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Editor’s Note: This article was originally printed in Choral Journal, September 2019. The author
has slightly revised the article for this focus issue.

WHAT IS ADVOCACY? Advocacy is an opportunity to share with
other people, many of whom are decision makers in some way, why
choral music matters—to us, to our singers, and to the world. Advocacy
should not be a term that frightens us. It should be a term that inspires
us to explain to others why choral music makes a difference for the bet-

ter. There are many people who never had the opportunity to experi-
ence or understand the art form that is so important to us as choral
conductors and music educators.

There are lots of ways to share the impact of music education, and many
organizations have spent a good deal of time and energy compiling statistics,
sharing research, and distributing creative tools for large- and small-scale
advocacy. The National Association for Music Education (NAfME), Cho-

rus America, Americans for the Arts, and National Association of Music
Merchants (NAMM) are some of the organizations who do this sort of
work regularly, and we should all familiarize ourselves with the advo-
cacy tools they provide. But statistics and studies tell only part of
a story. They tell the larger story of why music or the choral art
form is important and discuss the impact choral programs have
in general; but these are probably not the primary reasons
your principal, community foundation, or singers and their
families support your choir. They are likely to be more

interested in what you have to say than statistics provid-
ed by a national organization. Why are you a choral
musician? Why do your singers show up to partici-
pate? When we tell our own story in conjunction
with research about the impact of choral music,
we provide complete and compelling reasons
to prioritize, staff, and fund choral music in

our schools and our communities.

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2024 Volume 65 Number 3 29