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board members! for it, our administrators who have to promote/sell it,
I should interject that there are at least 325,000 the prospective audiences who have to connect with it,
choirs in North America, and most of them are com- donors and cultural mover/shakers who have to sup-
munity choirs. Singing at any level is an extremely port it, the city-provincial and national agencies who
worthwhile enterprise, enhancing the quality of life in have to subsidize it, the composers who hope to be in-
many ways. cluded in it. And the aspiring conductors who hope
there will still be a choral culture existing by the time
TELFER: Begin by visually checking the basics like they are ready to take over my job.
range, tessitura (each vocal part should have most of Secondly, there are qualitative matters. These are
the pitches at the most comfortable part of the vocal very individual from conductor to conductor and from
range), and entry cues. Then a conductor should read program to program (or maybe year to year).
each vocal line separately to make sure that every part
is musically written and appropriate for that voicing • Is there a text? Is it good? Signifi cant? Appropriate?

and difficult vowels are avoided on high pitches. (This Languages?
• Does it show mood? Inspiration? Entertainment
value?
“ No matter how much good music • Does the structure show balance? Direction?
• Does the musical language show colour? Vitality?
• Is it “singable”? Are the ranges appropriate?
exists in the world, we will
• Is the notation readable? Does the composer have
always need to be renewed by
good craftsmanship?

fresh ideas and different types of
Thirdly, it can be helpful to have a philosophy about
experiences repertoire and about programming, which is actually
”
—Nancy Telfer a separate matter.

7) What topic, musical or otherwise, is of spe-
may sound time consuming, but verifying the integrity cial signifi cance to you right now?
of these details saves a lot of rehearsal time, and singers
learn to respect and expect high standards in music.) NICKEL: Topics that give me consternation are the
A quick overview of the piece you are considering will concerns of misappropriation [of words and music
reveal the balance of repetition and new ideas within from other cultures]. Someone recently suggested that

a piece; this balance affects how good the music is and Cypress needs to start a “rainbow” series of titles [to
how easily your choir will learn the piece. At this point address the current issues of gender/sexuality in cho-
the conductor will have noticed enough other details ral music]. So, finding direction these days is challeng-

to decide how the singers might benefit from learning ing—especially for a baby-boomer like me. I honestly

this piece (e.g., new skills, improvement of musicality desire to be open to new ideas and trends, to be rele-
or tone, a break from the other styles during rehears- vant.
al). Needless to say, each piece should be appropriate
for your audience. TELFER: Each generation has something new to say,
and I feel that it is so important for musicians to sup-
WASHBURN: First, I think about all the stakeholders port young composers so that we can all hear what
beyond myself for whom I’m choosing the repertoire: they have to say in their music. No matter how much
my singers and players who have to perform it, my or- good music exists in the world, we will always need to

ganization’s Board of Directors who have to fundraise be renewed by fresh ideas and different types of ex-

CHORAL JOURNAL April 2021 Volume 61 Number 9 49