[HANASHIR:15501] Re: choir members miss rehearsals. What to do

[Jacqueline Guttman <jguttman...>]

We have discussed these issues and have some informal policies similar to
those, with generally similar results. However, I think I'll write a draft
for the choir members to modify, and then be able to use it with new people.
When our cantor led the choir she was far less stringent than I; however,
according to both congregants and choir, it's a better (and noticeably
larger) choir now. I think people like to know what is expected of them and,
again, it shows respect for one another.

Jackie Guttman



From: LBerkson (at) aol(dot)com
Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Date: Mon, 29 Sep 2003 19:26:54 -0400 (EDT)
To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
Subject: [HANASHIR:15485] Re: choir members miss rehearsals. What to do


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 


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