“Theater people are always pining and agonizing because they’re afraid that they’ll be forgotten. And in America they’re quite right. They will be.” Agnes de Mille Today we revisit two Choral Ethics stories. One is a follow-up with a happier ending. And the other is not totally a happy ending. Do you remember Jackie*? Her […]
Choral Ethics: Putting Folks Down
“No man ever got very high by pulling other people down. The intelligent merchant does not knock his competitors. The sensible worker does not knock those who work with him. Don’t knock your friends. Don’t knock your enemies. Don’t knock yourself.” Alfred Lord Tennyson Choral Ethics is re-visiting some of our most discussed Choral Ethics […]
Choral Ethics: Our Choral Culture
“Habits change into character.” Ovid Many of us, especially in community-based programs, complain we don’t have enough singers to do the repertoire we really want to do. If we are a mixed group, we long for more tenors or baritones or basses but don’t seem to retain them when we get them. After years of […]
Choral Ethics: Gossip
“To a philosopher all news, as it is called, is gossip, and they who edit and read it are old women over their tea.” Henry David Thoreau I’d like to revisit one of the staple issues of Choral Ethics today: Gossip. Recently I’ve gotten quite a few emails about gossip. If you’ve been reading Choral […]
Choral Ethics: Story Time
“Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.” Casey Stengel Happy New Year ChoralNet! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. And I also hope you spent some time recharging and refreshing before your next batch of rehearsals and classes begin. January’s Choral Ethics Blogs will be a […]
Choral Ethics: Ring Out the Old, Ring in the New….
“Ring out the false, ring in the true.” Alfred Lord Tennyson Happy New Year, ChoralNetters! It is 2026, can you believe it? 2025 has dragged on and on with something new—and crazy—often happening daily. How are things going for you? Do you feel there is there light at the end of the tunnel? Are you […]