[HANASHIR:2234] RE: adult volunteer choir -Reply

[Janet PAPE <janet.pape...>]

Adrian - what terrific advice!!  Not much to add after that. 

 I have always found synagogue choral groups more difficult
to manage than church choirs or secular choirs, because the
people you are leading are the ones who have the political
power in the organization, so you don't have legimate
authority over them.  It makes it harder to enforce punctuality
and steady attendance.  (Maybe it was also my young adult
status at the time I had synagogue choral groups.)

Anyway, I second Adrian's advice to be well-organized and
develop appropriate expectations.  The groups that have wine
during break are definitely more convivial, but you lose out in
alertness.  It is really true that the most cohesive-sounding
groups are also the ones where there is a social closeness
built up.

I have found that doing breathing and/or centering exercises
with everyone in a circle helps focus the group at the
beginning of rehearsal.  If you practice taking in a
breath in the tempo of the upbeat before the first
measure, you avoid a sloppy entrance. 
Count-singing (a la Robert Shaw) is very useful for
teaching counting. (one-two-tee-four, one-y-and-a,
two-y-and-a, etc.)

Praise and thank the folks for their participation and courage.

Janet

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