Singing in the Schools: Putting Education in Chorus DNA

Winner of Chorus America’s 2010 Education Outreach Award,
Chanticleer demonstrates how to grow an education program that
touches the lives of the next generation of singers

by Kelsey Menehan

When Chanticleer started its Singing in the Schools program in
1986 it was a modest affair. The organization was just eight years
old, and though it was already recognized as one of the finest male
vocal ensembles in the world, it had not yet realized the dream of
its founder, Louis A. Botto, to pay each of its 12 singers a
full-time salary.

But as kids, each of the members of Chanticleer had sung in a
chorus, and the music director at the time, Joseph Jennings, had an
interest in working with children and warm relationships with a
number of school choir directors. It just made sense that
Chanticleer would want to encourage young people in their pursuit
of choral singing. As it turned out, there were as yet untapped
sources of support for educational programs, an enticing draw for
the newly established 501(c)3 organization. So with funding from
the Haas Foundation they started small, working with an all-city
middle school choir in a variety of educational activities,
including masterclasses, lecture-concerts, and skills-targeted
lessons.

Singing in the Schools grew from there. A number of schools got
multiple visits, designed sequentially to complement their own
music program, focusing on such topics as vocal technique, music
theory, sightsinging, music terminology, music history, and
ensemble-building exercises. When Christine Bullin arrived in 2000
to become Chanticleer’s president and general director, requests
from schools were coming in regularly. And Chanticleer was
conducting workshops and masterclasses while on the road. It was
clear from the feedback that what the students and their choral
teachers appreciated the most was the chance to interact directly
with members of Chanticleer.