Marie Grass Amenta

Choral Potpourri: Hiring Committees

May 5, 2016 by Marie Grass Amenta 9 Comments

“She was one of the people who say ‘I don’t know anything about music really, but I know what I like.’ ” Sir Max Beerbohm in “Zuleika Dobson”

Last fall, longtime ChoralNetter Lulu* contacted me. She has always been a supporter of my Choral Ethics Project and suggested I start including something about the hiring of choral directors. She even went so far as to email me interview questions. I agreed to write something soon.

Within days of Lulu’s emails, I also received a series of emails from Amos*, a new ChoralNetter, a scientist and choral singer. Amos wanted to know how to hire a director with Choral Ethics. He had been on the hiring committee of his community chorus who chose a “short-tempered jackass” (his words) as their artistic director two years ago and was gearing up to replace him. Amos and I went back and forth with his story, and then he asked me to wait until spring so the termination of the current director could be completed before I wrote about it. I agreed.

There are many performing arts organizations and places of worship who hire someone with a stellar résumé only to be disappointed with the actual person. They have been heard muttering, “but he/she looked so good on paper” while wringing their hands, trying to clean up the mess. But it’s not just performing arts organizations and places of worship that are left shaking their heads, wondering how they could have gone so wrong; it’s also the choir master/organists, choral directors, conductors and accompanists who wonder what they were thinking when they accepted that “perfect job.” It boils down to a few things, beginning with the members of the hiring committee and a clear understanding of what is wanted/needed by their organization.

Amos admits to knowing a little about music; he enjoys going to the symphony and opera and is an active, longtime choral singer. He questioned his ability to do an adequate job on his community chorus’s director search committee but agreed when pressed. He tells me he is a research scientist by profession, so he thought could at least contribute his research skills. Turns out, they didn’t want his research skills; they wanted his presence and agreement to whatever the president of their board decided he wanted.

There were five people on that search committee; Amos (a scientist), the board president (a businessperson in middle management of a large local company), another singer (a lawyer), their paid Executive Director (a college student majoring in music business), and their accompanist. They had fifteen applicants and interviewed them all. The board president asked the questions, with the singer/lawyer following up with template follow up questions, no matter what their answers were. The Executive Director and accompanist, as well as Amos, were discouraged from doing anything besides introducing themselves and sitting in the interview.

The questions that were asked were either typical business interview questions (Where do you see yourself in five years? Or, how do you motivate people? ) or more contract related (What kind of salary do you expect? Or, would you be willing to be an independent contractor?) but not much about music or rehearsals or repertoire or the nuts-and-bolts of running a performing arts organization. Amos says he doesn’t know much about the music business but does think it would have been important to have asked what kind of music would be programmed for their chorus. Not so, according to the board president. They didn’t audition the applicants in person but asked their top five, after interviews, for audition videos. The person they finally hired had a wonderful interview and his audition video was stellar, but as mentioned before, he was a short-tempered jackass.

After two years of misery, Amos (the NEW president of the board) started doing research about how to hire a choral director, found ChoralNet and my Choral Ethics blog posts. So here we are.

Next week we will get down to the nitty-gritty such as; who to choose for the members of your search committee and how to decide what your organization needs/wants. We’ll start on some of Lulu’s interview questions too.

Please feel free to jump in with your comments and questions about this subject. We’re just getting started!

*Name Withheld

Choral Potpourri: Shut Up and Sing; Things I’d Like to Say to My Choirs, But Don’t

April 27, 2016 by Marie Grass Amenta 3 Comments

“Manners are a sensitive awareness of the feelings of others. If you have that awareness, you have good manners, no matter what fork you use.” Emily Post

Beginning next week and the rest of the month of May, we will explore a Choral Ethics way of looking at the hiring—and firing—of choral directors. I will share some insights sent to me by several ChoralNetters; issues they think hiring and personnel committees should think about before they hire someone, or fire them. Good stuff, trust me. And I hope you’ll join in the discussion. But today, I am blogging about another Choral Ethics matter.

In rehearsal, do you always say aloud what you’re thinking to your choirs? I hope you don’t. There are times when I am so ticked in rehearsal smoke comes out of my ears. I have made an informal list of things I would like to say (aloud) to my choirs but don’t.

Such as:

Shut up and sing.
Is that a recording? Or are you just making the same mistakes you did last week?
Is there a real reason you are late to every rehearsal? Or do you just enjoy watching me squirm?
Take a shower. Wash your hair and for goodness sake, quit smoking…..we can smell you!
I’m going to handcuff your folder to your right arm so you don’t lose your music AGAIN.
Yes, I’ll stop rehearsal to personally tell you where I want the choir to begin this time. I told everyone else only two seconds ago…but you deserve your own engraved invitation.
Why are we not rehearsing at the venue until the week before the concert? Weren’t you here for the five rehearsals it took to discuss this in detail? In excruciating detail? Guess it wasn’t compelling enough for you to pay attention at the time. My bad.
Thank you for exposing everyone here to your cold. It was very thoughtful of you. You can keep your record of perfect attendance while the rest of us drink hot tea and curse you.

I probably could repeat aloud one or two of these “clever comments” to my present choir, a semi-professional chamber choir of adults who are conductors or organists or work in music publishing, but I don’t. And I didn’t say anything close to what I wanted to with my church choirs or my community children’s chorus or my school choirs. I certainly have days (evenings) when the snarky dialogue in my head after rehearsals keeps me sane while my choir is making me goofy with their stuff. Why don’t I let my inner Melissa McCarthy out? I respect my choirs and their feelings too much and know if I am snarky, only bad will follow.

Last week, you read about my son, Russell, who has autism. When he was very young and we were beginning our autism journey, the school district arranged for an educational psychologist to come into our home three times a week and teach me the behavior management techniques used with him in his early childhood program so there would be consistency from school to home. Those behavior techniques have helped me with him over the years but also have had a huge impact on my own music teaching, choral conducting and yes, the running of my rehearsals.

I learned to be simple with my explanations. I learned to make sure tone of voice matched the meaning of words. I learned not to be mean when impatient. I learned to smile when pleased and laugh when something strikes me funny. I learned kindness went a long way toward getting what I want. I learned to find joy. I learned to expect much but to notice even slight improvements as well and build upon those. In short, I learned what has become the basis for my Choral Ethics Project including words matter. For every one of my snarky comments in rehearsal, an equal and (sometimes) opposite behavior should be expected from my choirs, whether I want that behavior or not. It follows those behavior management techniques I learned long ago for my son. Because words matter. Words. Matter.

Choral Potpourri: A Silent Wood; in Observance of National Autism Awareness Month

April 20, 2016 by Marie Grass Amenta 6 Comments

“Use what talents you possess: the woods would be very silent if no birds sang there except those that sang best.” Henry Van Dyke

I am delighted ACDA has taken the position of encouraging choirs for all; all ages and all abilities. I have a very good reason for being happy because I have an interest in special population choirs, a very special interest. I am the mother of a wonderful, happy son, Russell, who has autism, a developmental disability. In my professional life, most don’t know my situation and when it does come out, it is a shock. My views about those with disabilities and the fine arts are not so revolutionary but are different from what many would expect.

I have seen folks with disabilities give performances that are nuanced and passionate and have moved me beyond what I expected to feel. These were far from perfect but watching people who are not supposed to understand subtext give surprisingly complicated performances inspires me to look deeper at this population.

If we want those with different abilities to become full members of our communities, all avenues have to be open to them, even the artistic ones. But just like everyone else, people with disabilities have their own tastes. Russell’s love for his CD of Luciano Pavarotti singing with Sting and Zucchero (an Italian pop star) may not be your cup of tea but Russ loves it! Sometimes we forget these are people with likes and dislikes and talents and an inner life we may not understand. We get caught up with other things, which may or may not be more important, but we forget. Art and music touch our inner self; reach us on levels deeper and richer than everyday life. Why can’t the arts reach these children and adults at those same levels?

My autistic son is artistic. It sounds funny, I know, but he is. At 12 months of age, he could match pitches, something that is difficult for most children under the age of 6 or 7 years to do. He loves music, of all sorts, and has quite a collection of CDs. He enjoys movies, mostly Disney, but has a sense of what he likes and plays those over and over again. Russ has perfect pitch, as does one of his brothers. Years ago, at a youth symphony concert, Russell was sitting with us as the high school group tuned and tuned…and tuned. He started to hum–his brother, Ben, looked me dead in the eye and said, “he’s humming the pitch they’re trying to tune to, Mom!” He loves to listen to our piano tuner tune our grand–and will hum pitches that should be, before they’re tuned. One tuner told me he hates people with perfect pitch–I told him not to hate Russ, it’s the only thing he can do. You see, Russell is not able to speak and his humming of pitches is the only way he has ever communicated with any sense of purpose or understanding.

Why shouldn’t Russell be artistic and musical? His mother and brothers are musicians, as well as a grandmother, a great-grandmother and an uncle. His grandfather was a nationally known dancer and ballet master. His father is a music lover and played music in our home from the time he was in the womb and beyond. Just because he is disabled doesn’t cancel out his heritage. He is a person, not a disability, and his artistic bent is separate from his autism.

Someone asked me a few years ago if I could tolerate those with less ability singing in my choirs. It was an odd question and this person did not know my background, especially since I think I am a better person, teacher and yes, conductor, because of Russell. I have had to look past certain things and be creative in my solutions and hope I come across as tolerant and supportive rather than too quick to judge. I have had to love unconditionally. It was then I remembered the quote of Henry van Dyke. Everyone should be able to participate in the arts, whatever their level, whatever their interests and I am happy ACDA realizes that. Our world is enriched because of the participation of those with challenges. It would indeed be a very silent wood if they weren’t encouraged.

Choral Potpourri: Plan for the Unexpected…or Else!

April 13, 2016 by Marie Grass Amenta Leave a Comment

“

In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. ” Dwight D. Eisenhower

We plan and plan and plan but things often happen we have no plans for or control over, so how do we recover and not have them happen again? My friend, Gigi*, recently sent me a few stories about lack of planning for situations no one could have predicted. Choral Ethics problems? Of course. And she sent her solutions too. Thanks, Gigi!

Non-church ensembles of all types are careful with their email lists. Audience and performers are promised that their information will only be used for communications from the choir. One ensemble encountered a sticky situation when a past singer asked them to email the choir to assist her church in finding an interim, part-time choir director. The ensemble declined the request, on the grounds that emailing one singer’s request would make difficult to turn down other singer requests, which would be a drain on volunteer time.

All three of these stories are in the plan-for-the-unexpected category.

It’s easier than ever to run a choir without an office. One community choir found out the downside, however, when between seasons a singer-board member responsible for the post office box key had a long illness. The director and the rest of the board only knew that the AWOL board member had missed meetings. They did not know that the P.O. Box had not been checked for a few months. After the situation was resolved, the first thing the choir did was get a second key for the P.O. Box.

Another choir encountered a more challenging situation when its director was hospitalized just before their first rehearsal. Fortunately, she was able to quickly contact a fellow director to run the first few rehearsals. The sub’s challenge was the sheet music was at the director’s home, not the rehearsal or storage space. The director’s family was busy running back and forth to the hospital, so it was hard to arrange to pick up the music. If there was ever a case for ordering your sheet music early and getting it to your rehearsal or storage space, you have just read it!

A director planning a concert with a pair of guest soloists was doing everything right, until he had a family emergency that took him away for a couple of rehearsals. He lined up a sub for those rehearsals, but the sub and the choir board didn’t have soloists’ names or contact information, just as they were approaching deadlines for the programs. And the director’s family emergency made it hard to reach him to get those details.

Singers who have encountered these kinds of emergencies gave a few tips that reduce stress for choirs and directors:

Volunteers are great, but get back-up coverage on important items such as access to storage, P.O. box, etc. If a volunteer has the choir cell phone, have someone call it every couple of weeks to be sure it’s being checked.
Plan ahead. Set concert repertoire before the first rehearsal and email it to the choir (or board, if you have one). If you miss the first rehearsal, your accompanist or sub will know what to do.
If you are hiring a guest soloist or guest instrumentalist, arrange it before first rehearsal, and give the name and contact information to your board or accompanist.
Have your sheet music in your rehearsal or storage space before first rehearsal.
While you are at it, give a copy of the sheet music to the accompanist before first rehearsal.
Think about whom you might have sub at a rehearsal for you, before you need the sub. Why not arrange a deal with a conducting friend to cover for each other in case of emergency?
It’s a good idea to have an occasional rehearsal sub or a guest conductor, so your choir can adjust if they need to sing several rehearsals or even a concert without you in front of them.

*Name withheld

Choral Potpourri: An Original

April 6, 2016 by Marie Grass Amenta Leave a Comment

“I invented my life by taking for granted that everything I did not like would have an opposite, which I would like.” Coco Chanel

At ACDA Central, I had the most interesting and delightful conversations with a young choral director, Hannah*. We both have founded choruses unique for our communities and have much in common because of it. Issues arise over territory when you begin something new, even if it is different from everything else. Someone always believes you are trying to infringe on the established when you are simply trying to do something new. It makes for interesting Choral Ethics dilemmas.

Hannah lives in a medium-sized city and directs an urban children’s chorus which she founded over a year ago. Her chorus is growing, by ten or so singers, every time a new concert session begins. She tells me she feels like the New Kid in Town but more than that, one of the established children’s choirs is making her feel like a usurper.

Hannah tells me she was told she could not continue using her chorus name which is registered with the state (researched before she could get a service mark and was approved) because it is “too close” to the Big Chorus’s name. Of course, this was done informally and they were just trying to be “helpful.” There are all sorts of misconceptions as to what Hannah’s purpose is and no matter how much she tries to explain the differences—her chorus is based in the city and the other group is based in the suburbs, her group is more diverse, the other, not so much—the more they don’t seem to “hear” her. While not overtly undermining her, the director of that other group is discouraging to her personally and to the concept of her chorus. And Hannah has heard from others in the choral community he talks of her group in a disparaging way. I told Hannah never to say a bad word about that director or his chorus and always behave supportive of his mission in public. Be above reproach and keep doing what she is doing, and don’t pay attention to the Big Group’s nonsense. Her chorus is growing, so she must be doing something right!

My experience in own situation was similar to Hannah’s. Exactly ten years ago, I founded a chamber choir. The journey to my Midwest Motet Society has several twists and turns and, in truth, did not turn out the way I thought it would. I had just left a stressful church job, kept my community children’s choir directorship but realized I also needed to be around adults as well to be happy professionally. I began voices lessons with a new teacher and looked around for a community chorus to sing with.

The three choruses in my community are perfectly wonderful, directed by lovely, talented people and yet, they were not for me. Two of them are non-auditioned and HUGE. One of them is auditioned and fairly big. All three of them sing standard choral repertoire but not the type of repertoire I really wanted to sing. I wanted to sing repertoire written for small ensembles; partsongs and madrigals and motets. But I could not find a group doing what I wanted to do within a reasonable drive from home, so I decided to start my own chamber choir in the area.

I have taken great pains (taking directors out to lunch or coffee and actually telling them my intentions so there can be no misunderstanding) to make sure the other choruses in my area understand I am not in competition with them. I have had a good number of singers sing with me in addition to singing in one of the others (one person has sung in two of the three in addition to my MMS) and make sure to be sensitive to any rehearsal conflict. I hope we all have a cordial relationship, as is my intention, but if they don’t understand that to be the case, there is nothing I can do about it. I let it go, live my life and try to be above reproach. No one can fault me for trying to do that, can they?

*Name withheld

Choral Potpourri: Busy Times

March 23, 2016 by Marie Grass Amenta Leave a Comment

“He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.” Victor Hugo

I am sure you are busy. In fact, I know you are busy this week. This week, Holy Week is the distillation of all we as choral professionals do, packed into seven days. A friend of mine in grad school, who used to sung with the professional choir at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago, told me she and her fellow choristers called this “H**L Week.” At the end of the Week on Easter Sunday, they came out of it bleary eyed, craving chocolate and wanting to sleep for 24 hours. Most church musicians can relate to this and even if you are not a church musician, you can relate.

Whether you are singing, playing or conducting this week, you are busy. But this is just the showy part of worship services and rehearsals, lined up one after another during Holy Week, the real work took place months ago. I explain to my civilian friends and family, being a choral conductor means steady planning for months, then intense busyness, then nothing. And repeat. It may seem to my mother-in-law I don’t work during the summer but it’s my most productive time. And my planning is probably more important than my actual doing.

This week, all your plans are coming to fruition. Everything you’ve been working on for months is finally coming together. There is a light at the end of the tunnel lined with Easter Lilies. You are almost there with only a couple of rehearsals left.

Remember to jot down, when you have a minute, what works and what doesn’t this week so you’ll be a bit ahead for next year. Remember to eat properly and get enough sleep (if you can) so you can get through the whole week and not crash at the end. Remember to participate in, as well as observe your beautifully planned Tenebrae service and feel the wonder of it all. Remember to guide your choirs and the other musicians through the last part of their Lenten journey. Remember to remember what this feels like; a wonderfully planned and perfectly executed Holy Week and even if you don’t think it is, someone will, so take the compliment!

We are almost there, almost. Take a break, take a nap and then buckle down for these last few days. The brass players are ready, the organ and piano are tuned, your choirs seem prepared and everything is in place. I can smell the Easter Lilies……what you waiting for……let’s do this!