations of each.
Chapter 4 presents and interprets data from the survey. Using the
com puter program Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), a
standard frequencies analysis was the basis for treatment of the survey data.
Pertinent data are presented in forty-one tables, addressing both specific and
general means through which professional choral activity may have been
influenced by the Shaw, Wagner, and Smith groups.
Chapter 5 presents conclusions based on the data analysis of chapter 4.
Influence of the Shaw Chorale, the Wagner Chorale, and the Smith Singers is
shown to have been effected principally through the mediums of recording,
concert, artistic (musical) ability, and former members who have remained
active in the professional choir arena. These organizations were verified as
both pioneers and innovators in choral art. It was concluded that each has
exerted positive influence upon professional choir development in America.
There are ten appendixes to the document, including discographies of
the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner Chorale, and the Gregg Smith
Singers, and a listing of currently active professional choirs in the United

States.
VITA
PERSONAL
Born: November 4, 1955, Florence, Alabama
Parents: James Ray and Norris Peck Morrow
Married: Susan Leslie Stiller, November 27, 1982
Children: Christopher James, born June 19, 1990
Hilary Caroline, bom November 25, 1991
EDUCATIONAL
Public Schools, Florence, Alabama, 1961-1969
Bradshaw High School, Florence, Alabama, 1969-1973
B.A., University of North Alabama, 1978
M.M., University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 1983
MINISTERIAL
Minister of Music, First Baptist Church, Town Creek, Alabama, 1975-1976
Minister of Music, Greenhill First Baptist Church, St. Joseph, Tennessee,
1976-1978
Choir Director, First Christian Church, Greensboro, North Carolina, 1979-
1980
Minister of Music and Education, Iillington Baptist Church, Lillington,
North Carolina, 1983-1987
Minister of Music, Buechel Park Baptist Church, Louisville, Kentucky,
1987-1992
ACADEMIC
Instructor, School of Church Music, The Southern Baptist Theological
Seminary, Louisville, Kentucky, 1987-1992
Instructor of Music, Indiana University Southeast, New Albany, Indiana,
1991-1992
Assistant Professor of Music, North Greenville College, Tigerville,
South Carolina, 1992-
ORGANIZATIONAL
American Choral Directors Association
The Hymn Society in The United States and Canada
Omicron Delta Kappa
Southern Baptist Church Music Conference

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The influence of the Robert Shaw Chorale, the Roger Wagner

Morrow, Phillip Jeffery, D.M.A.

Copyright © 1993 by M orrow, Phillip Jeffery. A ll rights reserved.

WAGNER CHORALE AND THE GREGG SMITH SINGERS ON

The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

of the Requirements for the Degree

Doctor of Musical Arts

Phillip Jeffery Morrow

Phillip Jeffery Morrow

THE INFLUENCE OF THE ROBERT SHAW CHORALE, THE ROGER

WAGNER CHORALE AND THE GREGG SMITH SINGERS ON

THE PROFESSIONAL CHORUS IN THE UNITED STATES

Phillip Jeffery Morrow

Read and Approved by:

LIST OF TABLES .............................................................................................................viii

Definition of Terms ......................................................................... 3

Basic Assumptions ........................................................................... 4

Significance of the S tudy................................................................ 5

Similar Studies and Related L iterature.............................................. 7

2. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PROFESSIONAL CHOIRS IN THE

3. THE HISTORICAL CONTEXTS OF THE SHAW, WAGNER, AND SMITH

The Robert Shaw Chorale ..................................................................... 29

Shaw’s Early Career......................................................................... 30

The Early Tours ................................................................................ 33

The Choral Masterwork Series ...................................................... 35

Auditions and Rehearsals................................................................ 37

The Later Tours ............................................................................... 38

The Roger Wagner Chorale................................................................... 47

Wagner’s Early Development ........................................................ 48

Flexibility and Programming.......................................................... 58

The Gregg Smith Singers...................................................................... 64

Smith’s Background ........................................................................ 64

The Early Years: 1955-1959 ........................................................... 67

A Decade of Prosperity: the 1 9 6 0 s................................................ 70

Recognition and Change: the 1970s............................................. 73

Later Years: 1980s and Beyond..................................................... 78

4. INFLUENCE OF THE SHAW, WAGNER, AND SMITH CHOIRS AS

The Survey for Conductors of American

Survey Administration and Response ............................................... 90

Influence of the Robert Shaw C horale................................................ 92

Specific and Personal Influence .................................................. 96

The Real Influence Q uotient............................................................108

Free Responses and Observations..................................................112

Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale ...........................................113

Specific and Personal Influence ...................................................114

Concerts ............................................................................................. 121

Free Responses and Other Specific Influence ............................130

Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers ...............................................131

Specific and Personal Influence ...................................................133

Rl-Scores and the Gregg Smith Singers........................................ 146

Free Responses and Other Specific Influence ............................149

Final Observations ................................................................................. 150

Rl-Score Means and Real Influence ............................................ 152

Comparing Influences of the Shaw, Wagner, and

5. CONCLUSIONS AND FURTHER OBSERVATIONS...........................................156

Problems with the Project....................................................................156

Influence of the Roger Wagner Chorale .....................................161

Influence of the Gregg Smith Singers......................................... 162