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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.

Search Results for: choir

Why your choir isn’t getting enough donations (and exactly how to fix it)

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Choir Web DesignWe Craft Your Place Choral Management Series Why your choir isn’t getting enough donations (and exactly how to fix it) Christmas is when audiences are most willing to give. Yet, most choir websites treat donations as an afterthought. Here are the 7 critical mistakes holding your funding back, based on behavioral science. Methodology […]

Directors of advanced choirs, rejoice!

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Featuring the catalogs of Alex Berko Music & Benjamin M. Cramer The “stirring” (New York Times), “intoxicating” (Philadelphia Inquirer), and “disarmingly beautiful” (Textura) music of American composer Alex Berko (b. 1995) is characterized by a balance of intimacy and power, a keen sense of lyricism and emotional sensitivity, and a love of narrative. Berko’s music often poses […]

A bouquet of choirs in Portugal

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What a colourful variation of choirs and performances it has been at the last edition of Beira Interior! We would very much like to have a similar atmosphere at our festival next year – help us by bringing your culture and style! Contact to learn more about how to do that 🙂 We hope […]

St. Cecilia Chamber Choir Presents Lessons and Carols for the Christmas Season on Dec. 20 and 21

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St. Cecilia Chamber Choir will present its popular annual Lessons and Carols Christmas concerts on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 4:00 p.m. at Bowdoin College Chapel in Brunswick, and Sunday, Dec. 21 at 4:00 p.m. at Damariscotta Baptist Church. Linda Blanchard is St. Cecilia’s artistic director, assisted by organist Sean Fleming. Advance tickets are strongly encouraged for […]

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