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Choral Potpourri: Perfection is Over-Rated

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                                                                    Use what talents you possess; the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” Henry Van Dyke
Many Choral Ethics problems stem from perfection issues, or the perception of what perfection is and how to achieve it. Is the “pure goal” of true perfection just cause for the “end justifies the means” type behavior? Do the people we work with in our quest for perfection matter? Or is the goal of perfection in our performances the end all and be all, our choruses (whether amateur or professional) and their feelings be damned?
Gigi* and I became friends a quite a few years ago. We kept running into each other through a group which helps parents with special needs children. Both of us have three sons and both of us have one son who has autism. When I noticed someone who sounded like my “autism Gigi” here on ChoralNet, I contacted her and asked if she was the same person. We became fast friends. Savvy and smart, Gigi is a long time choral singer and does PR work for the large choral organization she has sung with for many years. She has also been a board member for that group, off and on, depending what’s happening in her own life. When I asked her for a contribution for my Choral Ethics project, she told me this story.
Gigi was not singing with Unity Chorale* that particular concert sequence because they were guest artists for a local Symphony, singing Carmina Burana, which she dislikes a great deal. Another local group (now defunct), Eastern Community Chorus*, was singing Mendelssohn’s Elijah, and she loves Mendelssohn. She auditioned, started going to rehearsals, and enjoyed the Mendelssohn. What she did not enjoy was the conductor.  He was an outstanding musician, and gave great visual images for the music, but he was obviously not tuned in to working with amateurs. Instead of saying, “Oops, altos look at measure 59.  That second note is a B flat, and you want to sing a B natural,” he’d say, “Altos, in measure 59, what’s the second note?”  “B flat,” they replied.  “Oh.”

On rehearsal day each week, she’d start asking herself if she really wanted to go to that evening’s rehearsal.  She began to sit in rehearsal and think of all of her past choral directors, including high school and college, and realized that none of them needed to be sarcastic to get people to correct wrong notes.  In that regard, she feels this choral experience was an opportunity to see the importance of working with positive people…and of being a positive person, too.

Later, she talked to a few people from her church who had sung with this fellow before she had.  They all said they would not sing with the Eastern Community Chorus again because of how the conductor handled rehearsals. A couple of years ago, she talked to one of her fellow Unity Chorale singers who had sung with him too.  Her friend’s opinion was that a number of the singers liked the director’s style, because they wanted to do the music justice. But Gigi feels there’s more than one way to do the music justice and browbeating volunteers is not necessary.

Many amateurs singers feel in order to “do the music justice” you need to be treated poorly to be able to achieve true perfection. And when we allow directors to get away with behaving badly, they feel they CAN get away with it.  A conductor has the power to attract singers or repel them.   If Gigi HAD enjoyed singing with that conductor, she may have not returned to the Unity Chorale.  Who knows how many singers he repelled who moved on to other groups after singing with him for a concert or two?  I would guess there were a significant number.  And that number is something boards of choruses need to keep in mind in regards to retaining their directors…..it’s not only concert repertoire or performances but how singers are treated during rehearsals which makes a good conductor.  Being a jerk doesn’t mean you are a genius or so perfection driven you don’t feel the need to respect anyone, it just means you are a JERK!
*Name withheld

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Comments

  1. Thank you as always, Lucy!  If you notice in the piece I mention the chorus this fellow directed is now defunct.  The director retired and no one on the board/community thought enough to continue it….that should say something. And follows your train of thought!

  2. I asked Gigi* exactly your question and it was tone of voice and that  sarcastic tone of voice with every correction.   Thinking when singing is one thing but honestly, fixing notes is a simple thing…why can’t you just tell them what it is and move on?

  3. Agreed!
    In pondering what can be done, these thoughts arrive:
    1. Publish a list somewhere with a point system based on how often the unfortunate-behaving director is cruel, inconsiderate, unfair, manipulative, etc.  (Most of us know that this sarcastic way is really not the way to get beautiful music from singers.  Tension from anger and frustration interrupts the tone, and wastes valuable breath for pitch, phrasing, articulation, etc.  We encourage our singers.  Confidence and supportive education promote quality singing.)
        So…when friends/students ask which choir they should join, [which director they should sing for] we can tell them how high/low s/he is on the jerkmeter … ?! 😉
    2.  Spread the wor(k)d and recommend people who are gracious and conduct choirs by using as much loving-kindness as possible, while still drawing the best music from them.  (Dr. Norma Raybon is a classic example of this gracious-and-excellent manner, and her choirs are wonderful – broadcast nationally. )  The gracious people should be rewarded with invitations to perform with the Symphonies … not those who teach by intimidation.  How many parents wish their child to be taught that way?  Some may say it strengthens, but not in the long run.  When attacked, that type of human rarely stands strong; instead, they retaliate, seeming immature and over-reactionary.   Their need to “win” has shrouded their vision for corporate joy and for raising the artistic/cultural level of the community.  [Yes, I chose “shrouded” rather than “clouded”.  A shroud is associated with eventual death.  I think Meanies, and sadly, meanie-directed choirs, are slowly affected by necrosis.]

    “Necrosis (from the Greek νέκρωσις “death, the stage of dying, the act of killing” from νεκρός “dead”) is a form of cell injurywhich results in the premature death of cells in living tissue by autolysis.[1]

    Necrosis is caused by factors external to the cell or tissue, such as infection, toxins, or trauma which result in the unregulated digestion of cell components.”

    What might be the “toxins and trauma” that we as choral animals [even inadvertently] promote in our “living tissue” s called choirs and choruses?

    My hope is that fewer and fewer singers will gravitate toward the cruel directors, but instead get involved with choirs whose directors are at least basically kind and reasonable.  We as directors can insist this for ourselves; it’s called self-discipline.  We expect it of our singers; we must demonstrate it.  As Marie has mentioned, boards should insist on it.  Singers should be brave, and  report excessive cruelty/inappropriate-behavior to the board.  The other singers will appreciate this.
    I believe it was Erma Bombeck who said “Work [read “rehearsing”] is either fun or drugery.  It depends on your attitude.  I like fun.”   (But not at the singers’ expense.  They have a choice.)
    May those singers who have become accustomed to accepting meanness, perhaps even feed from it, due to personal guilt or suchlike, wake up and realize their own value!
    Bles-Sings,
    -Lucy

  4. To be honest, I was a little confused by “Instead of saying, “Oops, altos look at measure 59.  That second note is a B flat, and you want to sing a B natural,” he’d say, “Altos, in measure 59, what’s the second note?”  “B flat,” they replied.  “Oh.”
     
    To me, asking “what’s the second note” doesn’t sound out of line. Or maybe I’m just mis-hearing the tone of the question in my head. With my Adult Choir at church, I’ll sometimes ask “What vowel are we supposed to sing?” or “How are we going to find the starting note in this measure?” because I want to get singers thinking for themselves as much as possible. Or am I missing something here?

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