For decades choral music has elevated the culture of the society that surrounds it. It has taught one to be a sophisticated, well-put-together human being even if one had to pretend. It has captured the hearts of wayward individuals and gave them a purpose in life and put them back on their personal straight and narrow path. It has taught one to be a responsible and committed person especially to the specific ensemble one may be a member of. It has breathed life into many by allowing them to escape the snares of life if only for a moment and experience the wonders that it holds. It has caused one to feel emotions and provoke the audience to feel the same emotion even if they haven’t felt them before. It has set high standards and expectations for the musician that go beyond the art of making music. It exposes one to music outside of the music they hear in everyday life. Choral music is much more than regurgitating pitches that lie on a page and accepting applause for your work. However the culture of it has changed.
The thirst and desire to make music through the choral art form has diminished greatly. The administrations of some school systems don’t see its importance therefore removing it in elementary schools where it is most valued. If you give a child a chance they will try almost anything you put in front of them. If the choral art form is introduced to someone when they’re young rather than later in their academic life they will value it much more and want to be a part of it. In school’s today it’s so common for a student to study for their upcoming test and forget the information afterwards rather than apply that knowledge to everyday life. In households today the choral art form isn’t as accepted as it once may have been. The availability of technology has reduced the desire to want to participate in this type of art form. Technology has desensitized many of us causing us to not be able to convey emotions and communicate effectively. It’s much riskier to speak face to face or through the telephone than texting because one is more vulnerable when the other person can see or feel one’s emotions. We see showing emotion as a weakness rather than a strength which diminishes our ability to provoke an emotion to an audience when performing a piece of music. However there is hope.
We must embrace the younger generation and expose them to art forms outside of their everyday lives. We must push for higher expectations within the households and in the schools. We must inspire, cultivate and educate the minds of individuals of today’s society to understand the value and worth of the choral art form. The many individuals who still see the importance of the choral art form must be a beacon of light for the rest of the nation to illustrate the significance of this art form. It’s imperative that we present the evidence that the experience of the choral art form goes way beyond music. It helps in developing the whole person rather than just their musical abilities.
Personally, if it hadn’t been for the choral music art form I would have chosen a completely different path for my life. Choral music and the exposure that has come with it has helped me mature as a student, as a musician, and as a man. Not just through the music but the educators who have dedicated their lives to educating and illuminating the minds of their students to an art form that they may have never been exposed to or be exposed to again. I plan on becoming a music educator at the high school level because of how it’s completely changed my life and maybe I’ll be able to help change the lives of others through my contribution as an educator.
The art of choral music hasn’t changed. The society in which we live in has changed. We must continue to expose the world to this culture and encourage our society to step out of the box we live in and to an experience and art form they’ll never forget.
Jack Senzig says