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“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” Winston Churchill

I’m rerunning some Choral Ethics blogs from years past with a few modifications where needed. Two of my MOST REQUESTED December Blogs will also be making their yearly appearances.

In a few days, it will be Christmas Eve. Your plans have been made for months if you’re anything like me. But this is the Christmas of 2025, so you probably have a “Plan B” if you’re smart and I know you are. Here in the Midwest, there could be a blizzard predicted, so that always adds another layer of planning. Just when we think things are back to “normal,” something happens to mess it all up!

Advent and Christmas, more than Lent and Easter, are much more stressful for our profession. I’m not sure why, but perhaps it’s the gift giving and baking and traveling to see family and friends and all the concerts and services we must prepare or attend. Or maybe it’s just the time of year, who knows? We have many things to accomplish, usually in the dark, and we rarely get all accomplished. I do know for a fact we’re all stressed.

I am here today to remind you to try to be as relaxed as you are able to be, in this super busy season for Choral Folk. Take a breath and when you are thrown for a loop, take another breath. And be kind. Be kind to those around you, whether they be your family, your choir or those you work with. Make kindness “your thing” this Christmas, no matter what happens. Be kind, my dear friends, and reap the benefits later.

Stress cancels out the beauty of the season and there is plenty of beauty so take a breath, do your Alexander Technique breathing or yoga breathing, and take a moment to relax and enjoy. You deserve the beauty; you deserve the goodness you’ve been creating for everyone else this holiday season. You deserve to have some cookies and eggnog and punch, so have some. And you deserve to have some Fa-La-Las directed by someone else for a change!

Know you’ve made a difference in someone’s life this holiday season and you may never know it. Be okay with not knowing because that will be your gift to the world. Your choir singing “Es ist ein Ros entsprungen” may have comforted a child who lost a parent this year or someone newly widowed. Singing “Silent Night” may be the only time a rough and tough teenager uses their voice and finds they like singing. Something you do, something you have planned, something you are not aware of will make a difference. You may find out, you may not, but know you have made a difference.

Much love to you all, ChoralNet, as we ’round the corner to Christmas.

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What’s on Great Sacred Music, Sunday, June 14, 2015

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In case you cannot hear the show live, the playlist is on Spotify for you to enjoy: GSM – June 14, 2015 Don’t forget that we have more choral and organ music programmed on Sunday evenings beginning at 10 p.m. eastern.   Rob Rob Kennedy Great Sacred Music The Classical Stationhttp://theclassicalstation.org ……………………………   08:01:11 Arvo Part: […]

ALBION – On Radio 3

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For those of you who missed the cahnce to hear Albion on Meet the Choir on Radio 3, Sunday afternoon Choir programme with Sara Mohr-Pietsch there is a second chance on Sunday 5th July.   Don’t say you have not been warned – chance to catch up with a little of the back story of […]

The MacPherson Prize

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Know an inspiring conductor in Texas? Nominate him or her for our prestigious MacPherson Prize by July 1. The selected recipient will be awarded $1,500 and the chance to conduct at the May 2016 SACC concert. Learn more at http://www.sachamberchoir.org/about/the-macpherson-award/

New Novello Anthem Book for Upper Voices

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The New Novello Book of Short & Easy Anthems offers a new and generous selection of works for all occasions and times of year – either for use as introits or communion motets – that require minimal rehearsal time. While a few of the pieces may be well-known there are many new works in this […]

Gordon Nelson – In Memoriam

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Gordon Nelson 1931-2015
   Gordon Nelson, the founder and artistic director of the international award-winning Detroit Concert Choir, was surrounded by his family as he passed into eternal life at age 83 on Friday, May 8, 2015, at his home in Michigan.
 Gordon was an extraordinary musician who knew how to challenge singers and bring out their […]

Save Your Summer Online Finds for the Fall Season

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  For many of us, the summer season is a time to step back and plan the next year’s programs, explore new literature, techniques or ideas, or just catch up on the reading we didn’t do during the rest of the year. We also may not see our ensembles much (if at all) for the […]

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