Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Whom Do You Trust?

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.” Ernest Hemingway

Today we reach back into the ol’ mailbag and pull out two more stories, this time from community chorus directors. Both have similar problems which are trust related. I have no answers for either one.

It Will Come Back to Bite Them

Jennifer* conducts a community chorus connected with a community college. They are located at the edge of the suburbs in a large metropolitan area, just before it becomes rural. It’s a nice area, with other performing arts organizations besides the chorus; a community bell choir, a theater group, an orchestra and a community children’s choir connected with the public school district.

The local churches and synagogue are very supportive of her chorus, often asking to host a concert or two. In fact during the last few years, they’ve begun to rotate their first two concerts at several churches and the synagogue, performing the last concert of their season back at the college’s theater. Since many of them have their own choir members singing with Jennifer’s organization, the worship communities all agree this is a great way to be supportive.

Sounds ideal, right? Nice support for community performing organizations coming from the worship communities…..you can almost hear the humming of “Kum Bah Ya.” Guess again. Not all of the church musicians like having the community chorus sing at their churches. Jennifer goes out of her way to be friendly and transparent when it comes to concert dates and venue rehearsals. She has learned to ask the hosting church musician to play or sing something, often suggesting something at which they excel, for her choral concert or there will be drama.

The community chorus rehearsal and concert schedule is sent to each chorus members. All the organists and choir masters are personally sent rehearsal and concert schedules for the whole of the community chorus’s concert season. She really thought she had the whole thing under control. Despite this, the last concert back at the college’s performing space, the local chapter of the AGO (American Guild of Organists) decided to have a recital in direct competition with them. Jennifer knows her audience numbers were reduced because of the AGO.

It is her understanding this was a last minute (two weeks) decision. She wonders why they decided to have their event compete with a long scheduled concert; there were no hard feelings she knows about. Most of the AGO participants have singers in the chorus so would know when their concert would be even if she didn’t send them concert notices.

Jennifer is at a loss. I told her to let it go; it’s not worth trying to figure out. Besides, that AGO chapter looks bad by doing what they did; if not to the community, then to their own singers. Reaping what you sow could be most educational.

Flattery?

Directing a nice, ten year old community chorus in a medium-sized city, Malcolm* prides himself on his repertoire. He is innovative, programming pieces by composers off the beaten path. He digs up new things or finds old things not regularly performed. His chorus is known for being cutting edge or at least quirky! His singers and board enjoy being members of “that chorus” and are always excited to see what he comes up with from season to season.

There is another community chorus in town which just celebrated its 45^th anniversary. It touts itself as being the one and only “elite” chorus in town and makes sure everyone knows it. In fact, they repeat and repeat and repeat the fact they are the one and only “elite” chorus. Malcolm chorus sings standard repertoire as well as the quirky stuff; they are not a one trick pony. Yet, that is how the “elite” chorus usually portrays them in the community.

Malcolm used to attend “elite” chorus’s concerts before he was chastised openly (he had the “nerve” to attend a concert—was he there to steal ideas????) during one concert. He gave the rest of his tickets for the year to one of his singers and never renewed his subscription. But he continued to make sure the director was on their mailing list and continues to get their material because he was trying to “rise above” their nastiness.

Several years ago, he noticed one piece his chorus had sung the year before on “elite” chorus’s subscription series. It was not a well-known piece but it could have been a coincidence. The following year, he noticed a whole concert’s worth of his repertoire on one of their concerts.

This spring, one of his singers brought it to his attention “elite” chorus was doing works on their May concert by a Renaissance composer Malcolm had dug out of obscurity in 2014. Malcolm asked the singer to attend the concert and report back. The singer bought back a program. She told him the chorus struggled with the foreign language and with the music. Looking at the program, it was an exact copy of their 2014 concert.

Malcolm wants to know what he should do. I told him nothing. He can’t prove they copied his program, though it is awfully suspicious. I told him they say imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But I understand why he feels the way he does. I get it because the exact same thing has happened to me…and it feels lousy.

*Name Withheld