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spective singers but requires monitoring. Delete prospects we spend time in recruiting because it pays off in greater
from your email list once their availability is no longer vi- success.
able—for example, if a student moves to the local charter Often the secret to good recruiting is simple persistence.
school, they are no longer available to your program. Only Plan a semester ahead and let your singers help in these plans.
add prospects who have a realistic opportunity to join your Adopting slogans that refer to recruitment can be helpful.
ensemble. Take care to not use your own personal email One that I have used is “each one reach one” and a general
address by setting up a generic “choir email address,” but reminder that “if every singer brings just one new singer into
this should be monitored only by an authorized member choir, our group just doubled in size.” I have also asked stu-
of the faculty or staff. Again, take care to protect yourself, dents to consider recruiting to be the most important thing
the prospects on your lists, and to observe all local rules we do in choir, right after singing. One thing, however, is for
concerning contact. certain: The recruiting techniques that will never work are
A bottom line here is that the social media contacts the ones that never get tried!
should accomplish the same information sharing and gath-
ering goals of traditional, face-to-face recruiting techniques Grateful acknowledgement is given to these choral directors for their input
without compromising students. Asking a nearby colleague and knowledge of recruiting techniques from the original article and in
for advice concerning local use of social media (and which, this update. Those marked with * participated in the original 1983
if any, they utilize) is a wise investment of time. Several study.
colleagues have also suggested not giving current students
your personal social media information (such as Facebook); Henry Alviani
this should be reserved for colleagues, friends, and fam- Associate Professor
ily—establish and use a Facebook page for the choir(s) and Kutztown University, PA
interact with singers (and potential singers) there instead of
on your personal Facebook profile. Edith A. Copley
Many directors fear recruiting because they don’t know Regents’ Professor Emeritus
where to start or perhaps because they feel it will take too Northern Arizona University
much time in an already busy schedule. One thing that can Flagstaff, AZ
thwart even the most successful recruiting drive is when
there is an institutional barrier to students’ enrolling in *Donnelly M. Fenn
choir. Certain factors create this kind of barrier, whether Chair of Fine Arts Department
intentionally or as a side-effect of some other protocols that West High school
are in place. For example, students generally have better Torrance, CA
access to music classes at the high school level when there
is a modified block schedule. Some music programs offer Anna Hamre
a “zero period” or an “eighth period” option, but this is Professor Emerita
always with administrative approval only. A positive rela- California State University
tionship with the counseling office and administration is Fresno, CA
crucial.
A thriving choral program does not depend on a huge *Marlene Hudson
school-wide population. Often, a medium-sized school will Vocal Director
boast a far larger choir than a very large school in the same Peralta Junior High School
vicinity. In addition to musical and teaching factors, recruit- Orange, CA
ing is often a large contributor to the strength of a music
program. If we want to stay in business, then we must go Ron Kean
out and drum-up the business. Face-to-face learning needs Professor Emeritus
to be re-established in positive ways, and the choir room Bakersfield College, CA
can and should be just such a place. It is often essential that

ChorTeach Volume 15 • Issue 3 11 Spring 2023