Choral Ethics: Choral Culture

“People don’t mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous.” Moliere

Another week, another group of emails. The emails I usually receive are about similar dilemmas and sometimes I wonder if it’s the phase of the moon or something. Perhaps it’s just that certain times of the choral year present similar problems for all of us. In any event, this week is about ingrained choral culture and suggestions on how to handle issues arising because of them.

I’ve written about choral culture before in this blog. A choral culture is the climate in a chorus—it could be an academic ensemble, a church or synagogue choir, or a community chorus—which is based on unwritten rules, never stated, but understood by longtime members. Anyone new, whether a singer or leader, is baffled by seemingly arbitrary rules, expectations, and an unexplained hierarchy.

During Lent, I have had two correspondents contact me about choral cultures they’ve encountered this year. Both became involved in church choirs as favors for friends due to death or illness. One person began as the music director in a church position in January, after the untimely death of the previous music director. And the second person was a hired “ringer” for a Roman Catholic church for Lent only.

This Lent Adam* was hired by his very good friend, Seth*, to fill in for the usual canter in his parish who was recovering from surgery. Adam thought it would be fun but instead, he spent all of Lent explaining and explaining and EXPLAINING to the people of the choir he was singing with he was only hired for THIS LENT; he wasn’t replacing ANYONE and he, along with everyone else, wished their usual cantor a speedy recovery. Seth was embarrassed by his choir and kept apologizing for their behavior, which only made Adam more uncomfortable. What to do?

I was in contact with Adam before Holy Week began, so I don’t know if he took my advice. I suggested he ignore the chatter from the choir as much as he could. Ignore it because he KNOWS he’s not coming back; he should just rehearse and sing and ignore. If he can’t ignore, or he keeps getting confronted, he should formulate a script (that never varies) stating he was hired ONLY for Lent and Holy Week and would not be back once Easter was over. Hopefully the regular cantor will be back by then. As far as responding to Seth is concerned, one or two remarks to the effect he knows it’s not his fault, he can’t control people, and let it go. After that, every time Seth brings it up, tell him not to worry. And repeat.

Jake* was hired in an emergency situation. Right after Christmas, the long-time, well-loved music director, Angelo*, died after having a massive stroke. Jake is the spouse of a dear friend of this mainline Protestant congregation’s clergy, so he was brought in with no audition or interview because she has known him for twenty years. He’s been teaching music theory at a community college and hasn’t had a chance to play the organ or direct a choir for a while and this seemed like a wonderful opportunity for him to get back into church work.

Even though Jake’s resume and education were impeccable, and he got along well with clergy, some in the choir doubted his suitability. They questioned every diction correction, every dynamic suggestion, every anthem, every prelude and postlude he chose. Nothing, no small item, was off the table for their criticisms because he didn’t do things the way Angelo did. If it wasn’t for the long-time friendship of his wife with clergy, he would have resigned before Ash Wednesday. So, Jake wants to know if he should stay in this job after Pentecost. I told him it depends.

If he enjoys making music and most of the singers he’s working with are not like the critics, then he should stay. Clergy, I am sure, appreciates him stepping in when they needed him but maybe she doesn’t know what’s going on. He should speak to her after Easter. I also asked if he knew FOR SURE this was a permanent position and not just a temporary fill-in. That’s another thing he could speak with clergy about. It is always difficult to step into this sort of situation. The choir is mourning the death of Angelo and there is NOTHING anyone can do about it. Perhaps clergy will have a good idea on how to help them heal. It’s worth asking for input.

Death and illness happen to ALL of us at one time or another. Those who help us in our time of need should not be punished but often no good deed goes unpunished. Something to think about.

*Name Withheld