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to a student and deliver a genuine compliment. One of the best ways to get to know the sections
The recipient then chooses another student until is during the voicing process. I always keep the other
all students have gone. sections in the room while we go through and listen to
every singer in various combinations until we find the
• I also incorporate movement/dances, funny warm- correct sound for that group. Even if you don’t do full
ups, solfège games, and sometimes karaoke to voicing on day one, it’s helpful to at least go around and
make it a FUN FRIDAY. We still rehearse but use hear everyone sing something individually or as a sec-
it as a planning session for the next week. tion. I’m also reiterating each singer’s name out loud
while I do this so that everyone (including me) begins to
Integrating these team-building exercises have associate names, faces, and voices.
done wonders for the culture of my program and the Another place to begin community building is during
relationships we have with each other. Whatever you sectionals. As we have undoubtedly learned, every sec-
choose to do, make sure it is authentically given and tion begins to take on their own sound and group dy-
implemented in the rehearsal. You are integral to the namic the longer they sing together. During sectionals,
community building of your ensembles and set the bonds can be formed over conquering a particularly
tone for the year to come. Make it a great one! hard passage or by sharing a private joke with the con-
ductor that only they know about. Forming solidarity
within a section is easier when the goals are common
and focused on the music. The moment that every ten-
William George-Twyman
Director of Choral Studies, or in the room experiences that rich, golden tone that
they’ve been striving for is a transcendent one, and it
Booker T. Washington High School for the can lead to a moment of section pride when they rejoin
Performing and Visual Arts, Dallas, TX the choir and get to show that off, heaped with praise
Past Repertoire and Resources Chair, from the conductor.
High School Mixed, SWACDA You may notice that I haven’t given many examples
wigeorge@dallasisd.org of activities that do not have a strict musical focus. My
ideas about leaving goofy games and activities aside are
very much shaped by conversations that I’ve had with
The idea of community in the choral ensemble is singers over the years. Often, I hear that singers are
very important. So many times, we get to the end of sometimes uncomfortable being pressured into shar-
a concert cycle and realize that there are some altos ing personal information about themselves, no matter
who have no idea who is in the tenor section, or as is how innocent the information might seem. A person
common in school settings, seniors who don’t know any who does not participate in the game can be viewed
of the sophomores’ names! There are activities that we as a “wet blanket” or someone who “hates fun,” which
can engage in during our first rehearsal to plant the undermines the stated goal of community building.
seeds for a tight-knit and close musical community to Though everyone comes to choir for a different set of
form. For me, the most important part of community social or emotional reasons, everyone is there for the
building is that it feels organic and interwoven with the music, so synthesizing community with music makes
musical goals of the ensemble. As we come to under- the most sense with the least amount of potential fric-
stand the different reasons singers come to choir, it is vi- tion. We build lasting structures by ensuring they have
tal that we act with intention when it comes to forming strong foundations. If you build your choir communi-
the identity of the group. I’ve learned that the classic ty on firm musical ground, you’ll never look back and
icebreaker games of “Two truths and a lie” or small lament that you didn’t do trust falls in the first rehears-
group charades can be dynamic and fun for a moment, al. Listen to your singers, feel out the emotional “pulse”
but those games lack any real and lasting substance of the choir, and guide them towards what is truly im-
when it comes to learning about another person. portant and best for everyone involved.

CHORAL JOURNAL August 2025 Volume 66 Number 1 67