Building Collective Inspiration in a College Choir

The August 2024 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Building Collective Inspiration in a College Choir” by Jennifer Kelly. Following is a portion from the article’s introduction.
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Conductors strive to express meaningful music beyond the basic notes and rhythms on the printed page. As we honor the composer’s score while also recognizing the limits of music notation, we energize our vocal ensembles to breathe and sing the music to life. To better engage our student singers, the choral field is broadening pedagogical approaches to music study, learning, and rehearsal—reconsidering the limits of canon and reimagining traditional student and conductor roles. Educational ensembles are more open to varied leadership styles and pedagogy that emphasize empathy or democratic practices, raising the priority of people and process toward creating a more meaningful performance product.

This article describes a community-based, shared decision-making approach for undergraduate-level choir, although it is also applicable for high school through graduate-level ensembles. Based on empathy, the “collective inspiration” defined here helps all chorus members engage in several layers of the decision-making process of rehearsals toward performance. The intention of this pedagogy is to empower all singers, regardless of academic major or musical experience, to be part of high-level musical decisions.

The end result for the students is a deeper connection to the music, greater ownership of the performance, and trust in their choir teammates. The resulting concert is a nuanced reflection of the students’ depth of investment. This article offers a generalized and actionable process based on applied experience over more than a dozen semesters, under varying conditions (including the COVID-19 pandemic), and with an undergraduate chamber chorus comprising mostly non-music majors.

Specifically, the article provides definitions and components that address the students’ and conductor’s roles in creating a collaborative choral body. It offers ideas for helping students identify the value they and others bring, followed by steps and activities toward developing an empathetic ensemble and collective decision making. A detailed work example with progressing complexity describes how collective inspiration is achieved through the study of composer intention. Finally, demonstrated results address the student experience and the impact of this approach on the ensemble’s performance.

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Read the full article in the August 2024 issue of Choral Journal. acda.org/choraljournal