Advocacy & Collaboration Monthly Blog: “Mutually Beneficial” and other first steps towards meaningful collaborations

Anyone else feel that “New Year’s Eve Vibe” at the start of the school year? I absolutely love that feeling of a fresh start, new classes, new singers, returning faces, and routine! While we must acknowledge it can also be a time of anxiety and overwhelm, this blog post seeks to address what to do with all that potential excitement and start-up energy. Now is the perfect time to plan a “mutually beneficial” and “meaningful” collaboration (or at least set a goal with which to do so!) 

In this blog, we offer a few steps to help you get started collaborating. Before we dive in, we also want to point your attention to the October 2024 issue of the Choral Journal which is a focus issue on Advocacy & Collaboration. Towards the back end of the journal, we got the chance to spotlight a collection of choral collaborations that will either spark ideas or encourage you that what you’re doing is just as it should be! 

In the meantime, how does one get started cultivating a “mutually beneficial” and “meaningful” collaboration? 

First: Define

Mutually beneficial means that all parties involved are bringing something of worth to the table and also walking away with something of value they would not have had without the collaborative opportunity. 

Meaningful means that the collaborative experience aligns with mission, values, vision and goals (or needs) of both organizations. 

Task: Brainstorm, what are goals (or needs) you have for your organization, choirs, or classes and how can those goals be enhanced or obtained through a connection with someone or something else? Then, continue the brainstorm with what you have to offer in order to build your possible connection points (keeping in mind both of these may grow and evolve as the collaboration intertwines and matures). 

Second: Explore

Once you’ve loosely defined what you’re looking for, who or where do you need to start the conversation? And don’t just think about musical organizations or people; be willing to explore outside of the box. 

Task: Start with what is in front of you. Is there a class or a student you could collaborate with? For our ensemble, using student photographers, student sound designers to record concerts, and student instrumentalists are all key collaborations in our quarter. They take time, planning, conversations and intentionality to be mutually beneficial, but they always end up being so meaningful. 

Then look outside your institution/school/rehearsal space into your community? Who or what would be helpful for your current need? 

Finally, use your technology resources and reach out to folks outside of your bubble. For example, we did a fabulous collaboration with a choir in Wisconsin (we are in Georgia) and a composer in Pennsylvania in order to meet our goal of composing new music with lyrics and melodic ideas and form created by our singers while also meeting others who love singing through intentional, guided conversations. 

Third: Ask (and converse)

If advocacy is “storytelling,” collaborations are ultimately “conversations that go somewhere.” But they have to start with intentional conversation. 

Task: Don’t be afraid to ask, to start the conversation, to get the ideas started. Some will fizzle out, some will go completely different directions, and all of them are opportunities for you to grow and for creativity to flourish. 

Not sure what to ask? I usually approach “the ask” two ways: 

• State the goal or need and what I think we are looking for and ask if they have any thoughts on ways they could support or fill this need (or know of someone or something else that could)
• Acknowledge/praise something I’ve seen or heard them doing and offer a way that we could connect and ask what need they have that we could potentially fill. 

What’s the big point and conclusion? Just be willing to have the convo! Invite someone to the table to talk. You never know what could come from something as simple as a conversation. The key is to be open, willing, and ready – but to always tie it (whatever “it” ends up being) back to something intentional so you create “meaningful” and “mutually beneficial” collaborations for all. And in the meantime, if you need any help, we are here for you! There’s an awesome infographic in the inside back cover of your October 2024 Choral Journal, or check out acda.org/advocacy or instagram.com/acdaadvocacyandcollaboration for more!

Dr. Emily Williams Burch chairs ACDA’s Advocacy & Collaboration Committee. Dr. Burch has served in various positions for ACDA at the state, regional, national level in a variety of roles, including co-programming chair and honor choir coordinator for the Southern Region ACDA conferences since 2014. You can subscribe to her podcast, “Music (ed) Matters” wherever you get your podcasts, on Youtube, or at EmilyBurch.org/podcast.