Page 34 - CJOct24

Everday Advocacy for Your Choral Program

ing (“animals,” “colors,” “nature”) and far too general explore the role of music in protest or social
(“folk songs,” “winter wonderland”) to be of significant change, and be inspired to use our own voices
pedagogical use. Furthermore, narrow themes don’t for causes we care about. 6
add depth to a program for our audience members or
for our singers. They don’t inspire connection, global The theme was unpacked in extensive program
thinking, or deep conversations. When done well, the- notes beneath each selection, so the audience could
matic ideas can help us focus on larger concepts we see exactly how pieces like Hine Ma Tov (Naplan), Blus-
want our singers (and attendees) to explore or learn tery Day and Miss Rumphius (Ebel-Sabo), De Colores (arr.
more about. Whether musical or nonmusical ideas, Weston), The Duel (Cary Miller), “Esurientes implevit
themes are ways for us to explore our common human- bonis” from Magnificat (Vivaldi), Family Tree (Hatfield),
ity through the choral art. Aure volanti (Caccini), Járba, Màré Járba (Roma, arr.
For example, a concert theme I created in a previ- Adkins), Iraqi Peace Song (Hillestat/Reiersrud/Tennen-
ous role in Wisconsin, was “We Raise Our Voices,” a house), O virtus sapientiae (Hildegard), Miserere mei Deus
concert based on the words and lived experiences of (Aleotti, ed. Bowen), How Can I Cry (Smiley), Still I Rise
Malala Yousafzai. The title was inspired by the follow- (Powell), Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around (arr. Dil-
ing quotation from Malala: “I raise up my voice—not worth), and several others related to the thematic idea.
so I can shout but so that those without a voice can be The program notes not only shared information about
heard. We cannot succeed when half of us are held the composer, time period, compositional devices, or
back.” It would be easy for us to focus on the phrase text; they also showed how each piece connected to the
“raise up my voice” and connect it to singing. Equally theme. Here is an excerpt from the program notes for
easy, since the choir program has been, historically, “Esurientes implevit bonis”:
for those who identify as female, would be to create a
concert that was about female empowerment, or about In this movement, Mary acknowledges that
Malala’s specific cause: the importance of education God sees and lifts up those in need. [Choir]
for girls and women. members explored the concepts of ‘needs’ and
Instead, my approach to this theme was much ‘wants’ outside the context of this verse. They
broader, which encouraged the teacher-conductors to reflected on the question, ‘What needs are uni-
program diverse repertoire and explore a wide range versal to all humans?’ …Singers shared ideas
of musical skills, emotions, and knowledge. It centered related to physical needs (shelter, food, cloth-
the words and life of a young Muslim woman from ing) and emotional needs (love, safety, peace)….
Pakistan and drew parallels to music and people across Just as Malala uses her voice to speak up, sing-
time and place. Here is an excerpt from my comments ers pledged to use their own voices to advocate
in the printed program: for the needs of others in our community.…
Musically, this piece stretched our singers, as
Although it would have been easy to create a the vocal lines include parallel motion, imi-
concert that focused solely on access to educa- tation, and melodic sequences that require
tion and empowerment of girls and women, I well-developed independent singing skills. The
was drawn to Malala’s entire story. She faced learning process required persistence and te-
adversity, speaks publicly on behalf of other nacity, the courage to make mistakes, and an
girls and young women, and believes in peace unwavering focus on finishing the task as con-
and forgiveness. As a young person, she lives fident and accomplished musicians. 7
as a refugee yet uses her remarkable story to
increase girls’ access to education around the Notice that this teacher-conductor shares musical
world. It seemed obvious to me that we could and nonmusical learning goals, briefly describes the
also examine access to music-making opportu- process by which those goals were met, and explicitly
nities for women and girls throughout history, states that learning this piece was a challenging pro-

32 CHORAL JOURNAL October 2024 Volume 65 Number 3