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Rising Voices: Perspectives from Early-Career Choral Directors in Higher Education

edge give meaning and depth to the musical collages they sing through their vocal timbre, facial expressions,
we present. and energy. I want them to tackle concepts they found
My other big curricular priority is sight-singing and intimidating, and realize they have the skills and un-
ear training. In all my choirs, I have a mixture of music derstanding to be successful when encountering chal-
majors, minors, and non-majors, many of whom come lenging repertoire. When teaching context, rather than
with minimal music literacy experience. I spend five lecture, I ask students to contribute to class discussions.
minutes every day building ears first, then eyes, which I help them draw parallels between the repertoire and
has resulted in a more productive rehearsal and a more their prior knowledge and experiences. I post detailed
musical experience for the students. information on our Learning Management System for
When we tell stories with integrity, equip students students interested in deeper explorations. I also post
with the tools to tell those stories, and reflect upon how practice tracks after we have a solid foundation in our
those stories change us, student engagement becomes rehearsals because I do not want to encourage the
an organic and integral part of the process. At every perception that attendance is not important. COVID
stage of their learning, I ask students to take responsi- “Zoom” classes lulled students into thinking they could
bility for their own interpretation including discussing work on everything on their own without being present
texts, listening and offering feedback, or even inviting for class. “Zoom engagement” has obvious impacts on
them to submit repertoire ideas for consideration. ensemble cohesion.

Myers: I think it is vitally important to perform as var- Wooten: I value the economy of time and awareness
ied a repertoire as possible. I try to expose my students of rehearsal as much as the economy of motion, lan-
each semester to music from different time periods, cul- guage, and perception in conducting. Additionally, I
tural backgrounds, and languages in addition to differ- value the diversity and accessibility of the choral lit-
ent voicings, textures, and modes. Since the ensembles erature as much as its aesthetic pleasures. My philoso-
I work with change significantly in membership each phy of instruction requires an intentional knowledge of
semester, I make it a priority to explore new themes student background, strengths, areas for improvement,
and styles of music with each group I teach. At my uni- and inclinations to the choral art. Earnest engagement
versity, all courses that provide a fine arts credit have in any dispensation of the art is not possible without
writing and research components, and I use this re- this living data.
quirement to help students explore the background of
each piece and share their insight on our online forum.
I am also sensitive to varying the pace of our re- What strategies are you implementing to re-
hearsals as another way to promote student engage- cruit and retain singers?
ment. I keep the same basic structures in place but will
often plan for some pieces to be rehearsed as smaller Burk: When I think about recruitment and retention,
excerpts while others receive a full run-through. I find I think about how choral singing makes people feel. In
that giving all pieces equal time each day makes it diffi- this era of disconnection (or connection mediated by
cult to maintain their attention, so some pieces will get screens), choral singing is one of the best ways for
fifteen minutes in the lesson while others will receive people to feel connected to their peers. My first strat-
five. It is also quite helpful to rehearse in different for- egy is to join together with my students to build a cul-
mations as often as possible even within the same class ture that honors people in every sense: positive and
period, as having students move throughout the space supportive rehearsals, thoughtful music choices, clear
helps recharge their bodies and sound more engaged. expectations, student-generated constitutions, and pur-
poseful communication (for me, this means starting
Petite: I want my ensemble to connect with a variety of the year with every choir reading Mary Oliver’s poem
repertoire. I want them to tell the story of each piece “Wild Geese” together and reflecting on it). Once those

26 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2