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can’t do that with our music. There are meter changes first performance. We’ve all heard those unfortunate
all over the place. There are tons of divisi; everyone performances where everybody’s holding on for dear
needs to make a map of who goes where, when. life; it’s not ready technically, so there’s no possibility of
Probably the thing that we talk about more than emotional content, no storytelling. Instead, we aim to
any other thing is how we use American English. We really know the piece; we know what it means. I think
commission only in English. We have an intention to of our work as journalism, so there is an aspect of it in
expand the American choral canon and to take advan- which we’re just reporting what has happened. There is
tage of the fact that we live in a democracy; we can so much to learn by singing the words of other people,
sing about anything we want, at least for the time being. particularly words that you would never say yourself.
So, we use American English. We talk a lot about how There’s a tremendous amount to be learned about our-
the sounds of the words convey meaning. The structure selves by singing.
and the delivery of a sentence is primarily how we get
the meaning of a musical phrase or texture. Do you have any recommendations for people
We have a lot of rehearsal time. When we started who might be interested in developing a similar
The Crossing, we decided, if we’re going to do new choral organization to The Crossing?
music, then we’re going to schedule a lot of time so
that, when somebody hears it, it doesn’t sound like the Don’t think about money, just do it. Do something
that you love with other people who love it. It would be
nice if you could be paid for that, but for the first two to
three years we just split the box office. I think our check
for the first concert was $85. Most people paid for their
own plane tickets and parking. We just liked what we
new opportunities were doing, and we still do!
with composer, Michael Bussewitz-Quarm This sounds really simplistic. It also sounds idealis-
tic when I say to my students, “Don’t do anything you
don’t want to do; only do stuff that you want to do.” But

the unarmed child I actually mean it. “Should” is a word that I don’t allow
in our studio. I’m not interested in what other people
Lincoln Center, 2024 think, or what I or my students “should” do. It’s what
Dr. Dan Perkins, conductor we’re doing. It’s “must,” right? I have a rule: do a thing
Michael Bussewitz-Quarm, composer-in-residence
you like until you feel that you’ve given everything you
can to it and that you’ve taken everything you can from
where we find ourselves it. Then move on. I’ve left a lot of jobs and, sure, it can

An American Multimedia Experience cause personal instability, but it’s an interesting journey.
featuring the photography of Hugh Mangum So, to answer your question: Find what you love and
with lyrics by Shantel Sellers do that thing. The world may come along with you,
as they have with The Crossing. We’re very fortunate
to be paying a very good wage and making lots of re-
not invisible don't let love be invisible! cordings—a literal record of the time, as the composer
A Commissioning Consortium intended—and commissioning big projects that I hope
SATB, SAB, SSAA, 2-Part Treble Choirs welcome will last a long time. But that isn’t because I figured out
how to raise money. It’s because I figured out how to
The Hope Series tell stories in ways that singers buy into and find satisfy-
ing. Ultimately, it’s about them; if they’re not happy in
for more info, visit:
www.ListenAfresh.com their storytelling, I’m not doing my job well.
As for the fundraising side of things, you’ve heard the

76 CHORAL JOURNAL October 2023 Volume 64 Number 3