Ramona M. Wis

We are nearing the end of a year that will forever remain in our minds, our hearts, and our personal narratives.  A year that, when we look back, will be that slowly unfolding “moment” where we dug deep, fought a relentless pandemic, considered serious questions and made important decisions, found new skills and creative energies and insights, and sometimes, celebrated and danced when we saw goodness, large or small.

In the middle of it all, our choral community can continue to be a source of grounding–for our singers, and for us.

Today, I am sharing a meditation that I do with our choirs.  I usually lead this at the beginning of rehearsal to get us settled, focused, and ready for whatever we have planned, but you can also tailor it to be a shorter closing practice for the end of rehearsal.  This is a breath meditation with some attention to the muscles of the jaw and eyes, where we hold a lot of tension but rarely realize it.  In particular, taking time to relax the eyes during a screen-heavy day is most helpful.  And yes, I do this in our virtual rehearsals and it has been an important part of our time together this fall.

You may want to record this meditation for yourself so that you can experience it first and then you will be more comfortable guiding your singers.  This is not a rigid script; I change this every time, but it is a good starting point especially if you have not done this before with your choir.  Use a moderate pace and warm timbre; pause where indicated to give them enough time to tune inward.  Watch singers so you are aware of any adjustments you need to make in real time.  If someone is restless and opens their eyes, smile and nod at them to assure them they can just sit and breathe with eyes open until the meditation is done.  Let them be.  

When you are done, don’t shock the nervous system by rushing on to your agenda.  Smile, have them stand and find good singing posture and ease into your vocal warm-ups, starting with something of moderate tempo, range, and volume, and connect the awareness you just experienced in your mindfulness practice to what you create in your “singing practice.”  Gradually, you can build from there and singers will be ready for the challenges and the opportunities and the joys of the day.

The great gift of yoga is that it teaches us to draw inward so that, with time and practice, we can return to our outward lives with greater equanimity.  To be able to pause, breathe, notice, and let go. 

A Meditation for Singers

Come to the forward edge of your chair (or couch or bench) . . .  wherever you are.  Take a tall seat, allowing your sit bones to anchor you and help you feel grounded, while lifting up through the crown of your head to create lightness and freedom.  Let your feet rest on the floor, and your hands, rest gently on your thighs.

You can either close your eyes, if you are comfortable, or soften your gaze.  Keep your chin level to the floor, but allow your gaze to float downward.

Begin to settle in: to this space . . . this time . . . this body that houses your spirit.  Breathe.

(Pause for a few breaths)

Notice your breathing:  the pace, the quality.  The balance between your inhale and your exhale.

Without judging or fixing, or feeling that it needs to be “right” . . . just become aware of your breath, like an outside observer remarking,  “Isn’t that interesting?”  Then let it go.  

(Pause for a few breaths)

Continue to breathe naturally as you draw your attention to your chin and jaw.  Unclench your teeth and allow gravity to melt your facial muscles into release.

Relax the eyes.  Soften any holding here.  Let your eyes be heavy in their sockets and let your lids be light.

Smooth out the skin of your forehead between the eyebrows. 

Breathe and rest in this moment.  You are grounded and you are light.  You feel spacious and free.

(Pause for several breaths)

Begin to deepen your inhale and pause.  Lengthen your exhale and pause.  Then return to your normal breathing.

(Pause for a few breaths)

On your next inhale, gently flutter open your eyes.

~~~

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium.  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) with training in yoga history, philosophy, meditation, energetics, pranayama (breath work), anatomy, Sanskrit, and the teaching, sequencing, and adaptations of asana (posture-based) practice. Reach her at:  

Check out these meditations on YouTube, designed for musicians and for students:

Intro to Meditation for Musicians  https://youtu.be/A2Il5R9TW7k

5 Senses Meditation for Musicians  https://youtu.be/v0cHm7WnLbo

A Meditation for Managing School Stress  https://youtu.be/TCY7m10sCF0

By Ramona M. Wis

Rise Up!

There shall never be another season of silence.

Deepen your sympathy, then convert it to action.

Pray every single second of your life, not on your knees but with your work.

Think your best thoughts, Speak your best words, Do your best work.

There is so much yet to be done.

Rise Up!

Taken from speeches and writings of Susan B. Anthony

These words of Susan B. Anthony, brilliantly set by Jake Runestad in his piece, Rise Up, for women’s voices, have become the centerpiece of my teaching this fall.  Our Women’s Chorale has discussed the centennial celebration of the 19^th amendment, giving women the constitutional right to vote, serendipitously occurring during a time when we face what is arguably the most important election in our lifetimes. And all of our choirs have had important conversations inspired by the text of the pieces they are preparing:  discussions about equity, love, and moving joyously toward a better world.  

There shall never be another season of silence

Yes, we always talk about the text and context of the music we sing; this is central to our work as conductors.  But the questions, challenges, and uncertainties of our world loom larger than ever.  We have an opportunity and I believe, a responsibility, to find appropriate ways to help singers make sense of it all as they grow as musicians and as people.

An important point:  this post is not about ideologies of politics or religion.  It is more personal, central to our core and our ability to function as the best version of ourselves in the world.  This is about the human need for agency.

In their book, The Power of Agency, Paul Napper and Anthony Rao, write, “ Agency is what allows you to pause, evaluate, and act when you face a challenge—be it at work, home, or anywhere else in the world. . . . In simpler words, agency is what humans have always used to feel in command of their lives.” (6)  

It may be a long time since you (or your singers) have felt “in command of your life.”  Even before the pandemic, anxiety and overwhelm were common experiences for so many, as we “[absorbed and carried] around unhealthy amounts of tension, worry, and fear, which produce more distraction, restlessness, and fatigue.” (7)  When we are in constant reaction mode (high alert), we feel like the victim and this leads to damaging physical reactions in the body. Fight, flight, or freeze.

We have never been more aware of all the things we can’t control.  Which means we have never been more in need of reclaiming our sense of agency and helping singers to do the same.  

I have thought a lot about agency and how it intersects with the human need to feel significant, to know that we matter.  It is easy for singers to feel lost in large ensembles; even more now, in a Zoom world.  The feeling of insignificance is often rooted in the belief that we don’t have much to offer, no real way to impact the events and people around us or even, our own lives.  Lack of agency leaves us feeling stuck, “controlled or held back by outside forces . . . .  Lack of agency often involves experiencing considerable doubt about your proper place in the world.” (11)

We have the opportunity to change this narrative for those we lead, to help them realize they have worth, insight, and the ability to act in small and often, large ways, to create important change.  “Agency is about being active rather than passive . . . “ (6); agency is our voice expressed through action.

Deepen your sympathy, then convert it to action

How can we help singers build their agency (agency can be learned); how can you pray every single second of your life, not on your knees but with your work?

Think your best thoughts

Start by believing that your singers are capable; that underneath their current level of musical skill lies an ocean of thought, feeling, insight, wisdom, and a whole lot of “stuff” we know little to nothing about.  Everyone in our ensemble is an expert on something.  Let’s respect that.

Speak your best words

During breathwork in rehearsal, say “decide what you need right now” (deeper inhale for energy or long exhale for calm?) rather than controlling the timing of the breath.  During warm-ups, especially when muted on Zoom, you might say “explore different vowels or dynamics.”  When you explore gesture or practice Tree pose for focus, invite singers to “play with whatever gesture or arm position works for you.”  We can lead corporately and still allow for individual judgement (decision making) and action (key to agency) but we need to speak words, adapting for age or experience, that acknowledge singers’ ability to do what is best for them in this moment.

Then . . .  

Do your best work

Lack of agency can be reframed as an “erosion of confidence.” (15)  We build singers’ confidence when we do our best teaching.  The choral skills we have always taught and now, also, all things tech (like it or not).  I am so aware how our singers changed from their first video submission to their last as they gained skill and understanding of the music and the tools we currently rely on to share that music.  Singers are more confident (if not a little tech-fatigued), with a noticeable change in demeanor and engagement in rehearsal. 

There is so much yet to be done

No doubt, both in our choral lives and in the wider world.  I will continue to seek input from singers on repertoire, technology, rehearsal schedule and format, and so much more.  And in this final week before the election, I will encourage everyone to build on the small actions and exercise their agency in a larger way:

VOTE.  Don’t let the vote happen to you.  You can happen to the vote.

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium.  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) with training in yoga history, philosophy, meditation, energetics, pranayama (breath work), anatomy, Sanskrit, and the teaching, sequencing, and adaptations of asana (posture-based) practice. Reach her at:  

Check out Rise Up by Jake Runestad: https://jakerunestad.com/

Read more about the Women’s Vote Centennial Initiative: https://www.2020centennial.org

Check out The Power of Agency Paul Napper, Psy.D and Anthony Rao, Ph.D. : www.amazon.com/dp/1250127572/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_BnBLFb5GZZE3S

By Ramona M. Wis

Planting trees early in spring, 

we make a place for birds to sing

in time to come.  How do we know?

They are singing here now.

There is no other guarantee

that singing will ever be.

~ Wendell Berry

I recently came upon these words of Wendell Berry’s poem, “For the Future,” set in a lovely piece of the same name by Andrew Maxfield.  Like all of my favorite poems, this one is simple, yet profound—and timely. 

As I write this, we are beginning our sixth week of the semester, enough time to have gotten into a kind of routine in our virtual modality.  I have been observing what is working, while continuing to reframe the experience of “choir” as singers go through an interesting cycle of adapt, engage, and grow; of being “excited for rehearsal today” . . .  and of periodically pulling away (emotionally or literally) from over-exposure to Zoom and the fatigue and disappointment from this whole new way of life.  

My own experience is not too different.  I have my routine of preparing my rehearsal plan (as always, on my trusty yellow legal pad), setting up my space (easier now without a choir room of chairs to haul around), readying my technology (with new surprises every day), and choosing, studying, and preparing repertoire (uniquely challenging right now).  I fight and usually win the battle of my own fatigue from the many collaborative Zooms and emails involved in preparing performance tracks, designing virtual performances, setting deadlines, and generating paperwork, and from listening to countless audio and video submissions, all towards ensuring a quality virtual concert that can give us a sense of musical community and artistic fulfillment.  

In the midst of all this, it occurs to me—this is planting.  This is important work.  This is building new skills even when singers are not sure they need them.  This is developing relationships at an earlier and more individual level:  encouraging singers, individually coaching them, and being a resource for them in their doubt and rekindled grief over a way of life not possible now.  This is meeting and connecting with colleagues in more regular ways and being grateful for their willingness to share resources and time.  This is reaching into my creative well to discover what needs to stay, what needs to be released, and what must be discovered or developed.

We are planting now.  For the short term, to sustain our community and create new kinds of performances and for the long term, to ensure that the singing, our art form, our humanity can have an even stronger foundation, a “tree” that anchors and houses us so we can unleash that which we were designed to do.  

By planting, “we make a place for birds to sing.”  I have been writing a book exploring the intersection of making a place and making art.  These themes resonate with me in new ways now.  Berry’s words remind me that our work is always about creating a context, imbued with possibilities for our singers to be the best version of themselves.  This is no less important and I would say, no less achievable now, when we consider the essence of this idea.  While our strategies and goals have been reimagined, the context we provide every rehearsal is still the place for singing to happen.

“ . . . [I]n time to come . . . .”  Here is our biggest challenge.  If we think of the “time to come” as a future two years from now, we miss the opportunity to grow the singers we work with right now.  We are not in a “holding pattern,” but rather a planting season which leads to growth, even of the smallest kind, well before the mighty oak is at full maturity.  Whatever our teaching and conducting life is like now, can we craft our daily work to reap benefits in a nearer future—next week and the week after, rather than “when normal returns?”

“How do we know? They are singing here now . . . .”   Whatever it looks like, however we have adapted, it is leading to singing here now.  Even in their own personal choir rooms, singers are singing. In their video or audio submissions, they are singing.  In our virtual performances, they are singing.  

There is no other guarantee

that singing will ever be.

Guarantees are hard to come by, but the poet’s message is clear—plant the foundation and create the place, and our “birds” will sing.  And when we hear their voices and see their faces blending in that virtual performance, we will know that what we are doing with and for our singers, remains important work.  

Maybe the words of this poem are not timely, but rather, timeless . . . plant now.  For tomorrow, for the future, for always.  

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium.  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) with training in yoga history, philosophy, meditation, energetics, pranayama (breath work), anatomy, Sanskrit, and the teaching, sequencing, and adaptations of asana (posture-based) practice.

Check out the USC Chamber Choir’s performance of Andrew Maxfield’s “For the Future:”

By Ramona M. Wis

Earth and Sky.  

Two deeply embedded experiences in our lives, embedded since we took our first breaths.  Images, sensibilities, metaphors, and even the gravitational pull of Earth and Sky show up in our everyday life: in our speech, our actions (or lack of action), and our sense of felt wellness, of “being right with the world.”  And because our lives include our teaching and our making of art, Earth and Sky show up in our work, as well.

Earth.  Where we spent our first year gaining our “grounding,” learning from the energy we feel when we connect directly with the ground as we learn to walk.  Earth sensibilities are reflected in everyday language:  she is “well-grounded” or they need to “stand on their own two feet;” he is “earthy” (hmm, hopefully that doesn’t mean smelly) or “down to earth.”  

Beyond physical stability, Earth gives us a sense of emotional, intellectual, and artistic stability.  With a healthy sense of Earth we have the confidence, clarity, and strength to meet life’s challenges, whether large, pandemic-size challenges or those on the daily to-do list. We know who we are; we have direction and are less likely to be swayed by the impulse of the moment—by fears, judgement, or competition (even with ourselves).  We are “rooted,” “sturdy,” and calm, with a long, steady exhale and a sense of peace in the midst of the frenetic pace.  

But Earth can have a downside (sorry, bad pun).  Too deep a sense of Earth can make us, what yogis would call, tamasic: we experience inertia or stubbornness; we avoid trying something new or we may be limited in our thinking.  When Earth is too strong, we can be lethargic, even depressed, and professionally uninspired or just plain stuck.

Enter Sky.  

Do you remember, as a kid, laying in the grass or a hammock and idly looking up at the Sky?  (I still do this and even take sky pictures when I am not buried in the minutiae of my life.)  

Sky is vast.  It represents unlimited possibility and the sense that there is something larger than ourselves.  Sky is air, wind, atmosphere or “heavens.”

Sky may evoke a sense of God or Universe or Spirit . . . of inspiration, the root of which (inspirare) can be defined as “to breathe or blow into.” Breath, air, spirit, inspiration, prana or life force . . . all are fueled by our awareness of and experience with, Sky.

Sky encourages growth.  Trees grow up, reaching toward the Sky, energized by the atmosphere, by the sun.  Thinking of Sky can increase our inhale and physical energy and encourage a more lifted posture or optimistic tone of voice or facial expression.

But Sky, like Earth, can lead us off balance.  Too much Sky, and our “head is in the clouds;” we can be “flighty” or overwhelmed.  We take on too much and have trouble making decisions, suffering from FOBO (Fear of Better Options) because we have to research just a little more before we finalize our virtual concert program for the world to see.  Too much Sky can leave us anxious, unfocused, or erratic in thinking or action.

When we feel pulled in one direction, residing too long in Earth or Sky, we feel “off.”  We experience a sense of dis-ease that can show up in physical symptoms or just a broader sense of something missing, and we find ourselves searching endlessly for something to unify us towards center, to make us and our work, whole.

Do you tend toward Earth or Sky?  Know that your natural inclinations are not bad—you were designed with those characteristics precisely because they—you—are needed in this world.  Great teachers, great leaders help ground and stabilize those around them; great teachers, great leaders also catalyze themselves and others to new possibility.  But if you are not in balance, you won’t be living your best life.

Too much Earth? Move.  Physically move, regularly, and move your thinking, ideas, patterns, and habits to loosen the “stuckness” of your world.  Surround yourself with people who move. Deepen your inhale.

Too much Sky?  Adopt slower, steady, contemplative movement (a walk that is more meditative than competitive).  Limit options, say no, make a decision and stay with it.  Stop Googling for more answers (aka “distractions”). Surround yourself with people who are grounding.  Extend your exhale.  

Know that your singers are just like you, sometimes stuck in Earth or frenetic in Sky.  Work from where they are (each day or over a period of time) and gradually move them toward balance, toward sattva.  Do singers need security or variety?  Do they need more structure, a clearer routine (more Earth) or a fresh perspective and new goals (more Sky)?  Evaluate how you spend your time and energy and develop strategies to shift, as needed, towards Earth or Sky.  We, as teacher/conductor/leaders, are a balancing agent for our singers, in rehearsal and often, beyond.  

The wisdom of Earth and Sky is only understood when we take time away from our devices and the mental chatter and look to nature to help remember who we are.  Only then can we bring that wisdom back to our work and to ourselves for a better sense of wholeness, always willing to shift with grace between Earth and Sky for a greater good.

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium.  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) with training in yoga history, philosophy, meditation, energetics, pranayama (breath work), anatomy, Sanskrit, and the teaching, sequencing, and adaptations of asana (posture-based) practice.

For further reading:

Tamas  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tamas_(philosophy)

Sattva  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sattva

Prana  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prana

Inspirare  https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-origins-of-inspire

Or check out Walter Bitner’s blog from last week on inspiration:  https://choralnet.org/2020/09/off-the-podium-inspiration-part-1/

By Ramona M. Wis

“Movement is essential.”  Katy Bowman, M.S., biomechanist

I just finished my first week of fall classes:  five rehearsals and two non-performance class meetings, all online.  While it was different, the experience was enlightening, connected, and inspiring on many levels.  The unsolicited feedback from students after the first day of rehearsals was very positive and while I would like to think I had some kind of magic formula, it was clear to me that the breathing and moving we do together are more important than ever for creating normalcy.  It centers us and connects us to each other, even from our personal choir rooms on Zoom. Movement has become the new throwback, the essential that has been shelved in an increasingly sedentary and virtual world.

A few weeks ago, I wrote about breath as fundamental to developing the “well” choir.  Teaching singers to use breath awareness to change one’s state—from anxious to calm or from lethargic to active—can help restore balance and create readiness for our work.  While breath is essential to being alive it is also the tool we carry with us to help cope with life’s challenges and prepare for life’s possibilities.  Knowing how to move our breath, and our bodies, can dramatically increase our felt sense of wellness.

There are countless gesture and movement activities we can use in rehearsal.  What matters is that we move, that we move mindfully, and that we attach movement to our larger learning goals and experience.  Today, let’s consider how subtle movement, built on grounding activities, can enhance our ability to breathe, and be, well.

To start from a healthy seated position, ask singers to come to the front edge of their chair (or couch, bed, stool, whatever they are using).  Encourage them to find their “sit bones,” the bony ischial tuberosity (for the biomechanics fans out there) which grounds us in a seated position.  Yoga teachers cue students to shift their weight slightly and move the flesh out of the sitting area on one side, then do the same on the other, in order to make room for/feel the connection of the sit bones to the chair.  Pause to let singers know that being grounded is not just good for singing but also for our overall sense of stability and security.

Begin breathing practice from here or, to help open the body for better breathing, ask singers to place their hands on their thighs and practice several rounds of “Cat/Cow” (Marjaryasana/Bitilasana).  “Exhale as you round the back and let the head gently follow, looking down; then, initiating with the inhale, lift the chest and look forward, continuing slightly upward.  Repeat this flow, breathing at your natural pace, and notice the body opening up and releasing tension from all that time spent staring at screens.”  Remind singers that when they sing, they want to experience flexibility built on stability, a “both/and” experience.

Ask singers to stand.  Help them visualize their feet as having “four corners,” under the big and little toe and the back two corners of the heel.  Even with shoes on (though in a remote world, they can comfortably lose them), singers can lift their toes and reconnect them with the earth to feel stable.  “Bring your weight to the place where the heel meets the arch, perhaps shifting your weight side to side and forward to back until you find that stability.”  Remind singers to keep a micro-bend in the knees to prevent them from locking, especially under performance pressure.

From here, you are ready to breathe more fully, using the breath awareness practices I wrote about in my earlier essay or whatever you choose to do.  Invite singers to use simple gestures to “conduct” their breathing, using both arms to balance the body and create more space.  Some will prefer a lifting gesture on inhale, arms floating out from the sides and up to shoulder height and then releasing on exhale. Others choose to mirror the movement of the diaphragm by pressing hands down on the inhale, then gently releasing them to their starting position on exhale.  As singers become comfortable, they will create and adapt their gesture and breathing for what they need that day and they will develop their own movement repertoire to help them in their singing practice, which we can encourage them to call upon throughout our work together.

Observing singers during this breath and movement exploration allows us to make mental notes about individuals and by extension, about the ensemble as rehearsal begins that day.  Are they moving with energy or not much at all? Are they painting an expansive gesture and likely in a positive mood, ready to go? Do they show frustration with any part of this activity?  As always, we adapt to the needs of the day and to the singers, knowing we can build on their mind/body/spirit awareness each time we meet.

Even in our virtual formats, movement in breath and body can be the key to our artistic and community-building mission.  While we continue to innovate practices and learn new technology, let us remember—that which we know well can be our best strategy as we lead in new territory. 

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium.  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) with training in yoga history, philosophy, meditation, energetics, pranayama (breath work), anatomy, Sanskrit, and the teaching, sequencing, and adaptations of asana (posture-based) practice.

This blog is informational and is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical or psychological conditions.  Always consult your medical practitioners who know you and your needs and can advise you accordingly. 

For further exploration:

Short video with great visuals by Feldenkrais teacher Alfons Grabher, “Where are your hip joints and sit-bones? EXPLAINED,” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6mBMrX4fss

Marjaryasana/Bitilasana https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/cat-pose and https://www.yogajournal.com/poses/cow-pose

Katy Bowman, biomechanist, author of several books, including:  Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement and Movement Matters:  Essays on Movement Science, Movement Ecology, and the Nature of Movement.  See her author page on amazon:  https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/entity/author/B0057HLJY2?_encoding=UTF8&node=283155&offset=0&pageSize=12&searchAlias=stripbooks&sort=author-sidecar-rank&page=1&langFilter=default#formatSelectorHeader

By Ramona M. Wis

Singing for the Greater Good has been our choirs’ “North Star” for several years, evolving as we became more and more aware of the broader, deeper, more impactful aspects of the choral music making process.  Singing for the Greater Good unites us, guides our decision making, and recalibrates us when challenges arise, as they have in big ways over the last several months and will continue to for an undetermined amount of time in our future.

In March, I took the ideas that we talk about in rehearsal and put them into a kind of open letter to our singers.  I am sharing a reframed version with you today to encourage us to remember that the unchanging, guiding aspects of our choral lives can still remain, even though they might look different.

Here is part of my letter to our singers, reframed for our virtual reality:

“Singing for the Greater Good can be understood as three concentric circles, like ripples from a stone tossed into a pond.  It starts with each individual—how can singing, creating music, contribute to your greater good?  How has it enriched or healed you?  How has it challenged you, developed your personal grit (argh, I have to go back to this piece AGAIN, it still isn’t where it needs to be) and resilience? How has it engaged you intellectually as you process complex rhythms or melodic lines that don’t seem to make much sense?  How has it demanded of you physically, as you learn to breathe more fully or understand the mechanisms of your voice and your body as your instrument?  How has it disciplined you and your time management or shaped you as a thinker and human? 

“Singing for the Greater Good ripples out to the community in which we create music.  After all, we are not solo artists; we are a CHOIR, the very definition of which is a group, a community of individuals who come together, even virtually, to create something that cannot be created alone.  

“Let that sink in a minute. 

“What we do as individuals—our musical preparation, our focus, our attitude, even simply our attendance in a Zoom rehearsal—determines the quality of everyone else’s experience as well as our own.  How different is it when we think of our vocal line as related to the line someone else sings?  How much more does this awareness develop our individual understanding of ‘why’ we do what we do and how much richer is the fabric of the music we make, the experience we have, and the relationships we develop? And how has singing in our choirs helped you understand how your personal health and wellness can contribute to the well-being of others around you, in particular, during a global pandemic? 

“Here is where we are on to something that is not only important for us to be a better choir but also a better participant in that widest circle, our world.  

“When we sing with others in mind—those who are very much like us or not at all like us—we demonstrate an ability to think bigger than ourselves.  To recognize our common humanity and spirit despite what might, on the surface, separate us. Choirs show what it means to be dependent on others at the same time we are empowering to others and how the physical, spiritual, and artistic energies converge to transcend whatever makes us grumble in our everyday lives.  

“And in times of deep challenge, the lessons we learn and experiences we have as members of our choirs can be an important force:  strengthening, enlivening, modeling, healing, and moving us forward to something better, healthier, happier, and more whole, even when, for a period of time, we cannot convene together in the same space.”

This fall, I have reframed our North Star as, “STILL Singing for the Greater Good.”  The challenges we have been anticipating and others we can’t envision do not have to take away our larger mission as a choral ensemble.  We will adapt our methods but stay on mission to keep singing, growing, and learning in different, even deeper ways, and building on the community we are and can become.

“When you find your North Star, you know where you’re headed. That alone feels good. Plus, your North Star is (presumably) wholesome and vital, so aiming toward it will bring more and more happiness and benefit to yourself and others. And you can dream bigger dreams and take more chances in life since if you lose your way, you’ve got a beacon to home in on.”

Rick Hanson, Ph.D., author of Resilient

My “North Star” sign-off to our singers:

“In the coming weeks and months, can we find “STILL Singing for the Greater Good” lessons that will help us get through a season of enormous challenge?  Can we start with our personal greater good and wellness and move mindfully towards how we impact others and the wider world?  

“I believe the answer is a resounding ‘yes.’”

Dr. Ramona Wis is the Mimi Rolland Endowed Professor in the Fine Arts, Professor of Music, and Director of Choral Activities at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois and the author of The Conductor as Leader:  Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium.  Dr. Wis is a 500-hour CYT (Certified Yoga Teacher) with training in yoga history, philosophy, meditation, energetics, pranayama (breath work), anatomy, Sanskrit, and the teaching, sequencing, and adaptations of asana (posture-based) practice.

For context and his North Star exercise:

Rick Hanson, Ph.D. https://www.rickhanson.net/find-your-north-star/