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Have you had your singers write to younger sing- stories become the message of everyday tools to engage
ers who might one day join your class or choir? What and educate our communities. Go beyond the gener-
advice would they give to those singers? What do they al research, beyond the beauty of the choir’s perfor-
love about being in your choir now and what do young- mance, and articulate the most profound reasons you
er singers have to look forward to? Asking why music and your singers are involved in your choral program.
matters by framing it with specificity (“What advice Former U.S. Speaker of the House Tip O’Neill is
9
would you give to a singer at Odyssey Middle School remembered for saying, “All politics is local.” Whether
who might choose to be in our high school choir?”) can or not this statement is true, we do well to remember
yield powerful answers. It’s easy to turn these questions that local issues are important to communities, and that
toward whatever audience you have in mind. Reword sharing the value of choral music is an important part
it accordingly to target future choristers, legislators, of our job. If we don’t advocate for the choral art, who
school board members or principals, or funders. will?
If you have a small group of singers in leadership
positions, consider looking at some of the national data
and statistics with them. As mentioned earlier in this NOTES
article, you may be able to discuss a particular data-
driven advocacy statement together and concretize it 1 Simon Sinek, “How Great Leaders Inspire Action,” TEDx
with a story from your program. Pairing a statement Puget Sound (September 2009) https://www.ted.
from NAfME with a few sentences from one of your com/talks/simon_sinek_how_great_leaders_inspire_
singers is a great way to give specific examples to help action?language=en.
people understand the data and its importance. These 2 Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point: How Little Things Can
could appear in your concert program, on a website, Make a Big Difference (New York: Little, Brown, and Co.,
as a social media post, in a newsletter, or on a bulle- 2000): 89-132.
tin board—there are myriad possibilities. The primary 3 Chip Heath and Dan Heath, Made to Stick: Why Some Ideas
point is that your singers may be the ones to tell the Survive and Others Die (New York: Random House, 2007).
most impactful stories, so help them do so by giving 4 Music Achievement Council, Tips for Success, “Telling the
them carefully planned questions that will elicit deep Story: What Research Shows,” https://nafme.org/
responses. Then share those responses as widely and my-classroom/music-achievement-council-resources-
creatively as you can. educators/telling-story-research-shows/.
5 Heath and Heath, Made to Stick, 167.
6 Karen Bruno, Program Notes, “We Raise Our Voices”
Be Comprehensive (Appleton, WI: Lawrence University Memorial Cha-

We never really know who will become our stron- pel, March 23, 2019).
gest supporters, so we must learn to balance a variety 7 Toni Weijola, Program Notes, “We Raise Our Voices” (Ap-
of approaches as we advocate for our programs. Using pleton, WI: Lawrence University Memorial Chapel,
tools from national music and arts advocacy organiza- March 23, 2019).
tions, being aware of the current laws, and learning to 8 Lynn Brinckmeyer, Advocate for Music! A Guide to User-Friendly
tell our own stories effectively can ensure a balanced Strategies (New York: Oxford University Press, 2016):
approach. The companion articles in this issue of the 83-122.
Choral Journal will give you more of this information, as 9 Thomas P. O’Neill and Gary Hymel, All Politics is Local and
does former ACDA Advocacy and Collaboration com- Other Rules of the Game (Holbrook, MA: Bob Adams,
mittee co-chair Lynn Brinckmeyer’s book, Advocate for Inc., 1994).
Music! A Guide to User-Friendly Strategies. 8
If we want to tell our stories clearly and compelling-
ly, we must identify our core values and guiding prin-
ciples; these are the heart of everyday advocacy. Our

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2024 Volume 65 Number 3 35