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The Choir as Garden
A Dynamic, Singer-Centered

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

Approach to Choral Leadership

Science of Child Development Tells Us About the Relationship (PhD diss., Temple University, 2023); O’Toole, “I Sing
Between Parents and Children (Farrar, Straus and Giroux, in a Choir.”
2016). 19 Brian O. Ackles, “Agile Development Instructional Frame-
11 Frank Abrahams, “Critical Pedagogy”; Ruth Gustafson, work (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered
“Drifters and the Dancing Mad: The Public School Mu- Music Education,” Choral Journal 59, no. 2 (September Jennif er Hutton
sic Curriculum and the Fabrication of Boundaries for 2018): 22–36; Bull, “Getting it Right”; Gurgel, Taught by
Participation,” Curriculum Inquiry 38, no. 3 (June 2008): the Students; O’Toole, “I Sing in a Choir”; Perkins, “Cho-
267–97; Christopher Small, “Performance as Ritual: ral Welcome Mats.”
Sketch for an Enquiry into the True Nature of a Sym- 20 Abrahams, “Critical Pedagogy”; Ackles, “Agile Develop-
phony Concert,” The Sociological Review 34, no. 1 (supple- ment”; Conkling, “Collaboration.”
ment) (May 1986): 6–32, 21 Marci L. Major and Elizabeth C. Parker, “Disrupting the
doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-954X.1986.tb03312.x. Choral Class System: A Journey of One High School
12 Patrick K. Freer, “The Performance-Pedagogy Paradox in Choral Program,” International Journal of Research in Choral Today’s choral educators often articulate goals members can lose positive rewards of group sing-
Choral Music Teaching,” Philosophy of Music Education Re- Singing 11 (2023): 43–61; Sean R. Powell, The Ideology of that prioritize positive relational experiences for ing that leaders ostensibly intend to foster.
view 19, no. 2 (October 2011): 164–78. Competition in School Music (Oxford University Press, 2023). singers. Many educators strive to foster positive This article presents a metaphor of the choir as
13 Susan Wharton Conkling, “Collaboration in the Choral 22 Betty A. Bailey and Jane W. Davidson, “Adaptive Charac- experiences of belonging, relationship-building, a garden to help educators align their practices
Ensemble,” Choral Journal 41, no. 2 (2000): 9–15; An- teristics of Group Singing: Perceptions from Members and community. Such goals reflect a relational, with the relational, singer-centered values they
drea Maas, “Facilitating Musical Expression in School of a Choir for Homeless Men,” Musicae scientiae 6, no. person-centered approach that values singers’ often hold. The Garden Model frames teach-
Choirs: Honoring Individuality, Seeking Unity,” Interna- 2 (September 2002): 221–56; Gunter Kreutz and Peter experiences as much as (or more than) the music er-conductors as cultivators of conditions that
tional Journal of Research in Choral Singing 9 (2021): 116–42; Brünger, “A Shade of Grey: Negative Associations with they present. Despite choral leaders’ intentions, allow singers to develop and grow. When indi-
Rollo A. Dilworth and Temple University Performing Amateur Choral Singing,” Arts & Health 4, no. 3 (Octo- singers’ experiences do not always reflect the viduals’ varied growth is fostered, singers can be
Arts Collaborative, “‘Performing “Weather”’: Creating ber 2012): 230–38, doi.org/10.1080/17533015.2012.69 relational, person-centered values that leaders emboldened to function as an interdependent
an Artistic Climate for Exploring Social Justice” (per- 3111; Ronald G. Morgan, A Study of a Director’s Behaviors espouse. Researchers have identified barriers to ecosystem that is more than the sum of its parts.
formance presentation at ACDA National Conference, and his Students’ Perceptions in a High School Choral Ensemble singers’ positive experiences including require- The first part of the article situates the model
Cincinnati, OH, February 24, 2023); Anthony J. Palmer, (PhD diss., Northwestern University, 1992).
“Treating the Choral Singer as a Person,” Choral Journal 23 Charles Adderley, Michael Kennedy, and Werner Berz, “‘A ments that singers mold themselves to a con- in the context of my own experience as a leader
22, no. 3 (1981): 29–32; Ramona M. Wis, The Conductor Home Away from Home’: The World of the High School ductor’s musical vision and the use of repetitive working with a new group.
as Leader: Principles of Leadership Applied to Life on the Podium Music Classroom,” Journal of Research in Music Education rehearsal techniques focused on technical perfec-
(GIA Publications, 2007). 51, no. 3 (October 2003): 190–205; Parker, “Fostering tion. When teacher-conductors prioritize musical
14 Liz Garnett, “Construction of Identity,” 129–30. Belonging”; Perkins, “Choral Welcome Mats.” results more than singers’ experiences, ensemble
15 Ibid., 130. 24 Jennifer Kelly, “Building Collective Inspiration in a College
16 See, for example: Rachel Carlson, “Through the Singer’s Choir,” Choral Journal 64, no. 10 (August 2024); Maas,
Eyes: Lessons from a Professional Choral Singer,” Choral “Facilitating Musical Expression”; Wolfe-Hill, “Collabo-
Journal 64, no. 4 (November 2023): 57–63. ration and Meaning Making.”
17 André de Quadros and Emilie Amrein, Empowering Song: 25 Wolfe-Hill, “Collaboration and Meaning Making,” 189.
Music Education from the Margins (Routledge, 2023); Ruth 26 Gloria Anzaldúa et al., “We Hold These Truths: Defining
Gurgel, Taught by the Students: Culturally Relevant Pedagogy Access, Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Belonging, and Re-
and Deep Engagement in Music Education (Rowman & Little- storative Practice,” Choral Journal 62, no. 7 (March 2022):
field, 2016); Elizabeth C. Parker, “Fostering Belonging in 49–56; de Quadros and Amrein, Empowering Song; Per-
Choral Contexts,” Choral Journal 64, no. 4 (November/ kins, “Choral Welcome Mats”; William Southerland,
December 2023): 37–41; Julia T. Shaw, Culturally Respon- “The Rainbow Connection: How Music Classrooms
sive Choral Music Education: What Teachers Can Learn from Create Safe Spaces for Sexual Minority Young People,”
Nine Students’ Experiences in Three Choirs (Routledge, 2020). Music Educators Journal 104, no. 3 (March 2018): 40–45.
18 Abrahams, “Critical Pedagogy”; Jennifer C. Hutton, Choral 27 Carole J. Ott, “Connection, Communication & Context:
Educators’ Experiences Creating Connection During Group Singing Improvisation in a Choral Setting,” Choral Journal 56, no.

CHORAL JOURNAL August 2025 Volume 66 Number 1 31