Iowa Friday, February 10, 7:30 p.m. Wartburg College Castle Singers, featuring Kammerstreicher in Concert The Grand Theater 26 N. 6th St. Keokuk, IA 52632 Friday, February 17, 7:30 p.m. Wartburg College St. Elizabeth Chorale in Concert Messiah Lutheran Church 2411 West Ave. Burlington, IA 52601 Saturday & Sunday, February 18 & 19 Hawkeye Honors Music Festival Voxman Music Building & Hancher Auditorium The University of Iowa Iowa City, IA https://music.uiowa.edu/workshops/hawkeye-honors-music-festival A two-day festival for choir, band, and orchestra students culminating in a finale concert in UI’s new Hancher Auditorium. Friday, February 24, 7:30 p.m. Wartburg College Castle Singers, featuring Kammerstreicher in Concert St. Paul’s Lutheran Church 2136 Brady St. Davenport, IA 52803 Saturday–Wednesday, February 25–March 1 Simpson College Chamber Singers on Tour Minneapolis, MN, area http://www.simpson.edu/music The Simpson College Chamber Singers…
No matter the size of the congregation, the choir is as integral component of the spiritual life of a church. In many churches, the choir is comprised almost entirely of dedicated volunteer members. Below, I have offered five ways to recruit for the volunteer church choir. Work Collaboratively Successful collegiate choral directors work collaboratively with their admissions department to recruit prospective students. Similarly, in the church context, the choir director should work with members of the Outreach, Evangelism, or any similar committee to ensure that prospective members are informed about the music ministry and opportunities to sing in choir. Music, no matter the style, is such an important part of worship, and should be a central element of a church’s promotional materials that go out to potential members. Choir…
Two Broad Principles The two most important things you can do to recruit for your vocal jazz ensemble should be obvious, since they apply to all sorts of other performing groups as well: 1. Make outstanding music. Pick great repertoire, get a killer rhythm section, sing with great intonation and stylistic understanding. Lock in vertical chords harmonically and rhythmically. Sing independent lines with confidence and style. Rehearse like crazy until the group sounds awesome. Then, once you’ve made the music attractive… 2. Make it visible. Get the ensemble in front of people. Perform at your school, at other schools, in the community. Go to festivals and apply to conferences. Use social media to publicize the group – not just to promote performances, but to be heard! One idea: upload a…
Choir programs, schools and communities come in all shapes and sizes. Whether a new director or a veteran, only you are the expert in your setting. In the spirit of strength in collaboration, I would love to share with you what has worked in our environment. We have found over the years that rather than focusing on a solution to recruiting students to be in choir, being intentional about building a community of “humans who love to sing” is the answer. The following five strategies have proven successful in building a strong choral program in musicality and humanity, and then, in turn, numbers. Creating a Safe Environment Growth comes from risk. In all facets of life, we learn from stepping out on limb after limb, willing to fall and pick…
