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The goal should be for all students on campus to know us the school’s best side; get some mileage out of this one.
by name and to see us on campus and at activities.
Fifteen
Ten
Word-of-mouth from the singers in your current groups
Offer recreational activities for the choir members. is one of the most effective recruiting tools. If the singers
Sponsor intramural athletics, parties, barbecues, and other are pleased, challenged, and adequately rewarded for a job
activities the students can enjoy and to which they can bring well done, they will tell their friends and, if encouraged, will
friends. Remember: Friends are often prospective singers! try to involve them in choir as well. To reinforce these ideas,
Of course, keep in mind that you need to set boundaries on think of the following as being part of “word-of-mouth”:
your personal time, so consider starting with just one event Create a sense of family in your classroom. There are SO
per semester or per year. many reasons for this. Some philosophers say that the need
to feel valued is more important than finding food. If you
Eleven give your students credit for having a brain, you will likely
get brains back. Create an environment where mistakes are
Provide a varied and interesting curriculum within the allowed. Empower your students by frequently asking for
music class. Small groups and solo opportunities are just their feedback.
some of the possibilities. Ask your students what they are
interested in singing, and without compromising your mu- Sixteen
sical standards, use a variety of music styles and genres to
attract attention (and new students). Guest conduct state and regional choirs as you have
opportunity. This is of particular importance to college/
Twelve university directors, but a high school teacher with several
feeder schools can, likewise, create opportunities to work
Offer a reward to the top recruiter in your choir. Remind directly with the middle school students in like fashion.
your choir members that they are helping all when they
bring their friends into the choir. A gift card, dinner out, Seventeen
movie tickets or free tickets to another event can be the
reward to the person who brings in the greatest number of Organize a festival event where teachers and students
new singers. See if you can have this reward donated by a can see your campus, meet current students, and hear your
local business or your school. top ensembles perform. This could be a rated or a com-
ments-only festival, it could be for neighboring schools or
Thirteen schools from throughout your region. The draw is to bring
prospective students to your campus to perform and to hear
Talk with the music director or youth minister at local your ensembles.
places of worship to find out who the top singers are in the
youth choir. They could be students at your school! Eighteen

Fourteen Performing at state and regional choral conferences and
invitational festivals gets the word out about the program.
Perform as often as possible within your community so Singers may be attracted to the opportunity to travel, get
that the word about town is positive. A choir with a good outside the school, and perform somewhere new. As your
image in the community is one with a satisfied administra- ensemble continues to learn and improve from these expe-
tion. Principals, deans, department chairs, and other ad- riences, quality becomes its own magnet, attracting more
ministrators look with favor upon any group that represents qualified singers.

ChorTeach Volume 15 • Issue 3 9 Spring 2023