Written Choir Policies - Actual and Desired
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    Do you have written choir policies for rehearsal attendance, lost music, performance attendance, dress, whatever? I'm not talking about "unwritten understandings," rather a sheet that presents an understanding of the choir member's responsibilities. It's even better if it's balanced with the commitment of the church/director to the members.

    In my time, I've seen boatloads of these for children's choirs and for independent community choirs but never for an adult church choir.

    Of course, I'm working on an article and your experience could contribute. And of course, anonymity is guaranteed if desired. If you have a policy, I'd love to see it and you can email it directly to me.

    If you wish you had one, what would it be?
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,933
    I think I am blessed that the adult choir shows up each week, and does their best without any compensation. Like most choirs, the clergy tends to take them for granted. I am not willing to complicate things and cause hard feelings with such a written instrument. This must be for Latin Church choirs - legalism, legalism, legalism... ;-)
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    While I appreciate CharlesW's view, I've worked with ensembles where regular attendance and practice are issues.

    For example, the soprano who sang through the motet one time three weeks ago and has missed all subsequent rehearsals. Asked not to sing at the Mass for which the work is scheduled, she doesn't understand. "Why not? I've sung it before."

    I'm not legalistic. In fact, I'm known as a hopeless marshmallow.
  • francis
    Posts: 10,668
    I have worked hard at morale and committment. It is very difficult in a small town where everthing is competing for the attention of a few. But the single most influential element that keeps people truly committed to being faithful is the experience of beautiful liturgies and well deserved stroking of their efforts. If you get that part right, you won't need paper rules.
  • CharlesW
    Posts: 11,933
    Oh, I have lost a few choir members who rarely came to rehearsals, but wanted to sing for big events. One, in particular, wanted to sing at the parish's 100th anniversary mass, but hadn't been to rehearsal in two months and had not even seen the music we were singing. The other choir members resented them coming in at the last moment, and throwing everyone else off with their mistakes. When I had to tell them they couldn't sing with us, they left in a huff. I am still hearing about that long-time choir member I drove away - it's all my fault, of course. :-(
  • Donnaswan
    Posts: 585
    I have lost choir members, one of which resigned just before I was going to ask her to quit, b/c could not match pitches!!! Also, one like Charles mentioned- who would be gone for long stretches of time and then show up for performance of a larger work. They moved to another parish. No written policy. I have the most loyal choir ever, and most everyone in it pulls their weight. A couple are very loyal,but not great voices, but they are there regularly.
    Donna
  • M. Jackson Osborn
    Posts: 8,365
    The need for such written requirements varies, I think, with particular choirs. Some situations don't seem really to have need of rules because, for the most part, everyone (the key word is 'everyone') is quite conscientious in work and attendance, and absences are infrequent and accompanied by good reasons. Other choirs do seem to need rules of maximum attendance,not missing for at least two weeks before a given performance, etc. If you think that your choir is in need of such rules (and they must be understood to be governing rules), then a concise charter may be in order. If it is, though, these rules need to be consistently and undoubtedly applied in every circumstance to which they apply. Under no circumstances should anyone sanely entertain the notion that she or he can just show up to sing for Christmas or the 100th Anniversary, etc, etc. - even three weeks in advance! (While on this subject I am reminded of how easy sporting coaches and bandmasters have it. They just announce that you have to be there or you are off the team and they get their way: choir, piano lessons, drama, even mass(!) or anything else gets dropped lest the coach is displeased. The abject homage with which these people are obeyed is astonishing.) Back on the subject at hand: if your group doesn't seem in need of rules, leave well-enough alone; if it does, keep them succinct, understood, and agreed-upon by all - and reviewed seriously with new-comers. Paramount is that the members know and feel that their commitment and talents are being set aside and developed for a uniquely holy purpose, that they sing as ministers of the liturgy, to lead and edify the people and to glorify God with their offering.
  • Donnaswan
    Posts: 585
    I once had a guy who sang in another church, who felt he could come up to the loft 10 mins before the funeral of the only child of one of my choir members and ask to sing. Among other things we were doing the Rutter 'Lord is my shepherd'. And he had hobbled up the stairs on crutches b/c had been in an auto accident. And he has voice like a foghorn. I told him no way. He and his partner didn't speak to me for years.

    Donna
  • MaryAnn Carr WilsonMaryAnn Carr Wilson
    Posts: 1,738
    I've got one, MJ, and will send it via email or attach it to this thread tonight when Billy (my computer techie husband) can help me.
    Choirs give a LOT of time. If they want to be involved in good music, which requires a reasonable commitment, its only fair to them to give clearly-articulated expectations.
  • mjballoumjballou
    Posts: 993
    Keep those comments coming.

    I agree that not all choirs need a written policy. However, I think it's only fair to give new members some idea of expectations you have about attendance, practice outside of rehearsal, whatever.

    I also believe that choral directors are optimists (otherwise you wouldn't do this anyway), hoping that everyone will "just do the right thing." And 98 percent of your volunteers do. It's the other 2 percent that keep you awake at night.

    And the "Christmas Eve walk-ins" - one choir I worked with dealt with that issue by having a list that indicated clearly certain pieces that could be sung by everyone ("The First Noel," etc.) and what pieces were "reserved" to the choir that had practiced them. And that seemed to work.
  • mberher
    Posts: 10
    MA, I would love to see your 'regulations' also! If you can would you email it to me?
  • GavinGavin
    Posts: 2,799
    I expect that members know how to behave in a choir according to typical choral discipline. If you're in a church where they don't, just run!

    Useful bit: IF the choir has something that is different from standard choral discipline, it is useful to have a plain understanding about it. In my choir, absences have always been indicated on a "sign-out sheet". So at the beginning of my time there I said something to the effect of "I see you have here a method of indicating when you will be absent. I expect this to be used if you are not able to be present." A regular reminder helps when they start to transgress whatever the rule is. Another example is prompt arrival: one day I had most of my sopranos show up about 20 minutes late, and I could tell they were frustrated (at the music) due to their inability to handle the offertory anthem. So I said something to the effect that this is why it's important to arrive for warm-ups so that they can effectively handle the music. That is, explain the purpose of the law.

    I would like to also say, off the topic, that like CharlesW I have a wonderful choir that works hard. My main concern is getting them to realize how hard they work and what a great job they do! And I finally agree with Francis: get them to do a good job and realize it and realize what made it happen, and then they know all the rules.
  • Pes
    Posts: 623
    Gavin, perhaps you could try recording your choir surreptitiously and then taking 5 minutes to play back something they did well, and praising particular parts of it. Example: "Basses, your entrance here in 'Sicut cervus' is wonderfully controlled and resonant. Well done."

    I don't mean anything pejorative by pointing out the following, but when I was growing up, garage bands frequently recorded themselves on cassette players and then take time to listen and evaluate their performances.

    Do choirs do this, regularly? None of the choirs I have ever been in have done so, and yet I think it would be useful, especially if the director asked the choir itself to point out what was done well, and what needed improvement.
  • Dove
    Posts: 16
    I record my choir periodically and play it back on the same day. I recorded our EF Requiem Mass today and I am very surprised at what I can hear. I am going to put all of the propers on a CD and give it to each one. Then at our next rehearsal I will play each proper and we will all critique it and try to correct the unpleasing things that we hear. The recorder is a great tool and it gives me a chance to think about what I want to say. Rehearsals are pretty much one-way and it's not always easy for me to describe what I am trying to get them to sing. With the recorder and with other recordings that I have I can present examples.
    By the way, before we began to learn this Mass I gave each choir member a CD that contains all of the propers and ordinaries, most of which I downloaded from the CMAA site, and they have been diligently listening to it as they rehearse at home.
    Dove
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