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Building the Chorus: Recruiting Techniques that Work

Nineteen shows your program in a favorable light offers the potential
of attracting students. As always, make sure you are aware
For college and university directors, whenever guest of the district’s policy regarding photo/video permission
conducting a high school honor choir, encourage all stu- of students. Varied repertoire, varied performance loca-
dents to continue to sing in college no matter where they tions, and showing your choir enjoying their music can be
go. Every college/university choral department would very effective in promoting your program to new students.
want them if they sang in high school. When you meet a
student who is interested in majoring in music, encourage Twenty-four
them to go to the university website, apply, and set up a
voice audition, which can now be done online (rather than These days it almost goes without saying, but this is a
in person). Students from all over the country can now au- courteous reminder that your choir should reflect the pop-
dition for very little cost. ulation it serves. Diversity means many different things in
many different situations, and some settings are by their
Twenty nature homogeneous. Carefully strive for standards of di-
versity that reflect not only your institution and commu-
In the spring, college and university directors may be nity, but the changes in demographics that time will bring.
able to reach out to incoming students for the fall semester, This may also require you to re-examine your repertoire
encouraging them to sing in one of the university choirs. selections, again striving to include, never to exclude.
Provide the registration numbers, days, and times, so they Broadening your repertoire base will very likely help you
could sign up for one of the choirs during their summer in recruitment.
orientation. Encourage them to stop by your office so you
can meet them and answer any questions. Twenty-five

Twenty-one Consider parents or students who may still have Covid
or other illness hesitancy. Alleviate these concerns as much
Some college/university protocols may limit this access, as possible by showing various ways that you can accom-
but you may be able to identify students coming new to modate concerns parents or students might have ongoing
your campus who have previously been choir members. In about sickness and singing. That might include a flyer with
the case of high school freshmen, you may already have recent statistics and facts, as well as encouraging students
access to these records, but of course check with the ap- to stand near the edge of the seating chart to find more
propriate official on your campus first. comfort and confidence.

Twenty-two Conclusion
We live in an era of emerging technologies, but we also
Coordinating with local community choir groups can live with the ever-increasing cautions these new media op-
help you develop activities that will encourage more par- portunities have caused. Be knowledgeable of FERPA laws.
ticipation in your choirs and visibility in the community. In this age of social media, your choral program needs vis-
Allowing events to fall on or near special dates (Valentine’s ibility and electronic outreach to potential singers. One
Day, etc.) can also be a draw. suggestion may be to create a private Instagram account,

where parents can follow to see photos or updates, but they
Twenty-three have to first verify that they are a parents/caregiver of a
student in one of your classes.
Create video examples of your choir and upload to a Even after thirty-plus years, the email contact list re-
private YouTube (or similar platforms) that you can share mains a viable technology tool. Email involves gathering
with parents and administrators. Any positive exposure that limited information and then sending invitations to pro-

ChorTeach Volume 15 • Issue 3 10 Spring 2023