By Odell Zeigler New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. – John Locke Have you ever gone along with the majority or followed a script and felt it was not something you should continue to do? Well, let me begin by saying that […]
choral education
Separating Achievement from Self-Worth
By John C. Hughes A few years ago, a colleague told me about the Enneagram, a personality classification system that groups people into nine broad types.1 I took an online quiz and discovered that I am a Type Three: The Achiever. My friend told me that a lot of conductors are Threes. This makes sense; […]
Everyday Advocacy for Your Choral Program
By Karen Bruno What is advocacy? Advocacy is an opportunity to share with other people, many of whom are decisionmakers in some way, why choral music matters—to us, to our singers, and to the world. Advocacy should not be a term that frightens us. It should be a term that inspires us to explain to […]
Silver Linings: Reflecting on What We Do for Our Singers
By Jeanne Wohlgumuth Finding a silver lining in a year that has been riddled with disappointments and life-changing events would seems to be daunting and virtually impossible. However, when given the opportunity to reflect on the past year, I find that there are many silver linings that have emerged from a somewhat horrendous situation. Silver […]
Silver Linings: Three Snapshots from the Past Year
By Carol Earnhardt Virtual Rehearsals, Concert, and After Party Last August, in 2020, the board members of my community choir, the Heart of Triad Choral Society (Kernersville, North Carolina), looked at me like I was crazy when I told them I wanted to have weekly rehearsals on Zoom and give a live “virtual” concert in […]
Silver Linings: Connections in Choir During Hybrid Learning
A few months ago ACDA began soliciting and sharing “silver lining” reflections from our members. We have enjoyed them so much, we decided to share them in a wider way on ChoralNet. Have you experienced a silver lining during the course of this challenging year? Please email a draft to for consideration in this […]