[HANASHIR:15485] Re: choir members miss rehearsals. What to do

[LBerkson <LBerkson...>]

We have developed certain guidelines for our volunteer choir, which were 
created with the input of the choir members themselves.  It has led to a 
greater 
sense of understanding among our 14 members, and has also increased interest in 
the choir since our attendance requirements are clear and it actually has 
made it easier for some people to make a commitment to the group.   As a 
result, 
we have a more relaxed and focused group, a more relaxed director, and a 
continued interest in new membership in choir --- we've had 5 join since last 
spring.

Our volunteer choir sings one Friday night per month.  In addition, they sing 
for one morning service (we have 2, at 8:30 and 11:00) on Rosh Hashanah and 
on Yom Kippur; and for certain festivals, holidays, special events, and Shabbat 
Shirah.  

The basic guideline is that if a choir member is aware that he or she will 
miss more than 1/3 of the rehearsals for any particular service or event, they 
speak to me about it ahead of time, and will skip singing with the group for 
that particular service or event unless I have decided privately with them that 
they know enough of the music to participate with the choir.  This removes the 
resentment on the part of the other choir members (and their director -- me) 
that someone would be singing with us while being unprepared.  

Some have taken it as an opportunity for a month's hiatus, where they enjoy 
being in the congregation for that particular service, and then tell us how we 
sounded at the next rehearsal.  We have made this as positive approach as 
possible.   It has not created an unmanageable revolving door in terms of choir 
attendance.  People don't want to miss rehearsal time;  it's just that now, if 
that have to, they know how to make it manageable for themselves, me, and the 
rest of the group.  Exceptions are made by me on a case by case basis, if I 
know that in a particular service we're singing old repertoire that the person 
knows;  or if they are an especially good music reader who can handle learning 
a 
good deal of it on their own --- and have shown that they do it.  In that 
case, they may join us, but the rest of the group is confident that I have 
determined it will still work out fine.  There are also some special 
circumstances 
where due to a personal circumstance someone has arranged with me that she will 
have to leave early on a regular basis.  

The guidelines have worked out well for us, for the most part.  And when a 
few problems still arise, it's also easy to take someone aside or call them, 
discuss how to resolve the issues, and remind them of what we've agreed works 
and 
what doesn't for all of us.  So far, so good!

The fact that we have agreed-upon expectations coupled with a certain amount 
of flexibility also allows our choir to be more of a "community" with greater 
sensitivity to each other.  In one case this year, a longtime member, who now 
has a child experiencing certain needs that she must attend to at a regular 
evening hour, made it clear to me in the summer that she would have to leave 
our 
rehearsals early every week for quite a while, and asked if she should drop 
out of choir.  I said no, we would find a way to work it out together.  She is 
a good reader; knows most of the music; attends on time and leaves promptly at 
the pre-arranged time; and without knowing more than they need to know about 
her personal circumstances (at least from me), my choir accepts that we have 
an arrangement that I felt was workable for all.  They helped her out by making 
up her High Holy Days choir binder for her, so that the time she spends with 
us isn't spent on catching up with the administrative details, but instead on 
singing as much with us as she can.  To me, that's in large part what a 
volunteer group should be.    

Laura Berkson