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THE PURPOSES OF ACDA

• To foster and promote choral
If you regularly read the weekly Wednesday emails that we send out from singing, which will provide artistic,
the ACDA national office, you will have noticed people writing about “silver cultural, and spiritual experiences

for the participants.
linings” in their pandemic-era teaching. Sometimes, to their surprise, per-
haps, they have discovered that something turned out better than expected. • To foster and promote the finest
Perhaps we have seen another side to some of our students who have stepped types of choral music to make
these experiences possible.
up and worked especially hard in the new settings. We have also observed the
people who find it very hard to learn from home, and to keep their motiva- • To foster and encourage rehearsal

procedures conducive to
tion when they do not see or sing with their friends in person. And we know attaining the highest possible
as teachers that it is just plain hard not to be gathering face to face. level of musicianship and artistic
Everything takes longer. To maintain interest, we have to provide multi- performance.
ple approaches to things. I know that from giving presentations to various • To foster and promote the
groups; it is not enough to meet for a conversation as we might in person. We organization and development
need to aim for heightened interest and interactivity; our visual presentations of choral groups of all types in
schools and colleges.
must be especially compelling. Teaching has always been a time-consuming
endeavor but never more so than in a pandemic. It has stretched our profes- • To foster and promote the
sion to new limits. The same applies to all choral musicians in that we are development of choral music in the
church and synagogue.
all teachers, whether with children, youth, adults in community groups or
worship choirs, or professional ensembles. • To foster and promote the
organization and development
What will we carry over into the future? Perhaps we have discovered or of choral societies in cities and
rediscovered our knowledge of the value of human interaction; when we are communities.
denied it, we crave it. That may lead us to appreciate the social elements of • To foster and promote the
our choral culture even more. Perhaps we have realized that spending in- understanding of choral music as an
depth time on musical context and finding intriguing ways to present it are important medium of contemporary

worth continuing in the future. Without the intense performance pressure artistic expression.
that usually drives us, we may have learned that we can spend more time on •To foster and promote significant
developing literacy or exploring improvisation or simply delving into fewer research in the field of choral music.
pieces of music in greater depth than we did previously. That may lead us to •To foster and encourage choral
re-think the kinds of performance expectations we have of the singers and composition of superior quality.
of ourselves. Will we learn to appreciate musical excellence with fewer pieces • To cooperate with all organizations
of music, coupled with a greater understanding of the music and its eff ects dedicated to the development of
on people? musical culture in America.
I do not mean to suggest that as a profession we were previously lax about •To foster and promote international
our teaching! We are a driven and productive group. Perhaps we can use exchange programs involving
this return to face-to-face teaching and singing as a chance to recalibrate performing groups, conductors, and
and revisit our priorities. The singers can tell us what worked for them and composers.
which elements of this time they might be comfortable retaining. For exam- • To disseminate professional news
ple, would they opt to have more small group opportunities if they had the and information about choral
music.
chance? Would they enjoy more visits with composers? As we plan ahead,
let’s focus on what we can retain and what we can reject, knowing that we • To foster and promote choral singing
have done our best in this time and can look to the future with hope. in the pursuit of peace and justice
that enhances social and emotional
well-being.
• To foster and promote diversity and
inclusivity through active engage-
ment with underrepresented choral
musicians and potential choral
participants.
—ACDA Constitution and Bylaws

CHORAL JOURNAL February 2021 Volume 61 Number 7 3