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The Choir as Garden

A Dynamic, Singer-Centered

Approach to Choral Leadership

Jennif er Hutton

Today’s choral educators often articulate goals members can lose positive rewards of group sing-
that prioritize positive relational experiences for ing that leaders ostensibly intend to foster.
singers. Many educators strive to foster positive This article presents a metaphor of the choir as
experiences of belonging, relationship-building, a garden to help educators align their practices
and community. Such goals reflect a relational, with the relational, singer-centered values they
person-centered approach that values singers’ often hold. The Garden Model frames teach-
experiences as much as (or more than) the music er-conductors as cultivators of conditions that
they present. Despite choral leaders’ intentions, allow singers to develop and grow. When indi-
singers’ experiences do not always reflect the viduals’ varied growth is fostered, singers can be
relational, person-centered values that leaders emboldened to function as an interdependent
espouse. Researchers have identified barriers to ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts.
singers’ positive experiences including require- The first part of the article situates the model
ments that singers mold themselves to a con- in the context of my own experience as a leader
ductor’s musical vision and the use of repetitive working with a new group.
rehearsal techniques focused on technical perfec-
tion. When teacher-conductors prioritize musical
results more than singers’ experiences, ensemble

22 CHORAL JOURNAL August 2025 Volume 66 Number 1