Church Choir

“Consistency is the last refuge of the unimaginative.” Oscar Wilde School is back in session. Rehearsals have begun. The Pumpkin-Spice-Maple delights are back in the coffee shops and bakeries; must be almost Autumn! How was your summer? Did you accomplish everything you wanted to? Did you have a chance to relax, really relax, for a […]

“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” Francis of Assisi I receive quite a few emails with people’s thoughts about my Choral Ethics project. Some folks tell me they are not exactly sure what Choral Ethics is, but will know it when they see it. Some tell me […]

By Richard Clark In their simplest form, choir robes and choral garments have been in existence since antiquity. The notion of a uniformed collective of singers extends almost as far back as civilization itself to the Ancient Greeks, as portrayed on classic ceramics and earthenware. The format of figures wearing similar, loosely fitting tunics, intermingled […]

Like most high school choir teachers, only a couple of the ensembles I teach are auditioned.  While I love it this way, as it allows me to keep recruiting and bringing in students to sing who may not be interested in a heavier commitment, it can make planning literature a nightmare.  How many students will […]

“No man thinks there is much ado about nothing when the ado is about himself.” Anthony Trollope I have a soft spot in my heart for choir ringers. You know, those paid singers who help out, fill out and sing out for typical church or community choirs who need a little extra help. My own […]

Many of us with smaller or limited men’s choruses are often searching for music in no more than two or three parts.  The challenge here is that sometimes such music sounds too simple or is not “meaty” enough for our singers.  This week’s post will glance at three pieces for men’s chorus that are musically […]

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people. “Mahatma Gandhi Today we have two more stories from the Choral Ethics mailbag. Both seem pretty topical. One is from a male singer. The other is about three different church musicians who experienced the same thing, on the same day. The […]

Since starting at my current church, the choir has rallied behind four “functions” of a church choir and has been central in helping the church become what song-enliveners affectionately call a “singing congregation.” As the director of a church choir I use four functions to explain why the church choir exists. Those priorities help determine […]

WHAT POWERS THE CHURCH CHOIR? by Thomas Vozzella          As we begin the 50 days of Easter, following intensive Holy Week worship experiences, I have been renewed with a deeper understanding of why some church choirs give, give and give more, whereas other choirs make the whole experience torture for themselves and their director(s). […]

(An excerpt from the interest session “A Place in the Choir, a Choir in the Place,” presented by Charlotte Kroeker during the 2014 ACDA Southwestern Division Conference)          According to a Chorus America study,  More choirs are found in churches than anywhere else in the U.S., 216,000 of 270,000.  80% of all choirs in […]