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Everday Advocacy for Your Choral Program

point back to a web page that discusses your mission but spending more time on why non-musician, non-
or theme more deeply? How else can you advertise for family members should attend might motivate them
your program, not just your concert? to join you. Ask the television station if they would be
Local newspapers are becoming less responsive willing to put the organization’s name and website on
to local arts news in many areas of the country, and the bottom of the screen as the choir sings; this visual
many papers that still include a few local stories are reminder will help those watching remember how to
understaffed. What if you pitched the idea of writing a find out more.
short arts-related article once per month with other arts However you advertise, think like a newspaper re-
leaders in your area? These articles can feature aspects porter. Why should someone attend this particular per-
of your program that people might not know about, formance? Why is your concert theme impactful and
highlighting the impactful work the arts can do. As you interesting? Why does your choral program’s mission
frame these articles, mention your concert, but don’t matter? These are all ways to advocate for choral music
make the article a substitute for a press release. Why by telling your choir’s story.
should a non-musician care about your topic or your
program? Lead with that idea and develop it so that Singers’ Voices
musicians and non-musicians learn something more Musicians have a very public, yet simultaneously
about your choir(s). This type of advocacy is holistic very private, job. We practice and rehearse until we
and shows many ways the arts impact your community. are happy with our preparation, then step out into the
As a bonus, the next time you advertise for a concert, world to share what we have done. What if, instead, we
the general public may remember an article you wrote allowed our community to see our process, to watch
and decide to attend. how our singers grow, learn, and feel before the concert
As you gather arts leaders to create a schedule of itself ?
articles for your local newspaper, consider organizing a Open rehearsal or classroom days are good ways to
program that offers free tickets to each group’s perfor- show the joyful work we do. During these open days,
mances. This idea serves as advertising, advocacy, and provide a lesson plan write-up of sorts with octavos for
addresses access by removing the barrier of cost. Sev- visitors to look at, if possible. Your plan can be made
eral communities are bringing arts groups together and accessible to non-musicians by discussing learning
partnering with their local libraries to create these op- goals for that day and breaking them into musical skill,
portunities. Each organization donates one or two cer- knowledge, and affective domains. Include the visitors
tificates for two tickets to an event, and library patrons in aspects of the rehearsal, whether singing or respond-
check out these certificates as they would a book. The ing to a thoughtful question. After one rehearsal, they
certificates contain the organization’s mission statement might be amazed at how much your singers—and
and concert details (date/time/venue/theme). Groups they—have learned.
who have been doing this for years report that it grows As assessment strategies have moved past “Listen for
their audience and increases community awareness of the correct notes and rhythms,” we sometimes collect
their program. It’s up to you to decide what the pa- artifacts—index card responses, journal entries, per-
rameters will be, and the library staff will need to ad- haps projects or related art works. Save these and share
minister the program, but it’s an easy and low-cost way some of them with the public in a newsletter article or
to invite new people into your concert hall, hopefully social media post, as an addition to a note to your legis-
creating new advocates. lator, as part of a slide show before your performance,
Some conductors send singers to local television sta- as a display in the lobby on concert night, or whenever
tions to sing a few morning spots in the lead up to a you need to advocate for your program. Your singers’
performance. But is the discussion about the choir’s reflections on a carefully crafted question related to the
mission and the impact of the concert theme, or is music they are preparing will show how you are edu-
more time spent talking about when the concert is and cating them beyond the notes and engaging them in
how people get tickets? Nuts and bolts are important, their learning.

34 CHORAL JOURNAL October 2024 Volume 65 Number 3