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I felt low. I would tell them that they didn’t deserve any student’s supportive father informed me that his son
less than my very best, so I was checking the luggage had “cancelled” me. I was bewildered by this, as I had
of my “low” at the door while bringing my best self to the student as a singer from childhood through high
them. The luggage would be there for me to claim on school. I learned that the student did not like that I
my way out of the room. I encouraged them to do the sometimes used funny voices, and though he was not
same. I think this kind of openness built compassion personally offended, he felt there could be others in the
and care in our ensemble, and again, I feel like it posi- room who took my characterizations personally. I en-
tively affected the sound of the chorus. couraged him to try to look at the heart of intention
Finally, I kept every card or email I received from of the person who might be the offender and wonder
anyone that was positive. Over the years I placed the if their intention was to offend. Though it took me off
cards between books on the bookshelf, and to my great guard, in the end I was thankful for this encounter be-
delight, when I pulled a book off the shelf, often a card cause it caused me to pause and more carefully consid-
or two would fall to the floor. After the reading them, er the way I was communicating with the choir.
my heart was encouraged to go on and provide the
kinds of experiences described in the card for my cur- Choirs are often sanctuaries for those who do
rent ensembles. not fit elsewhere. What advice do you have for
fostering belonging and trust within an ensem-
Do you recall a particular moment when your ble?
role shifted from conductor to mentor? Was
there a moment when a student challenged I believe the best way to foster belonging and trust
your perspective or inspired you to grow in is to model it in the way you interact with the choir. I
an unexpected way? What did that experience taught high school choir for most of my career, and
teach you? there were discipline issues to deal with at times. I al-
ways made sure the student understood the day after
The more I aged, the more often I received ques- the discipline that they had a clean slate. There would
tions from students, parents, and colleagues, and I un- be no lording over them or grudge holding. If needed,
officially added mentor to my role in the classroom and we can incorporate restorative practices, which leads to
in the profession over time. When I began my master’s healthy personal relationships as well as a supportive
degree in choral conducting with Dr. Guy Webb, he culture.
said to me, “I know some things, and I would be glad to One of our goals was to really honor one another,
share them with you.” That’s precisely how I feel about to listen without judgment, and to replace negativity
mentoring and coaching: I share what I know. Whatev- with redirection to positivity. While I was initially not a
er was speaking to me professionally and personally, I fan of ice breakers because they seemed like a waste of
shared with the choir. time, over time I experienced how a well-constructed
For example, when I was reading The Fred Factor by ice breaker created a community of trust. I incorpo-
Mark Sanborn, I sometimes read a paragraph or just rated “Fan Mail Friday” at both the high school and
a line to the class. When I finished the book, I gave the the university level. At the high school level, students
choir an assignment to write a paper on a “Fred” that wrote letters to others in the ensemble, sharing with
they knew. Some wrote about teachers, coaches, and specificity ways they admired one another. Similar to
youth leaders, and to my delight, some of them wrote the “Fred” assignment mentioned earlier, I never re-
about another singer in the choir. I read excerpts of the vealed the letter writer, but I presented the letter to the
papers that were written about choir members aloud recipient after I had read it aloud. At the university
to the choir. I never revealed who wrote the paper, but level, I reached out to parents to write letters to their
often the choir would guess who the paper was about. students. This sharing had a simultaneously softening
I did have a student challenge me one time. The effect while knitting us together as a community.

CHORAL JOURNAL October 2025 Volume 66 Number 3 63