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The Choir as Garden: A Dynamic, Singer-Centered Approach to Choral Leadership

To make progress toward singer-centered goals, cho- and community that many choral ensembles seek. For
ral leaders might first acknowledge that competition and choral leaders who articulate relational, singer-centered
emphasis on technical perfection, no matter the setting, aims, the model of a choir as a garden can serve a vital
can diminish singers’ positive experiences. Second, lead- purpose in aligning our practices with our values.
ers can have confidence that their choices matter; per-
son-centered approaches increase singers’ positive expe-
riences. Third, leaders can disrupt structural obstacles NOTES
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to singer-centered goals. For instance, leaders might ask
questions such as, “What alternatives to competitive, 1 Frank Abrahams, “Critical Pedagogy as Choral Pedago-
tiered ensemble structures might uphold singer-centered gy,” in The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy, ed. Frank
values? How might I more often engage singers’ individ- Abrahams and Paul D. Head (Oxford University Press,
uality and less often prioritize my own ideas? How might 2017), 13–30; Anna Bull, “Getting it Right: Why Clas-
our choral community frame changes not as diminishing sical Music’s ‘Pedagogy of Correction’ is a Barrier to
conductors’ technical control but instead as widening Equity,” Music Educators Journal 108, no. 3 (March 2022):
the circle of voices?” 41 65–66, doi.org/10.1177/00274321221085132.
Fourth, leaders can understand that potential paths 2 Bridget Sweet and Elizabeth C. Parker, “Female Vocal Iden-
are multi-layered, not an oppositional binary. Some cho- tity Development: A Phenomenology,” Journal of Research
ral communities might be well served by blended ap- in Music Education 67, no. 1 (April 2019): 62–82.
proaches if they build on the needs and assets of those 3 Patricia O’Toole, “I Sing in a Choir but ‘I Have No Voice!’”
present in the room. For instance, choral educators Visions of Research in Music Education 6 (2005); Nana Wolfe-
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might aim for an approach that, while not fully demo- Hill, “Collaboration and Meaning Making in the Wom-
cratic, is fully inclusive. An entirely democratic model en’s Choral Rehearsal,” in The Oxford Handbook of Choral
in which all individuals vote on every decision is rare- Pedagogy, ed. Frank Abrahams and Paul D. Head (Oxford
ly practical; however, an inclusive model that invites University Press, 2017), 185–204.
each singer to shape the community’s work is frequently 4 Liz Garnett, “Choral Pedagogy and the Construction of
achievable. Leaders using an inclusive approach can Identity,” in The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy, ed.
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communicate that all voices are valued while facilitat- Frank Abrahams and Paul D. Head (Oxford University
ing and mediating singers’ varied contributions. Finally, Press, 2017), 139.
choral leaders can discuss the Garden Model’s complex- 5 Liz Garnett, “Construction of Identity,” 139–140; Bridget
ity with singers, clarifying the group’s values and aims. Sweet, “The Adolescent Female Changing Voice: A Phe-
Choral communities can lift up the model’s values while nomenological Investigation,” Journal of Research in Music
simultaneously embracing and grappling with its com- Education 63, no. 1 (April 2015): 70–88.
plexities and challenges. 6 John D. Perkins, “What is Written on Our Choral Welcome
Mats? Moving Beyond Performative Culture Toward a
More Just Society,” Choral Journal 58, no. 5 (December
Conclusion 2018): 28–40.
Rather than framing singers as puzzle pieces in a fixed 7 Avi I. Mintz, “The Present, Past, and Future of the Garden-
shape of the leader’s design, the Garden Model helps ing Metaphor in Education,” Oxford Review of Education
singers’ strengths coalesce into an interconnected whole 44, no. 4 (July 2018): 414–24, doi.org/10.1080/030549
that transcends any one voice. In so doing, the Garden 85.2017.1419948.
Model’s dynamic, singer-centered approach supports 8 Ibid.
the relational values that choral communities often es- 9 Martin Buber, Israel and the World: Essays in a Time of Cri-
pouse but do not always successfully fulfill. An ecosystem sis, trans. W. Kauffman (Syracuse University Press,
based on individual strengths and collective interdepen- 1948/1997), 149–150.
dence encourages the belonging, relationship building, 10 Alison Gopnik, The Gardener and the Carpenter: What the New

30 CHORAL JOURNAL August 2025 Volume 66 Number 1