ACDA Publications

The October issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Burnout Prevention for Conductors and Their Choirs” by Amelia Nagoski. You can read it in its entirety at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is a portion from the article.

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Burnout does not happen because we did not try to take care of ourselves. We are all trying, all the time, to be and do everything we can for our singers, for our families, for ourselves. When we are overwhelmed and exhausted, we are told it’s our fault because we did not take enough “me time,” as if what we needed was more persistence and discipline. Choral musicians can experience judgement, harassment, and prejudice within their own community because they do not have the right religion, body size and shape, sexuality, education, etc. We are all stressed, not just by the things we choose to do, but by the intolerance and injustice that are imposed upon us. Unfortunately, the music industry is more toxic than most.

This is why the cure for burnout is not self-care. No matter how many massages we get or vacations we take, we still live in a world that tells us we just need more grit; that if we don’t have what we want, we just haven’t worked hard enough. What makes this even more difficult and complicated is that every member of your choir lives in the world. They are walking into rehearsal fresh from a day of harassment, micro-aggressions, and news of violence against members of disadvantaged communities.

Then we ask them to sing. For most of them, it is a release and a comfort to use their voices, to connect with other singers, and to explore music that expresses a truth about human experience. It is necessary, therefore, to ask ourselves: Is our choir a place where they escape the oppressions of the wider world?

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Read the full article in the October 2021 issue of Choral Journal at acda.org/choraljournal

The October issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Remember You: Mental Health in a Life Dedicated to Choral Music” by Stephanie and Troy Robertson. You can read it in its entirety at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is a portion from the introduction.

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For many choral musicians, our profession is our primary identity. Our mental landscape is dominated by it. We, like artists and teachers in other vocations, repeat sayings that implicate the whole of our life, not merely part: “A calling, not a job,” “dark to dark,” “you don’t do it for the money.” When we reflect on our profession, it is with the lofty ambition to touch and change our singers’ lives as well as our own. The litany of activities this entails is well known: classroom teaching, ensembles, extracurricular ensembles, performances at night and on weekends, fundraisers.

For those of us who lead choirs in sacred spaces our work includes some of the most intimate moments in the lives of our choristers: new babies, weddings, sickness, funerals, moving into a new town, moving away from those we love, years and years of music and fellowship, rites and sacraments that cycle with the seasons of the year and the seasons of a life. How does this affect our mental health? In what ways do we face unique challenges, and how do we cope with such demands on our time and energy?

Moving Beyond Problem Admiration

To make meaningful changes, we must clearly identify the problem, but we must also move beyond discussing, defining, and considering the problem. The interventions described in this article are no substitute for clinical treatment. If you are struggling with mental health, the assistance of a counselor may be the best option. Types of therapists and additional resources are outlined at the end of this article. However, there are numerous interventions and applications that may be beneficial to put into practice independently.

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Read the full article in the October 2021 issue of Choral Journal at acda.org/choraljournal