Regardless of when one might have attended an ACDA conference, there seems to be a general agreement that the concerts are exceptional. Folks rave about the “best” performance they heard, and if one listens carefully it becomes clear that those ensembles celebrated as being the “best” tend to be the professional choirs and those from universities with graduate programs.
Well, Duh!
Professional singers are just that: professional. They are supposed to be able to produce exceptional performances almost on demand. That is exactly why they get paid. As to the graduate-level university ensembles, they, too, are expected to be able to perform at the highest level by virtue of their singers’ advanced status within the nation’s biggest schools. For us in the audience to anticipate anything less than brilliance from such choirs is illogical.
But there are other choirs on our conference stage; choirs that aren’t populated by career-climbing grad students or pipes-for-hire. This catagory of choirs may not possess the raw vocal prowess of the pros, but they still managed to chug up the hill toward that coveted performance opportunity.
Of course, we refer to those choirs from junior high & middle schools who share their budding artistry with us. These performances are all too rare on our conference stage, for reasons that are frustratingly predictable. Because of the tectonic physical changes taking place during adolescence, the vocal capabilities of middle-level singers are, on their best days, mercurial. Combine that unpredictability with Grinch-like administrators and school boards that find it easier to scuttle music programs than help them float, and it’s small wonder that we see few such choirs at our conferences.
Yet, there always seems to be that one mid-level choir that somehow manages to overcome these tremendous obstacles and claw their way to the stage. These ensembles are not to be dismissed as “just a junior high choir,” rather, they are to be celebrated and cheered for their herculean accomplishments.
That said, here is a performance by a middle school choir a recent divisional conference.
Lucy Hudson Stembridge says
Ronald Richard Duquette says