Volume 45 Number 3 Summer 2022Voice THE Chorus Operations Survey Report Coming Together Again at Conference 2022 Singing All Of US: A new ARTiCle SeRie S
This publication is supported with funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. 1 contents On the Cover: The Salt Lake Chinese Choir, featured in the new Singing All of Us series, offers a model of a community working together to build a restorative space through choral music. C olum N s 3 From the President & CEO what Does Being Together look like now? by Catherine Dehoney D e PA r T me NT s 4 Chorus Connections Member News, Events, & Announcements Chorus Ameri CA 36 Ad Index 36 Board of Directors F e AT ures 12 | 2022 Chorus Operations Survey Report 22 | Singing All of Us: Restoring Relationships in Choral Communities FIGURE 3 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021 operating revenue experienced a 14% decrease from fiscal year percent of total operating revenue plummeted in 2021 as choruses revenue saw a 19% increase from 2019 to 2021, when federal relief 5, and 6 below show these trends by budget size. we have condensed the standard seven budget categories into three $499,999, and over $500,000. $3,728,511$10,493,132$16,688,068$16,447,481 $22,612,732$20,706,414$18,332,573$18,730,152$2,398,174$1,067,238$1,969,323$2,924,127 $0 $10,000,000$20,000,000$30,000,000$40,000,000$50,000,0002021202020192018 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Income Operating cBDETAILSOnAckOvEr! SAn Fr AncIScO, cA M Ay 31–JunE 3 2023ConferenCe c h O ru S AMErIcA
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President & CEO Catherine Dehoney Vice President of Communications and Membership Liza W. Beth Programs and Membership Manager Karyn Castro Information and Digital Asset Manager Casey Cook Director of Finance and Operations Anne Grobstich Erps Executive Assistant Anthony Khong Director of Member Services and Programs Christie McKinney Associate Director of Development KellyAnn Nelson Associate Director of Communications Mike Rowan Music Education Grants Program Officer Kim Theodore Sidey Membership and Grants Associate Vale Southard Communications Associate Eduardo Coyotzi Zarate Chorus AmeriCA 1200 18Th sTreeT NW, suiTe 1250 WAshiNgToN, DC 20036 202.331.7577 FAx 202.331.7599 WWW ChorusAmeriCA.org
Sing FULFILLMENTINSPIRATIONCONNECTIONJOY with BCI ANNOUNCING 2023 SEASON: SEPTEMBER 15TH! Berkshire Choral International expands the horizons of singers through participation in exhilarating performances, enriching travel and cultural exploration, lifelong music education, and connection to an inspiring community of choral artists. berkshirechoral.org
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Chorus America is focused on making the most of both in-person and virtual ways to connect.
We are also all balancing two other major realities about being together today. One: Zoom fatigue is oh-so-real—the Chorus from the president & ceo America staff is very much in agreement! And two: Opportunities to connect virtually are an important compliment to in-person gath erings. They broaden access and allow us to connect more often, especially when small travel budgets, far-flung locations, and lack of time can be barriers. Given all of the above, Chorus America is creating spaces for being together that:
I’m thrilled to get back to being together in-person more often—I know I’m not alone in feeling energized from meeting our members, sharing a live concert experience, and gleaning something interesting from unplanned conversations in the hotel lobby. I also feel so grateful for the new ways of being together in the virtual space that allow us to continually advance skills, connection, and productivity for choral leaders. I truly believe in their potential to make our already vibrant, collegial field even stronger.
i’m thrilled to get back to choralandskills,continuallythattheofforimoretogetherbeingin-personoften.alsofeelsogratefulthenewwaysbeingtogetherinvirtualspaceallowustoadvanceconnection,productivityforleaders.
• Go beyond simply warm and welcoming—a Chorus America hallmark—to create a true sense of belonging, especially for those who may not have seen themselves as part of our organization in the past • Prioritize caring for each other and self-care as basic operating tenets • Connect you to each other as well as to Chorus America staff
• Amplify diverse voices and the rich exchange of ideas with peers across the spectrum of the field • Meet your needs for accessibility and flexibility accessing informationOnewayChorus America is extending these principles from our programs to our year-round activities is our new Online Community. Launched in May, the Online Community is a secure platform for our members, where you can ask questions, share ideas, lend expertise, and have conversations with each other. It features an open discussion forum as well as a library for sharing documents, resources, links, and more. Have you checked it out? If you haven’t yet, I strongly encourage you to do so at community.chorusamerica.org. As I’ve been look ing at posts made over the past few weeks, I’ve been so struck by the thoughtful questions asked and the thorough, detailed, and generous responses shared by our incredible community. We all have so many questions about the season ahead—from testing and exemption policies, to planning adjustments, to virtual program ming decisions—and the Online Community is the perfect place to bring those questions and share your own experiences.
Catherine Dehoney President & CEO, Chorus America
A s choruses have been carefully resuming in-person rehearsals and performances, it’s been beyond moving to return to our art form at its best— with singers and audiences together to share the irreplaceable experience of live performance.
Chorus America’s return to an in-person Conference in June felt like that for me. Standing up on the stage at our opening plenary, I got a big lump in my throat seeing so many long-time and new members who were with us to reconnect, learn, and celebrate together. This was my 20th Chorus America Conference, give or take, and it will come as no surprise that this one was very special, both in spirit and design. This first gathering since 2019 emphasized well ness, healing, and peer connection, with additional time and space to reflect and process with each other. It also featured information and inspiration to help leaders plan for a permanently changed choral landscape. As Chorus America plans future networking opportunities and gatherings (like our 2023 Conference in San Francisco on May 31–June 3!), we’re also looking out at that changed landscape and thinking about what being together looks like going forward.
We’ve been listening deeply to our members to learn more about what it takes to thrive, not just survive, in this changed world. We’ve heard that chorus leaders are still working to overcome the effects of the pandemic’s devastating impact. They are focused on the health and wellness of their staff, boards, and singers as well as the health of their budgets and audience numbers. At the same time, they are trying to take full advantage of new modes of working and creating art virtually. And we are all serving our communities in an increasingly complex social context. The imperative to build an anti-racist, equitable, and inclusive society is changing how we fulfill our missions—and sometimes our missions themselves.
What Does Being Together Look Like Now?
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The Cecilia Chorus Of New York premiered Caroline Mallonee’s cantata With Streaks of Light in the program Shakespeare...and more! on May 25. The four-part cantata comprises 17 movements on texts of Shakespeare.
On May 15, Mendelssohn Chorus of Philadelphia premiered the commission Beyond the Binary, a multimedia oratorio with music by Andrea Clearfield, libretto by Ellen Frankel, and newly designed electronic percussion Premieres instruments by David Konta. The work acknowledges the growing role of technology in people’s lives and questions the meaning of being human in a world where artificial life exists. At the performance, audience members also had the opportunity to interact with robot prototypes designed by students of the University of Pennsylvania’s GRASP Lab.
m ember Ne W s, e ve NT s, & A NN ou NC eme NT s
The Boston Children’s Chorus premiered two commissions in May addressing climate change.
Kathy Wonson Eddy’s new work, “Are You Listening?” with text from a poem by 17-year-old chorus member Ameya Kothandaraman, expresses the urgency that youth feel to tackle climate change and protect the earth. Jorge Sosa worked in collaboration with the chorus as part of its Opus Nuovo initiative to create “The Rising Tide,” a multi-movement work reflecting on the climate crisis featuring lyrical contributions from the chorus’s singers.
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n June, the San Francisco Girls Chorus (pictured) premiered Matthew Welch’s semi-staged choral-opera Tomorrow’s Memories: A Little Manila Diary, based on the diary of Filipina immigrant Ángeles Monrayo. The work highlights the experience of a young Filipina in the United States.
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The Outer Edge of Youth, a semi-staged choral opera from composer-writer-director Scott Ordway premiered by Washington DCbased The Thirteen on May 13, examines the behavior of boys and young men with one another and toward the natural world. The work finds inspiration in the natural world and the story of St. Francis talking to the birds.
VOX Femina Los Angeles premiered L.A.based composer Christina Whitten Thomas’s “Resilient Voices” on April 23 during its 25th Keep Us Informed! We welcome your news and photos any time. Post them to the Member News area of our website at bit.ly/CAmembernews Submit news to the Voice: voice@chorusamerica.org
You may also post your concert and auditions announcements at bit.ly/ChorusAmericacalendar
The LGBTQ+ choral movement began in 1979 in San Francisco. Virtually from the outset LGBTQ+ choruses have wanted to have a full concert of Disney music. We’ve been able to license songs here and there, but to collaborate with the world’s largest entertainment company—and one that has made an indelible impression on all of us—is a dream come true. For Disney, it was surprising that in its 99-year history, a full-length choral concert hadn’t been done before. We arrived at the concept of celebrating LGBTQ+ pride because it’s a universal theme and one that is threaded through so much of Disney lore. This collaboration tells stories about LGBTQ+ love, the Black Lives Matter movement, AIDS, and other personal stories. Can you discuss the process of selecting the themes and why BGMC felt the need to share those stories?
BGMC’s executive director Craig Coogan led the organization through this project before concluding his tenure with the chorus at the end of August. Chorus America connected with Coogan during his last weeks with BGMC to learn about the project’s conception, returning to the stage, working with Disney, and more. Can you tell us about BGMC’s feelings on returning to the stage, and doing so with a partner like Disney and a project celebrating LGBTQ+ pride?
After a more than two-year hiatus from the stage due to COVID-19, the Boston Gay m en’s Chorus (BGMC, pictured) joined forces with Disney Concerts for Disney PRIDE in Concert, a first-of-its-kind concert celebrating LGBTQ+ pride. The concert not only marked BGMC’s return to in-person performances but was also their biggest show to date. The premiere took place at Boston’s Symphony Hall on June 25–26, 2022, during LGBTQ+ Pride Month.
Boston Gay Men’s Chorus Produ C es First- e ver d isney Choral Colla B oration HOTOGRAPHOMONOVLICE©ARPy
What is one message that you hope every audience member receives from this project?
Pacific Chorale, based in Orange County, California, gave the world premiere of The Quickening, a choral fanfare by Grammynominated former Pacific Chorale composer-inresidence Tarik O’Regan, on May 7. The work features lyrics written in collaboration with Orange County-based poet and activist Marcus Omari. In May, Cantori New York gave the world pre miere of Brought to Light. The commission from Australian composer Stuart Greenbaum, set to a poem by Ross Baglin, is a 60-minute cantata that uses the excavation of a train tunnel as a metaphor for the world’s experience with COVID-19. u
In December 2020, six months before we had a signed contract, BGMC’s arranger and orchestrator Chad Weirick, was well on his way to writing the show. We knew we needed to put some structure around it. We went to our strength: our members. Without disclosing we were negotiating with Disney, we asked members to fill out a Google form about what music means to them and what BGMC means to them. We got nearly 50 responses. We curated the stories to find common themes to weave through the music. “Go the Distance” is a wonderful song from Hercules that tells the story of a Greek boy becoming a hero. We had three speakers talk about their own journeys—one who came out to his family as loving older men and then immigrated to the U.S.; another about discovering the impact of his voice and impact during BGMC’s South Africa tour; and another who was adopted from Korea into an Italian American family and found his calling to protest through BGMC’s community and music. This storytelling puts “Go the Distance” into a different context. The magical thing about the structure is another chorus may have a different journey story to tell, and the music continues to work to support that.
www.chorusamerica.org 5 anniversary season. With lyrics by writer Marian Partee, the piece focuses on women artists of the past, present, and future.
Wishes can come true when you’re true to yourself.
For more from Coogan on collaborating with Disney and advice for choruses interested in taking on this show themselves, see the full blog post at bit.ly/BGMCxDisney.
BGMC returned to the stage after 941 days. It was a long time to be apart. Our music director Reuben Reynolds always says, “Music needs two things to work—performers to create it, and audiences to experience it.” This was especially true with these performances. Boston Symphony Hall was full and before a note could be played or sung the audience roared and cheered for nearly five minutes on opening night. The pent-up desire in our community for music that makes a difference was palpable and immensely moving. No matter our age, we all grew up with the music and storytelling of Disney. The Disney catalog deeply resonates in the LGBTQ+ community. Characters are often struggling to fit in and to accept themselves, they long for a love that feels unattainable, they’ve lost their family of origin and had to create a new one, yet they persevere and find joy in life. They express their alienation, desire, and determination in beautiful songs that have given solace and empowerment to generations of LGBTQ+ people. We were overjoyed at the chance to make the thematic connections between the Disney canon and the LGBTQ+ experience explicit by infusing the music with the stories of our lives.
On July 13, at the 2022 National Association of Negro Musicians (NANM) Season includes Mass for the Endangered by Sarah Kirkland Snider, Ancestors’ Dream with guest conductor Dr. Anthony Trecek-King, and Holy Smoke and the Flame with Iron & Wine. HoustonChamberChoir.org
Joel Thompson (pictured) was a recipient of a Sphinx Medal of Excellence. The recognition is the highest honor bestowed by the Sphinx Organization and recognizes extraordinary classical Black and Latinx musicians. The award, which comes with a $50,000 career grant, is presented annually to three artists who, early in their career, “demon strate artistic excellence, outstanding work ethic, a spirit of determination, and an ongoing commitment to leadership and their communities.”
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Refuge by Jonathan Kolm. The crowdsourced commission was part of a socialjustice-themed program by the same title that portrays a journey out of conflict and exile towards safety and refuge. Francisco J. Núñez presented the world premiere of MAP: A New World, his new work inspired by the Music Advancement Program, a tuition-free program for talent ed youth at Juilliard that serves students of all backgrounds in New York City. The work, conducted by Núñez, premiered at the 30th anniversary season of Julliard’s MAP program on May 22. Roger W. Sherman (pictured), president of CatalogbasedWashington-TheGothicandformer Chorus America board member, was the recipient of the 2022 American Guild of Organist’s President Award. The award recognizes outstanding contributions to the art of the organ in the United States. Linda L. Tedford (pic tured), artistic director and founder of the Susquehanna Chorale, received a Circle of Excellence award from the Central Pennsylvania Business Journal. This award is given to “women of influence for their sustained achievement in their careers; longstanding, notable success in On May 29, Baltimore Choral Arts premiered a commissioned work by Jasmine Barnes titled Portraits: Douglass as part of the program Mozart Requiem Reframed. The work pulls inspiration from the Mozart Requiem to reflect on present-day Baltimore with texts by Harriet Tubman and Frederick Douglass. In February, Chicago a cappella premiered Sarai Hillman’s “Psalm 59:16 C. Safety & Refuge” and Edna Yeh’s “I Wandered Lonely As a Cloud” as part of the ensemble’s Coming Out of the Dark concert. Hillman and Yeh are two of the four winners of the ensemble’s first HerVoice Emerging Women Composers Competition, which provides a mix of convening and mentorship opportunities for winners and all entrants. n their community; and leadership and mentorship of other pianist,Composer,women.”conductor,andeducator
Robert Simpson, Founder & Artistic DirectorSimpson, Founder Artistic Director c hor us co n ne c t i o n s Awards
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Convention, former Chorus America board member and American Choral Directors Association president André Thomas was presented with NANM’s National Vanguard Award. Composer John Muehleisen (pictured) was honored by The American Prize and received a 2022 Honored Artist award. Recipients of this honor are “individuals (or ensembles) who have proven themselves to be of sustained excellence over a number of seasons as laureates of The American Prize competitions.” n Empowering Song: Music Education from the Margins, released in early July and authored by André de Quadros and Emilie Amrein, shares insight from the authors’ work in unjust and marginalized settings—prisons, refugee shelters, detention facilities, and migrant encampments—detailing the facets of equity-centered musical leadership to give readers an understanding of how choral music leadership can change and why choral music should matter to all. In June, Lorelei Ensemble, led by artistic director Beth Willer, released Antigone: The Writings of Sophie Scholl and the White Rose Movement by composer James Kallembach. The release pairs the writings of anti-Nazi activist Sophie Scholl and Sophocles’ ancient Greek tragedy Antigone to narrate the involvement of Scholl and her brother with the White Rose, a nonviolent resis tance group from the University of Munich that opposed the Nazi government during WWII. The Crossing and Donald Nally’s August release, Born: The Music of Edie Hill and Michael Gilbertson, guides listeners through themes of extinc tions, relationships and their complexities, loss, and love. The release includes Hill’s avian-inspired Spectral Spirits and two works of Gilbertson’s: Born, based on a poem by Wisława Szymborska, and Returning, which shares the biblical story of David and Jonathan from the Hebrew Bible. n Visit chorusamerica.org/give-recurring to join today!
8 The Voice, Summer 2022 Christopher Jackson (pictured) was appointed by The Bach Choir of Bethlehem as the seventh artistic director and conductor in the organization’s 125-year history this past May. Jackson, who is also the director of choral and vocal activities at Muhlenberg College and the director of education of Skylark Vocal Ensemble, succeeds Greg Funfgeld, who, after 39 years, retired inTheJune.New York City Gay Men’s Chorus (NYCGMC) announced two updates to its leadership team. John D Carrion (pictured) was con firmed as executive director on a permanent basis after serving in an interim role over the past year. John J. Atorino (pictured), a one-time associate conductor of NYCGMC, steps into the role of artistic director after holding the same position with the Portland Gay Men’s Chorus. Jace Kaholokula Saplan (pictured) was announced as the new artistic director of Choral Arts Society of Washington, effective as of September 1. Saplan also serves as director of choral activities at Arizona State University and artistic director of Nā Wai Chamber Choir.
M O r EHO u SE C OLLEGE G LEE C L u B CELEB r ATES A NNIVE r SA rY OF H ISTO r IC N IGE r IA T O ur Appointments and Retirements c hor us co n ne c t i o n s URODOLAODELE©AyD Sy©ANDTENz
NEWVoices in Appleton, Wisconsin, introduced Valerie Simonsen (pictured) as the organization’s full-time executive director. Simonsen joined the team in January in a part-time position. Houston Chamber Choir appointed Brian Miller (pictured) as its new executive director. Miller previously worked as the chorus manager
The morehouse College Glee Club celebrated the 50th anniversary of its first visit to Nigeria with a return to the African republic for a three-city tour. The group included songs native to Nigeria as part of their program and sang in Edo, yorùbá, Hausa, and Igbo languages and dialects.
Columbia p ro Cantare premiered the piece in its community in American Voices, a concert that featured music from American composers that honor and give voice to the varied and rich cultural heritage of the United States.
FREEDOM: To Be Free and Sky Bound and Make Some Noise, Get in Trouble . Both pieces were performed as part of a tour program in March. Many performances of the 2021 commissions are still to come. We look forward to seeing these pieces come to life and hope that the Chorus America community will keep an eye out for more premieres from the choruses and organizations that brought these pieces to the field.
freedom: To Be free and sky Bound (Treble Commission)
FREEDOM: To Be Free and Sky Bound by Augusta Read Thomas is a piece in memory of Rosa Parks that uses texts from Parks’ “Freedom” and Jala¯l ad-Din Mohammad Ru¯mii’s “Love.”
In May of 2022, the Wisconsin Chamber Choir premiered Thomas’ commission in the concert Hope Springs Eternal. The concert’s overarching theme was hope as it acknowledged the many struggles faced around the world.
The piece inspires and motivates action to fight for freedom, human rights, and civil rights for all fellow human beings.
of the Houston Symphony and has more than a decade of experience in the professional choral field.
The Texas Lutheran University Choir and the Texas Lutheran University Treble Choir participated in commissioning both
Young Women’s Choral Projects of San Francisco (YWCP) announced that Martín Benvenuto (pictured) will serve as interim artistic director and head of staff for the 2022–23 season. Benvenuto is also the founder and artistic director of 21V. The announcement came after the retirement of artistic director Susan McMane who concluded her tenure in 2022 with YWCP’s 10th anniversary season. Lucinda Carver (pictured) was appointed as the interim executive director of Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Carver is a conductor, pianist, and harpsichordist and holds more than 20 years of experience in u Chorus America’s Commission Consortiums bring choruses of all sizes from around the United States and Canada together to bring new repertoire to life from beloved and acclaimed composers. The tradition of over ten years has brought pieces that highlight America’s cultural diversity, the impact of youth in the world, and many other themes. In 2022, the tradition continues with the offering of compositions celebrating Latin American music from composers Cristian Grases and Suzzette Ortiz. More than 35 choruses who joined the 2021 Consortiums are now inspiring their communities with premieres of compelling compositions by r oland m . Carter and Augusta r ead Thomas honoring titans of the American civil rights move ment. Here we share a few of those performances to date. make some noise, Get In Trouble (sATB Commission) Roland M. Carter’s Make Some Noise, Get in Trouble honors civil rights activist and Congressman John Lewis and is rooted in the idiomatic melodic and rhythmic strains of traditional spirituals. The piece is designed to speak to the impacts of the pandemic and injustice.
As part of a Juneteenth Choral Celebration, San Francisco-based Amateur m usic n etwork (AMN, picture d ) held a hybrid workshop and performance to premiere Carter’s commission. Along with the performance, conducted by Candace y. Johnson and featuring in-person and online singers, AMN also hosted a conversation with Roland Carter to learn about the conception of the piece.
In its return to the stage after two years of virtual performances and rehearsals, the Chicago Community Chorus premiered Carter’s commission as part of its spring concert Diversity Inspires Change.
Choruses i nspire Communities with 2021 Commission Consortium Premieres
2022 Commission Consortiums Chorus America is also thrilled for the 2022 Commission Consortiums with composers Cristian Grases and Suzzette Ortiz. The new commissioned works, delivered to partici pating choruses by August 31, 2023, pull inspiration from Latin American, Caribbean, and Puerto Rican musical stylings and incorporate the Spanish language. Details about participating, the composers, and pricing can be found at commission-consortiums.chorusamerica.org/
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Capitol Hill Chorale premiered the work during the finale of its 29th season at the concert A New Path, which featured music by composers of color and women composers. The concert aims to highlight underrepresented communities and their exclusion in many areas, including the art of choral music.
The best answer to the question that is “The Star-Spangled Banner” is an informed deci sion—made by the whole ensemble—that connects to the organization’s values and mission. The anthem is a call to participate in the democratic process. That Americans do not always agree with one another is not a flaw but a feature of democracy. Patriotic unity is not agreement. Unity is the shared commitment to work together to make the nation the best it can be. That’s the promise celebrated by singing the nation’s anthem.
Joshua Fishbein (pictured) will take on the role of director of music and arts at Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Rockville, Maryland. In Washington DC, Fishbein has also accepted a position at Temple Micah assisting with the choir. J. Andrew Bradford (pictured) was announced as the executive director of the Los Angeles Children’s Chorus through its 2025–26 season. Bradford has served as the chorus’s interim executive director since November of 2020.
A robust, open, and sincere conversation between director, singers, and staff offers a positive possibility to move forward—to answer the questions of if, when, and how to perform America’s anthem. Knowing the facts about the song, however, is critical to facilitating a productive dialogue. When it comes to “The Star-Spangled Banner,” what most Americans know is more myth than history. The story of the anthem can be confusing, contradictory, and likewise inspiring. Understanding its complexity puts today’s controversies into context.
Protest is part of the anthem’s musical and social function. Hundreds of alternate lyrics, all long forgotten, were written to the tune arguing for nineteenth-century political causes, such as women’s suffrage, temperance, religious devotion, organized labor, and indeed the aboli tion of slavery.
A chorus brings the many voices of a community together in song. yet when a choir is called upon to perform the U.S. national anthem today, divisions can be activated. Some singers may be inclined to kneel while performing or to remain backstage in protest. Other members can be deeply offended by any protest that disrupts the song’s expression of unity. Audiences, adminis trators, parents, donors, and other stakeholders add their own priorities to the mix.
Partisan rancor is nothing new to the melody.
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The Problem and Potential of “The Star-Spangled Banner” academia. She also serves on the faculty of Chorus America’s Choral-Orchestral Conducting Academy. Craig Coogan (pictured) joins the Seattle Men’s Chorus and Seattle Women’s Chorus in September as their interim executive director. Coogan holds over 25 years of experience in the choral field and has held leadership posi tions at One Voice Mixed Chorus, Vox Femina Los Angeles, and most recently Boston Gay Men’s Chorus.
The 1931 bill making Key’s song the official anthem of the United States simply recognized a status the song increasingly held in cultural practice following the U.S. Civil War. The bill is surprisingly brief. It states only that “the words and music known as ‘The Star-Spangled Banner’ is the official national anthem of the United States of America.” There is no official text, no official arrangement.
As a historian I personally believe “The StarSpangled Banner” still has a beneficial role to play today. It is a repository of history that helps us understand who we are as a nation and how we got here. Furthermore, by evoking the nation’s ideals, it also serves as a bellwether of equality. Performances of the nation’s anthem that express social dissonance rather than a unifying harmony thus serve as an alarm bell. At these times, the song signals that something is amiss, that an injustice needs to be resolved to bring the nation into harmony.
Patriotism and protest are mutually interdepen dent in U.S. history. you simply can’t have one without the other. If there were only one legal way to perform the U.S. national anthem, conforming to such strictures would express not love of country but obedience. The musical magic of the anthem is its expressive flexibility. It can be performed at somber military funerals, ecstatic Fourth of July parades, or in angry social protests—each time in very different emotional but no less patriotic variations.
In American culture today, several strategies have been used to bring balance to the anthem’s story. One is to perform the Black American anthem “Lift Every Voice and Sing” before “The Star-Spangled Banner.” Others might substitute “America the Beautiful” for the nation’s official anthem in patriotic ritual.
In 1798, the song “Adams and Liberty” sounded a jingoistic bluster that proclaimed members of the new nation’s Federalist Party to be the only real and true Americans. Like “The Star-Spangled Banner,” the song “Adams and Liberty” was written to a pre-existing melody. In fact, they used the same tune.
For more discussion of “The Star-Spangled Banner” and its complex history, visit Chorus America’s blog to read the full article: bit.ly/Clague_OSay.
10 The Voice, Summer 2022 Drawing on his new book o say Can You Hear?: A Cultural Biography of “The star-spangled Banner,” musicologist Mark Clague offers a historical perspective to help us make sense of today’s complexities surrounding the American national anthem, and how choruses might approach it.
Thomas Circle Singers celebrated artistic director James Kreger (pictured) with “A Farewell Encore,” a program celebrating his final performance and some of his favorite works throughout his 33 years with the group. In May, Miles Canaday (pictured) joined as the organization’s next artistic director. Canaday is the director of choral activities at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Washington.After25years of service, Heartland Men’s Chorus Kansas City celebrated executive director rick Fisher’s (pictured) retirement, contributions, and accomplishments at a season-ending performance of the Andrew Lippa musical Unbreakable in June.
“Adams and Liberty” was hugely popular. One young Federalist who knew the song was the lawyer and gentleman poet Francis Scott Key. Inspired by the heroism of Americans defending Baltimore from British attack in 1814, Key crafted a new set of words to fit the well-known tune. Many Americans think he wrote a poem, later fit to music, but this is false.
2022 CHORUS
SURVOPeRATiOnSeYRePORT
e xecutive Summary
12 The Voice, Summer 2022 Chorus America’s Chorus Operations Survey Report is the most comprehensive source of data available on choruses and the choral field. The information in this report helps choruses make better decisions about programming, budgeting, staffing, and other management practices. Chorus America also uses this data to offer general compensation information for administra tive and artistic leaders and singers, and to provide customized salary and compensation reports for administrative and artistic leaders. Since 2018, the report has been produced in partnership with leading arts and culture research organiza tion SMU DataArts.
New this year, the report assesses trend data for revenue, expenses, and program
This analysis provides summaries of key metrics for choruses who completed the Cultural Data Profile and the Chorus Operations Survey. Metrics are presented in both snapshot as well as trend tables andChoruscharts.data in the financial summary sec tions include information from choruses who have entered financial and programmatic data into the online data collection system of SMU DataArts (formerly the Cultural Data Project), an independent nonprofit organization, as well as the custom survey module for Chorus America. For the 107 choruses in the dataset, SMU DataArts used the latest Cultural Data Profiles (FY2020 or FY2021) available as of May 2022. Trend sections answer questions around fluctuations in budget, as well as how well choruses were able to sustain contributed revenue during the pandemic. New questions added to the Chorus Operations Survey module inform us of funding assistance received from government sources. In addition, the streamlined Cultural Data Profile now allows for more robust analysis of digital programming. ming activities from fiscal years 2018 through 2021. These trend analysis sec tions shed light on how the revenue and expense makeup among choruses have shifted since the pre-pandemic era and allow for forecasting and planning for future years. In this issue of the Voice, we’re excerpting sections of the Chorus Operations Survey Report that analyze some particularly sig nificant trends in the field. You’ll find the Executive Summary, Operating Finances: Trend Analysis, and Programming & Attendance sections of the report included here. As choral organizations plan for next season and beyond, we encourage our community to read and refer to these highlights, as well as the full 2022 Chorus Operations Survey Report, available online at bit.ly/2022COSReport. The newly published 2022 Chorus Operations Survey Report shares how choruses’ budgets, digital and in-person programming practices, and staffing have changed due to the impact of COVID-19.
Figure 4 shows a slight decrease in total contributed revenue among from fiscal year 2019 to 2020/2021. This is compared to figures 5 and 6 below, which indicate an increase in total contributed revenue, par ticularly in fiscal year 2021 when federal funding was distributed. FIGURE 5 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type,$150,000-$499,9992018-2021 Budget Size 2022 C horus o P erations survey re P ort introdu C tion t he 2022 Chorus operations survey report sheds light on how the choral field has managed an unprecedented crisis and points to the road ahead. this report highlights the significant impacts that the Covid-19 pandemic has had on choruses’ budgets— impacts that are consistent with what is being seen across the arts and culture sector generally. While the choruses that contributed data ended fiscal year 2020/21 in an overall healthy financial position, the report leaves no doubt that our field faces a period of regrowth and Chorus’srebalancing.budgets are significantly smaller today than in years past. Comparing budget sizes from this year’s report to the 2020 report, 29 choruses experienced a shift into a smaller budget category. this year’s report, for the first time, also offers a trend analysis that tracks the operating budgets of 55 choruses that submitted data over the past four years. the analysis shows that total operating revenue decreased 14% between fiscal year 2019 and fiscal year 2021. today’s chorus budgets also rely far more on contributed revenue than earned revenue. Choruses have always had a slightly higher ratio of contributed to earned revenue than the 50/50 split that arts organizations generally reported pre-pandemic, and this gap has grown significantly. this report shows that for fiscal year 2020/21, a typical chorus’s revenue breakdown might look like raising 78% of revenue through contributed sources, 11% through earned sources, and 11% through invest ments. this is largely due to an increase in revenue from govern ment sources, thanks to the federal and local relief funding that many choruses received. new to this year’s report, sMu dataarts’ streamlined Cultural data Profile allows in-depth reporting on digital and in-person offerings, including attendance numbers for each. almost all distinct performances reported were digital, with over half of chorus programming offered as on-demand productions or programs that could be viewed anytime. even as choruses resume more in-person activities, measuring and benchmarking the impact of digital programming will continue to be important for demonstrating overall impact. looking ahead, our field faces some important questions. how should choruses budget to accommodate continued pandemicrelated challenges as relief funding comes to an end? how can they sustain support from donors while continuing to seek out new earned revenue opportunities?
The following information is taken from the Cultural Data Profile (CDP) as well as the Chorus Operations Survey, which asked for details around government relief funding. SMU DataArts tracks revenue diversity across several lines in the Cultural Data Profile. These line items are then bucketed for analysis, allowing one to u FIGURE 4
13
1Fonner, Daniel, Studying Early Pandemic Data: Did Giving Sustain the Arts?, SMU DataArts, March 2022, revenue-in-2020/recovery-blog-series/unrestricted-contributed-https://culturaldata.org/the-arts-in-
–Catherine Dehoney, President and CEO, Chorus America
• Eighty-five percent of choruses modi fied their program delivery in 2020/21. Over half of chorus programming in 2020/21 came from distinct on-demand productions or programs.
• Seventy-nine percent of choruses analyzed received some level of federal or other government relief funding since the start of COVID-19.
• Choruses analyzed reduced their expenses by 35% from fiscal year 2019 to 2021. Small and mid-sized choruses greatly reduced their expenses. Overall, choruses ended fiscal year 2020/21 with a 15% unre stricted surplus.
• Since the pandemic, there has been a 3% increase in contributed revenue across the arts and culture sector1. For choruses analyzed, the most significant types of funding are individual support (36%), fol lowed by foundation contributions (16%). Fourteen percent of total revenue came from government sources in 2020/21. Increases were recognized in government support while individual contributions and foundation support remained fairly steady.
Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type,Under2018-2021$150,000 Budget Size
• Nearly two-thirds (65%) of choruses analyzed reported at least one full or part-time paid staff person. During the pandemic, choruses were relatively successful in retaining full-time staff.
www.chorusamerica.org
Below are the key insights from this report.
• Total operating revenue experienced a 14% decrease from fiscal year 2019 to 2021. Earned revenue plummeted in 2021 as choruses paused programming. Contributed revenue saw a 19% increase from 2019 to 2021, when much of the federal relief fund ing was received.
Operating f inances: Trend Analysis
thetheshown,andmitmenttrebuildorprogramming—whetherWhatin-persondigital—canbestengageandaudiences?ogether,we’lldrawonthecomtomission,innovation,resourcefulnessourfieldhasalongwithresourceslikedatainthisreport,toinformworkahead.
Figure 4 (left) shows a slight decrease in total contributed revenue among from fiscal year 2019 to 2020/2021. This is compared to figures 5 (left) and 6 (next page), which indicate an increase in total contributed revenue, particularly in fiscal year 2021 when federal funding was distributed. u 3
Without adjusting for inflation, total operating revenue experienced a 14% decrease from fiscal year 2019 to 2021. Earned revenue as a percent of total operating revenue plummeted in 2021 as choruses paused programming. Contributed revenue saw a 19% increase from 2019 to 2021, when federal relief funding was distributed. Figures 4, 5, and 6 below show these trends by budget size.
decrease
14 The Voice, Summer 2022 have a better picture of the types of revenue or expenses a grouping of organizations may have. New to this year’s report, we are also comparing revenue and expense trends across choruses who have historically provided information. Trend analysis reflects data submitted for fiscal years 2018 to 2021 for 55 organizations. Note that change reflects nominal change, as figures were not adjusted for inflation. trend analysis: how Much did Choruses’ Budgets Fluctuate from 2018 to 2021? The COVID-19 pandemic has turned the arts and culture sector upside down in many ways. With widescale closures begin ning in March 2020, organizations saw steep drops in earned revenue from tickets and admissions. However, they found some relief through government funding pro grams, as well as adjusted grant terms that allowed for some restriction removal or reallocation of funds to general operating needs2. Figure 3 (left) shows change over time for the sum total of operating revenue across the 55 choruses in the trend dataset, as well as the breakout of earned, contribut ed, and investment revenue. Without adjusting for inflation, total operating revenue experienced a 14% decrease from fiscal year 2019 to 2021. Earned revenue as a percent of total oper ating revenue plummeted in 2021 as cho ruses paused programming. Contributed revenue saw a 19% increase from 2019 to 2021, when federal relief funding was distributed. Figures 4, 5, and 6 (left and next page) show these trends by budget size. For the purposes of trend analysis, we have condensed the standard seven budget cate gories into three buckets: Under $150,000, $150,000–$499,999, and over $500,000.
$2,398,174$1,067,238$1,969,323$2,924,127 $0 $10,000,000$20,000,000$30,000,000$40,000,000$50,000,000 2021202020192018 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating FIGURE 4 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021 Under $150,000 Budget Size Figure
total contributed revenue among from fiscal year 2019 to 2020/2021. This is compared to figures 5 and 6 below, which indicate an increase in total contributed revenue, particularly in fiscal year 2021 when federal funding was distributed. FIGURE 5 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021 $150,000 $499,999 Budget Size $1,813,734 $1,505,355 $1,105,728 $298,455 $2,116,265 $2,247,656 $2,157,854 $2,188,746 $150,777 $28,710 $86,983 $500,077$4,500,000$4,000,000$3,500,000$3,000,000$2,500,000$2,000,000$1,500,000$1,000,000$500,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Under $150,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $3,400,860 $3,315,275 $2,171,423 $523,351 $3,084,728 $2,676,953 $2,842,825 $3,344,245 $134,551 $173,365 $83,925 $417,701$7,000,000$6,000,000$5,000,000$4,000,000$3,000,000$2,000,000$1,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 $150,000 - $499,999 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating FIGURE 4 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021 Under $150,000 Budget Size Figure 4 shows a slight decrease in total contributed revenue among from fiscal year 2019 to 2020/2021. This is compared to figures 5 and 6 below, which indicate an increase in total contributed revenue, particularly in fiscal year 2021 when federal funding was distributed. FIGURE 5 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021 $150,000 $499,999 Budget Size $1,813,734 $1,505,355 $1,105,728 $298,455 $2,116,265 $2,247,656 $2,157,854 $2,188,746 $150,777 $28,710 $86,983 $500,077$4,500,000$4,000,000$3,500,000$3,000,000$2,500,000$2,000,000$1,500,000$1,000,000$500,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Under $150,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $3,400,860 $3,315,275 $2,171,423 $523,351 $3,084,728 $2,676,953 $2,842,825 $3,344,245 $134,551 $173,365 $83,925 $417,701$7,000,000$6,000,000$5,000,000$4,000,000$3,000,000$2,000,000$1,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 $150,000 - $499,999 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating fIGUre 3 | nominal Change in revenue by revenue Type, 2018–2021 2022 Chorus Operations Survey Report fIGUre 4 | nominal Change in revenue by revenue Type, 2018–2021 Under $150,000 Budget size fIGUre 5 | nominal Change in revenue by revenue Type, 2018–2021 $150,000–$499,999 Budget size 2Fonner, Daniel, Studying Early Pandemic Data: Did Giving Sustain the Arts?, SMU DataArts, March 2022, revenue-in-2020/recovery-blog-series/unrestricted-contributed-https://culturaldata.org/the-arts-in-
For the purposes of trend analysis, we have condensed the standard seven budget categories into three buckets: Under $150,000, $150,000 $499,999, and over $500,000. $3,728,511$10,493,132$16,688,068$16,447,481 $22,612,732$20,706,414$18,730,152$18,332,573 4 shows a slight in
FIGURE
Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021
PORTRAITS CALL FOR SCORES
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC is seeking music/score submissions for an original commissioned piece to be premiered in 2024. The music and text of the piece will tell an aspect of the human experience, inspired by the artwork of the composer’s choosing from the PORTRAITS exhibit. Compensation for each selected work: $2,500. Deadline: November 1, 2022. For more information, visit www.GMCW.org/portraits-project/
the u FIGURE 6 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021 Over $500,000 Budget Size What Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses? Figure 7 below displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corporations, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. FIGURE 7 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 $11,232,887 $11,867,438 $7,215,981 $2,906,705 $13,529,159 $13,407,964 $15,705,735 $17,079,741 $2,638,799 $1,767,248 $896,330 $1,480,396$30,000,000$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Over $500,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $10,024,347$10,861,095$10,190,728$9,805,759 $517,783$812,674$905,483$722,986$5,177,629$4,911,844$4,620,298$5,762,039 $4,313,311$1,167,326$1,080,919$1,457,919 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 2021202020192018 Individual Support Corporate Contributions Foundation Contributions Government Support FIGURE 6 Nominal Change in Revenue by Revenue Type, 2018 2021 Over $500,000 Budget Size What Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses? Figure 7 below displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corporations, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. FIGURE 7 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 $11,232,887 $11,867,438 $7,215,981 $2,906,705 $13,529,159 $13,407,964 $15,705,735 $17,079,741 $2,638,799 $1,767,248 $896,330 $1,480,396$30,000,000$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Over $500,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $10,024,347$10,861,095$10,190,728$9,805,759 $517,783$812,674$905,483$722,986$5,177,629$4,911,844$4,620,298$5,762,039 $4,313,311$1,167,326$1,080,919$1,457,919 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 2021202020192018 Individual Support Corporate Contributions Foundation Contributions Government Support fIGUre 6 | nominal Change in revenue by revenue Type, 2018-2021 | over $500,000 Budget size What Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses? Figure 7 below displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corporations, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. FIGURE 7 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 $11,232,887 $11,867,438 $7,215,981 $2,906,705 $13,529,159 $13,407,964 $15,705,735 $17,079,741 $2,638,799 $1,767,248 $896,330 $1,480,396$30,000,000$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Over $500,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $10,024,347$10,861,095$10,190,728$9,805,759 $517,783$812,674$905,483$722,986$5,177,629$4,911,844$4,620,298$5,762,039 $4,313,311$1,167,326$1,080,919$1,457,919 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 2021202020192018 Individual Support Corporate Contributions Foundation Contributions Government Support What Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses? Figure 7 below displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corporations, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. FIGURE 7 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 $11,232,887 $11,867,438 $7,215,981 $2,906,705 $13,529,159 $13,407,964 $15,705,735 $17,079,741 $2,638,799 $1,767,248 $896,330 $1,480,396$30,000,000$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Over $500,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $10,024,347$10,861,095$10,190,728$9,805,759 $517,783$812,674$905,483$722,986$5,177,629$4,911,844$4,620,298$5,762,039 $4,313,311$1,167,326$1,080,919$1,457,919 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 2021202020192018 Individual Support Corporate Contributions Foundation Contributions Government Support What Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses? Figure 7 below displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corporations, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. FIGURE 7 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 $11,232,887 $11,867,438 $7,215,981 $2,906,705 $13,529,159 $13,407,964 $15,705,735 $17,079,741 $2,638,799 $1,767,248 $896,330 $1,480,396$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Over $500,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $10,024,347$10,861,095$10,190,728$9,805,759 $517,783$812,674$905,483$722,986$5,177,629$4,911,844$4,620,298$5,762,039 $4,313,311$1,167,326$1,080,919$1,457,919 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 2021202020192018 Individual Support Corporate Contributions Foundation Contributions Government Support What Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses? Figure 7 below displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corporations, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. FIGURE 7 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 $11,232,887 $11,867,438 $7,215,981 $2,906,705 $13,529,159 $13,407,964 $15,705,735 $17,079,741 $2,638,799 $1,767,248 $896,330 $1,480,396$30,000,000$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Over $500,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $10,024,347$10,861,095$10,190,728$9,805,759 $517,783$812,674$905,483$722,986$5,177,629$4,911,844$4,620,298$5,762,039 $4,313,311$1,167,326$1,080,919$1,457,919 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 2021202020192018 Individual Support Corporate Contributions Foundation Contributions Government Support What Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses? Figure 7 below displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corporations, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. FIGURE 7 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 $11,232,887 $11,867,438 $7,215,981 $2,906,705 $13,529,159 $13,407,964 $15,705,735 $17,079,741 $1,767,248 $896,330 $1,480,396$25,000,000$20,000,000$15,000,000$10,000,000$5,000,000$0 2018 2019 2020 2021 Over $500,000 Total Earned Revenue Operating Total Contributed Revenue Operating Total Investment Income Operating $10,024,347$10,861,095$10,190,728$9,805,759 $517,783$812,674$905,483$722,986$5,177,629$4,911,844$4,620,298$5,762,039 $4,313,311$1,167,326$1,080,919$1,457,919 $0 $5,000,000 $10,000,000 $15,000,000 $20,000,000 2021202020192018 Individual Support Corporate Contributions Foundation Contributions Government Support fIGUre 7 | nominal Change in Contributed revenue sources, 2018-2021 2022 Chorus Operations Survey Report
w hat Contributed Revenue Sources Helped Choruses?
Over the course
Figure 7 (right) displays trends in contributed revenue diversity from four primary sources: individual and trustee donations, corpora tions, foundations, and public agencies at all levels of government. Significant increases were seen in government support, while individual contributions and foundation support remained fairly steady. Corporate dona tions, only representing a small percentage of contributed income, decreased in fiscal years 2020 and 2021. While the overall val ues are helpful in understanding the choral sample as a whole, examining the dataset by budget size can shed light on differences experienced within the sample. Table 9 (next page) displays individual, foundation, government, and corporate contributed revenue changes over time by budget size. We know that small sized choruses heavily rely on donations compared to larger choruses. of
individual
Kennedy Center Concert Hall Living the Dream…Singing the Dream 35th Annual Choral Tribute to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Sunday, February 5, 2023 | 7:00 pm
Boldly Becoming Haydn’s Mass for Troubled Times
All performances are conducted by Artistic Director Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan unless otherwise indicated. All programs, artists, dates, prices, loca tions, and event times are subject to change. Kennedy Center performances are external rental events presented in coordination with the Kennedy Center Campus Rentals Office and are not produced by the Kennedy Center.
Kennedy Center Concert Hall 2022-2023 Season
Saturday, November 19, 2022 | 7:00 pm Handel’s Messiah December 15-18, 2022
Whitacre’s The Sacred Veil Saturday, May 6, 2023 | 4:00 pm & 8:00 pm Live! at 10th & G Chamber Singers
ChoralArts.org • 202.244.3669
Kennedy Center Concert Hall Guest appearance with the National Symphony Orchestra Fabio Biondi, conductor O Night Divine! Christmas Music with Choral Arts December 19 & 24, 2022
Kennedy Center Concert Hall
Carl DuPont, baritone A Family Christmas For the Young & Young at Heart Saturday, December 24, 2022 | 11:00 am
O! What a Beautiful City
We are thrilled to introduce our next Artistic Director, Dr. Jace Kaholokula Saplan. Join Choral Arts and Jace this season as we create powerful performances, discover shared passion, and connect to the music within us all.
Wondrous Music Rooted in DC
Kennedy Center Concert Hall Co-presented with Washington Performing Arts
Price’s Song of Hope | DiOrio’s Solaris Sunday, June 11, 2023 | 5:00 pm
For
SMU DataArts added an additional optional question to the Cultural Data Profile in December 2020 which asked organizations whether they ceased, modified, or delivered their programming normally during the period of COVID-19. Figures 26 (below) and 27 (next page) show the percent selecting among choruses, by budget size and constituency type.
Programming and Attendance
Covid-19 impact on Chorus Programming
government
see
The 2020 Chorus Operations report indicated that before the pandemic, choruses spent 74 cents of every dollar on programmatic expenses, with the average chorus presenting 18 performances and 10 productions. As the pandemic surged, choruses greatly reduced their expenses. With expense reduction also came a limited number of opportunities for audiences to engage with choruses via live performances. In fact, in fiscal year 2020/21 choruses produced only 2 in-person events on average. know that small sized choruses heavily rely on individual donations compared to larger choruses. Over the course of the past four years, these small choruses saw a significant decrease in individual contributed revenue. The larger choruses saw an increase in government support – changes reflect the internal resources large choruses have in maintaining donor relationships and applying funding relative to the pandemic. more information on who received funds the full report at chorusamerica.org/cosr
differences experienced within the sample. Table 9 below displays individual, foundation, government, and corporate contributed revenue changes over time by budget size. TABLE 9 Nominal Change in Contributed Revenue Sources, 2018 2021 by Budget Size Individual Support 2018 2019 2020 2021 Nominal change % 2019 ‐ 21 Under $150,000 $ 1,380,770 $ 1,436,448 $ 1,215,735 $ 1,198,938 ‐20% $150,000 ‐ $499,999 $ 1,720,607 $ 1,338,758 $ 1,438,818 $ 1,195,550 ‐12% Over $500,000 $ 7,759,718 $ 7,249,141 $ 7,536,175 $ 7,411,271 2% Corporate Support 2018 2019 2020 2021 Nominal change % 2019 ‐ 21 Under $150,000 $ 67,238 $ 55,973 $ 60,964 $ 71,041 21% $150,000 ‐ $499,999 $ 93,078 $ 73,628 $ 80,221 $ 63,176 ‐17% Over $500,000 $ 745,167 $ 683,073 $ 581,801 $ 383,566 ‐78% Foundation Support 2018 2019 2020 2021 Nominal change % 2019 ‐ 21 Under $150,000 $ 210,975 $ 242,054 $ 309,028 $ 241,699 0% $150,000 ‐ $499,999 $ 923,810 $ 821,763 $ 724,389 $ 975,094 16% Over $500,000 $ 3,485,513 $ 3,848,027 $ 4,728,622 $ 3,960,836 3% Government Support 2018 2019 2020 2021 Nominal change % 2019 ‐ 21 Under $150,000 $ 268,715 $ 327,404 $ 385,928 $ 548,944 40% $150,000 ‐ $499,999 $ 172,495 $ 225,710 $ 271,263 $ 866,193 74% Over $500,000 $ 639,709 $ 614,212 $ 800,728 $ 2,898,174 79% We
these
Eighty-five percent of choruses modified their program delivery in 2020/21. They responded to the challenge the pandemic u past four years, these small choruses saw a significant decrease in individual contributed revenue. The larger choruses saw an increase in government support—these changes may reflect the internal resources large choruses have in maintaining donor relationships and applying for government funding relative to the pandemic. For more information on who received government funds see the full report at bit.ly/2022COSReport.
2022 PROGRAMMING & ATTENDANCE TABLe 9 | nominal Change in Contributed revenue sources, 2018–2021 by Budget size FIGURE 29 COVID 19 Impact on Programming by Budget Size FIGURE 30 COVID 19 Impact on Programming by Constituency Type 12% 34% 13% 85% 59% 100%100%100%87%91% Overall Under $50,000 $50,000 - $99,999 $100,000 - $149,999 $150,000 - $249,999 $250,000 - $499,999 $500,000 - $999,999Ceaseprogram delivery Modify program delivery fIGUre 26 | CoVId-19 Impact on programming by Budget size 2022 Chorus Operations Survey Report
may
www.chorusamerica.org 19
for government
FIGURE 31 Programming Types
20 The Voice, Summer 2022 attendance As productions were nearly all virtual in 2020/21, so was participation. Figure 30 (next page) shows average annual virtual attendance by budget size. Generally speaking, as organizations increased in size so did attendee size. Across budget sizes, choruses in 2020/21 were more likely to offer digital program ming free of charge. For those that did charge ticket or admission fees, the range was $9–$25 per ticket.
Figure 32 shows these program types by
FIGURE 32 Programming Types, by Budget Size 2%3%4%6%12%15%26%18%27% 37%36% 28% 64%22%40% 15% 67% 51%50% 68% 51% 41%33% 83% Overall Under $50,000 $50,000 - $99,999 $100,000 - $149,999 $150,000 - $249,999 $250,000 - $499,999 $500,000 - $999,999 $1 million and over Distinct Offerings (Physical) Distinct Live-streamed Offerings Distinct On-demand Offerings fIGUre 27 | CoVId-19 Impact on programming by Constituency Type fIGUre 29 | programming Types, by Budget size
on-demand programs that were made avail able during the fiscal year, whether the con tent was produced during or prior to 2020. Over two-thirds of chorus programming came from distinct on-demand productions or programs. These recorded on-demand programs could be viewed at any time by audiences and may include recordings of physical or live-streamed offerings, as well as programs recorded specifically for ondemand viewing. Recorded programs could have been created within or prior to the FY2020/21 fiscal year. Figure 29 (above) shows these program types by budget size.
3Mike Rowan. A Few Early Ventures Into In-Person Singing Chorus America. July 2020 few-early-ventures-person-singinghttps://chorusamerica.org/publications/blog/ 2022
FIGURE 30 COVID 19 Impact on Programming by Constituency Type 8%12%17% 100%85%88%80%Overall Children/Youth Chorus Professional Chorus VolunteerCeaseChorusprogram delivery Modify program delivery
Figure 28 (above) shows the makeup of programming among choruses in 2020/21: distinct in-person programs, distinct live-streamed programs, and recorded presented in a myriad of ways, including digitizing their offerings and developing protocols for health and safety3 In fiscal year 2020/21, choruses produced on average 13 distinct performances. Nearly all of these were produced digitally. The following section details the types of digital offerings choruses provided to audience members in 2020/21. digital Productions In December 2020, SMU DataArts stream lined their Cultural Data Profile, identifying data points used most frequently in funder and analytic reports as well as field research. Incorporating feedback from arts and cul tural organizations as well as grantmakers, the CDP was pared down significantly while adding details around data points most desired by the sector. Part of this stream lining process included details on digital programming, as many organizations had already begun utilizing virtual methods of engagement before the onset of COVID-19. Adding this section allowed choruses to input details on digital programming, including whether a product was distinctly provided on-demand, or broadcasted live–including how many times a production was broadcasted over the course of a fiscal year. Over two thirds of chorus programming came from distinct on demand productions or programs. These recorded on demand programs could be viewed at any time by audiences and may include recordings of physical or live streamed offerings, as well as programs recorded specifically for on demand viewing. Recorded programs could have been created within or prior to the FY2020/21 fiscal year. budget size. percent of choruses modified their program delivery in 2020/21. They responded to the pandemic presented in a myriad of ways, including digitizing their offerings and protocols for health and safety3. In fiscal year 2020/21, choruses produced on average 13 performances. Nearly all of these were produced digitally. The following section details the offerings choruses provided to audience members in 2020/21. Productions 2020, SMU DataArts streamlined their Cultural Data Profile, identifying data points used in funder and analytic reports as well as field research. Incorporating feedback from arts organizations as well as grantmakers, the CDP was pared down significantly while adding data points most desired by the sector. Part of this streamlining process included details programming, as many organizations had already begun utilizing virtual methods of before the onset of COVID 19. Adding this section allowed choruses to input details on programming, including whether a product was distinctly provided on demand, or broadcasted how many times a production was broadcasted over the course of a fiscal year. the makeup of programming among choruses in 2020/21: distinct in person programs, streamed programs, and recorded on demand programs that were made available during whether the content was produced during or prior to 2020.
Chorus Operations Survey Report
Few Early Ventures Into In Person Singing Chorus America. July 2020 https://chorusamerica.org/publications/blog/few early ventures person singing 67%27%6% Distinct On-demand Offerings Distinct Live-streamed Offerings Distinct Offerings (Physical) fIGUre 28 | programming Types
www.chorusamerica.org 21
Conclusion
Generally speaking, as organizations increased in size so did attendee size. Across budget sizes, choruses in 2020/21 were more likely to offer digital programming free of charge. For those that did charge ticket or admission fees, the range was $9 $25 per ticket. 16,384
8464,3497,6403,6716,690 74,185 40,116 Overall Under $50,000 $50,000 - $99,999 $100,000 - $149,999 $150,000 - $249,999 $250,000 - $499,999 $500,000 - $999,999 $1 million and over fIGUre 30 | Average Virtual Attendance, by Budget size
As organization leaders create new projections on revenue streams and respond to changes in the social and economic climate, the data in this report can begin to serve as a roadmap of how the sector has managed an unprecedented crisis in 2020. Every crisis may have its own unique barriers, but forward-thinking leader ship and a vision that is adaptable toward the future can be a powerful tool in weathering future storms. n The Chorus Operations Survey Report was prepared for Chorus America in July 2022 by Rebecca Roscoe, research specialist at SMU DataArts
The results of this report reveal how choruses responded to the initial impacts of COVID-19. Reduction of expenses and a shift towards digital programming mark significant adjust ments choruses made during this challenging time. Not only choruses, but organizations across the sector experienced challenges pivoting to new audience behaviors, mandates around safety and programming, as well as funding and unemployment. The arts sector increased its reliance on contributed revenue sources while reducing expenditures by 11%.
FIGURE 33 Average Virtual Attendance, by Budget Size
AllSingingOfUS:
22 The Voice, Summer 2022
Restoring Relationships in Choral Communities
We know the potential of ensemble and choral singing to bring us together. When group singing builds trust, honors authentic relationships, and restores community connections, that potential is fully realized. This issue of the Voice shares the first two articles in a four-article series focused on organizations and people using ensemble singing and choral music to address racism and repair racial harm.
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T
he articles in the Singing All of Us series, selected and shaped by guest editors Aisha Moody, Wendy K. Moy, and Jace Saplan, share many different perspectives. We’ll explore stories from organizations formed with cultural representation and social justice at their core, and from organizations and people that are moving into new areas of this work. Some common threads link these different perspectives together: respecting his tory and righting past wrongs, celebrating intersectional identities and shared humanity, and deepening connections.
The stories in Singing All of Us are part of a broader continued conversation shaping the choral landscape. Does the series spark any reflections you have on your own experience or on the choral community in general? Are there other stories of people and organizations doing similar work that you would like to share? We would love to hear from you at voice@chorusamerica.org.
www.chorusamerica.org 23
The story of a program developed by the Tucson Girls Chorus and the Native American Advancement Foundation to serve students in the GuVo District of the Tohono O’odham Nation shares lessons about relationship-building and community-centered collaboration.
Aisha Moody (she/her) is a social innovator, dedicated to empowering youth by using music as a tool for social change. Aisha is the Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer of the Atlanta Music Project (AMP). With a mission to empower underserved youth to realize their possibilities through music, AMP provides intensive, tuition-free music education to underserved youth right in their neighborhood. “I hope this series empowers choral leaders to seek out and cultivate new ways to amplify the voices found within and outside of their choirs. Music is indeed the universal language, and the choral model specifically has the ability to create authentic relationships that build community across racial barriers. May we continue to uplift lives, families, and communities through this powerful gift.”
Sy©ANDTENz
guest editors
The Native American Advancement Foundation serves students in the GuVo District of the Tohono O’odham Nation with programs including an afterschool program, summer camps, and the music education partnership with the Tucson Girls Chorus.
TUC son GI r L s CH or U s A nd n ATIV e A mer ICA n A d VA n C emen T fo U nd ATI on When Nicky Manlove, an associate conductor for the Tucson Girls Chorus, signs into Zoom on Wednesday afternoons, they know that a number of possibilities await. As they log on from Tucson, students will begin logging on from their homes in the GuVo District of the Tohono O’odham Nation, nearly three hours’ drive away. Perhaps there will be rows of boxes on Manlove’s screen; some containing a single student’s face, some in which a grandparent or sibling can be glimpsed in the background, and some which feature a black square, u
Wendy K. Moy (she/her) is an Assistant Professor of Music Education at Syracuse University. She is the Co-Artistic Director of Chorosynthesis Singers, performing socially conscious music, and has established the Empowering Silenced Voices Database for Socially Conscious Choral Music.
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Practicing Partnership: A Music education Collaboration
“These narratives show the beauty and transformative power of telling our stories (sometimes painful) through song. Through them, I hope we understand our choral community more deeply, become aware of the harm we have caused, and start on the path toward empathy, connec tion, and reconciliation.”
Jace Saplan (they/he) is the director of choral activities and associate professor of music at Arizona State University, artistic director of the Choral Arts Society of Washington, and founder and director of Nā Wai Chamber Choir. “I hope that through these stories, the choral profession can see that the path forward is not monochromatic but abun dantly infinite—and that our work moving forward must root itself in community solution and repair.”
Reckoning with a fraught History To embark upon such a partnership is to reckon with a fraught history. “Partners need to recognize that there was a negative legacy in terms of imperial effects,” McCormack says, with “outsiders saying they were going to do one thing and doing something very different, and often detrimental.” Native communities have s pe Students in NAAF’s children’s garden, named Ruth’s Oidag
–Monica Cleveland
24 The Voice, Summer 2022 which students could learn proper behav ioral habits and uplift themselves culturally. Such overtly racist rhetoric is rarer today, but recent efforts at musical “outreach”— however well-intentioned they may be— risk extending this harmful legacy. Programs that uncritically center European classical music and celebrate its purportedly “univer sal” relevance give credence to dangerous ideologies about the presumed superiority of Western culture. And one-directional withstood profoundly destructive efforts to erase their histories, identities, and traditions, often at the hands of outsiders intent on compelling their assimilation into white settler society. Music education has not been exempt from this pattern. At the federal boarding schools which Native chil dren were forced to attend throughout the late nineteenth and early twentieth centu ries, for example, European classical music was considered a “civilizing” tool through indicating a switched-off camera. Or perhaps today will be a day when only a handful of students turn up. Numbers might fluctuate over the course of the session, as students contend with shaky internet connections or find themselves called away to complete a family chore. Yet no matter which of these unpredictable circumstances arises, the goal of the program remains the same: to create a space where students feel seen, heard, andLastwelcomed.fall—as the COVID-19 pandemic continued to hinder in-person connection, and as the United States continued to reckon with the ongoing crises of racism, white supremacy, and inequality—the Tucson Girls Chorus (TGC) and the Native American Advancement Foundation (NAAF) embarked upon a partnership which brings weekly remote music educa tion to Tohono O’odham students. NAAF, founded in 2011, is a community-based organization led by members of the Tohono O’odham Nation; it serves GuVo District, one of the Nation’s 11 sovereign districts. TGC and NAAF connected after both received the Community Foundation of Southern Arizona’s CORE Grant. At an event for grant recipients, TCG’s executive director, Marcela Molina (pictured), met Jen McCormack, then the CEO of NAAF. Mutual admiration for one another’s work led to a series of conversations about the possibility of a collaborative partnership. From there, says NAAF director of student support services Monica Cleveland, “it bloomed into something awesome.”
“ we wanted to see this music be a part of the healing process for everything that our kids have been through … we need to take time to heal, and this music program is doing that for our kids.”
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Jordan Evans (pictured), who now serves as NAAF’s CEO, notes that “generally speaking, programs have to be adapted for the community that they’re being hosted in. [TGC] just did such a phenomenal job at approaching us on the front end, saying, ‘In your communities, what things should be celebrated and what things should be kept more private or be protected? Are there u
A Program Approach Centering the Tohono O’odham Community
Crucially, both organizations shared a baseline commitment to centering Tohono O’odham needs and perspectives—a com mitment that is fundamental to NAAF’s work writ large. One of the organization’s “outreach” programs also often proceed from the misguided assumption that the marginalized communities they seek to engage exist in a cultural vacuum in which only local traditions matter, and in which there is no previous knowledge of or enthusiasm for classical music. This assumption enacts its own process of erasure, as Native people and other marginalized racial groups have engaged with classical music from the earliest days of the art form’s history. Given the enduring impact of these histories, McCormack notes, it’s vital to recognize that “the way you design a youth program in Tucson is going to be really different than in the Tohono O’odham Nation. You’re going to need a different level of buy-in.” In addition to considering these broader contextual factors while developing the partnership, TGC reflected critically upon past institutional experience working with Native communities. Molina candidly describes a short-lived 2013 project, in which TGC engaged members of the Pascua Yaqui Tribe, as a “total failure.” Because she took for granted that the project would be of interest to the community, she says,
“I was not curious enough about what they were curious about.” The outcomes were “average” and the partnership dissolved after about six months. “It wasn’t sustainable because I never asked the questions,” Molina reflects. “We really never had a partnership. It was just me bulldozing my way through their community.” This past experience influenced Molina’s work with NAAF. From the outset, she was careful to ensure that the program was collaboratively envisioned— an approach that NAAF’s own team also endorsed. “When we first met, we wanted to make sure that we got input from everyone,” says Cleveland. “It really felt like we were all putting this together and designing it specif ically for our O’odham children.”
www.chorusamerica.org 25 many initiatives is an afterschool program, whose myriad offerings range from academic subjects to gardening to sports.
“Everything that we do within our tradi tions is done through music,” Cleveland explains. Accordingly, the program was designed to introduce students to new musical experiences while also honoring O’odham ones. TGC staff worked closely with Cleveland to ensure that both NAAF staff and Tohono O’odham students would be involved in curriculum development.
Local schools do not offer music or other arts education, so TGC was able to fill a clear need. It also offered an opportunity for students to engage more closely with Tohono O’odham culture through music.
GuVo District is remote and vast. u and the particular violence that music has played in the role of colonial genocide in the United States.” But they have also come to recognize that such awareness doesn’t exist in a vacuum; it needs to be directed toward meeting the needs of the program and the individual interests and personalities of its participants. As Manlove puts it, “It’s important to stay in touch with scholars and pedagogy, and it’s also really important to be really responsive to the people who showed up to the room.” Manlove and Molina also emphasize that these pedagogical decisions are not theirs alone to make. To that end, the program includes several “student leaders,” commu nity members who can serve as a bridge between TGC staff and their younger peers. Molina explains that the student leaders “are educating us in what is important for them.”
One day, when Manlove was teaching a “super goofy” folk song—a jig featuring dancing animals and a horseshoe-clad grasshopper—they paused to ask if students knew what a jig was. It wasn’t until a student leader named Mazey offered the equivalent word in O’odham that their understanding of the piece clicked—precisely the type of spontaneous insight that a preplanned spreadsheet could never capture. Such an approach deviates from pedagogical conven tion. As Manlove puts it, “the idea of shar ing power on the podium is actually very taboo in arts organizations. Our field hinges on the idea that one person is in the front, one person is making decisions.” Yet that model seems increasingly outdated: “to be really honest, I don’t think that is a skill that will carry us into the future.” Even as the partnership works toward a flexible, collaborative model, it also con tends with significant material challenges: pandemic-related restrictions, technological topics that we should avoid? Are there things that we should bring up?’” Beginning with questions like these, McCormack notes, allowed the program design to be informed by Indigenous research methods. Unlike Western models, in which the activity of researching is thought to be separate from the identity of the researcher, Indigenous research methods center the relationship between the two. While there is of course abundant diversity within Indigenous approaches, generally speaking, the paradigm eschews top-down approaches to gathering and distributing information, respects the knowledge generated by Indigenous elders and communities, and recognizes that not all researchers will have equal access to cul tural information. In the Tohono O’odham context, employing Indigenous research methods means considering a project’s relationship to the culture’s lifeways, or himdag. This approach generates important questions, McCormack says: “Is this project going to promote good life? Is it going to hold to seven generations? Does this heal trauma from the past?”
“ i t’s important to stay in touch with scholars and pedagogy, and it’s also really important to be really responsive to the people who showed up to the room.”
Planning, Reevaluating, and Adapting The partnership began with a four-week pilot in fall 2021, followed by a longer, 10-week cycle this past spring. In prepara tion, Manlove constructed what they describe as a “big romantic plan,” with themes and units outlined in a detailed spreadsheet. They ended up scrapping most of it. For example, Manlove initially had not planned to foreground solfege, as they found it “pedagogically complicated,” but they switched gears when students responded with enthusiasm. And when, at an early session, Manlove asked students what they liked to sing, the answers took them by surprise: “Ariana Grande! Dua Lipa!” These were useful reminders that the program needed to account for students’ Tohono O’odham identity while also affirming their full selves, which encompass but are not limited to that identity. Manlove notes that they are “hyperaware of—or I’m trying to be—of legacies of colonialism and erasure
26 The Voice, Summer 2022 limitations, and other logistical barriers that are amplified and compounded by historically rooted social inequities. Native Americans have suffered disproportionately high rates of infection and death from COVID-19, attributable in part to dispari ties in access to healthcare, and the Tohono O’odham Nation has implemented a strict lockdown in response. Because many O’odham families live in multigenerational households, and elders are especially vulnerable to the disease, NAAF has taken particular care to ensure that students do not put their families at risk. For the music program and many other afterschool activities, for example, students log on from home rather than gathering communally. (Molina and Manlove are hopeful that, as restrictions lift, students will be able to attend collectively, and that they will be able to make occasional in-person visits to the Nation.) Moreover, says Evans, “when you pair those restrictions with the challenges of infrastructure, it makes participation difficult for a lot of families.”
–Nicky Manlove
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A music education session with students and Manlove
CONGRATULATIONS Dean and Vice Provost Robert Stroker and the entire Boyer College of Music and Dance celebrate our colleague, mentor and friend, Dr. Rollo Dilworth, as the first-ever recipient of Chorus America’s Alice Parker Fund Award We applaud Dr. Dilworth’s music and words for inspiring the thoughtful presentation of choral music traditions of Black and Latinx communities, as well as his ambassadorship for diverse and inclusive choral experiences in Philadelphia, across the United States and around the world. Congratulations, Dr. Dilworth! boyer.temple.edu Boyer College of Music and Dance @boyercollege
A new Definition of Success: long-Term investment and Relationship Building
Because of these unique circumstances, evaluating the program’s success requires a distinct approach. Traditional, funderfriendly metrics—the number of students reached, for instance—seem inadequate.
28 The Voice, Summer 2022
“In this field, where resources are scarce and finances are tough and grants are tricky, there are so many pressures to over sell or to understate challenges. I think that’s really dangerous,” says Manlove. Rather, Molina recognizes that this partner ship, and the hard work of cross-cultural community-building that it entails, require a “long, long, long-haul investment.” “We do get discouraged,” she acknowledges. Yet it’s vital to “always try to step back, try to see further down than the immediate challenge.” Both Manlove and Molina also recognize that NAAF staff—as community members themselves—have insight into how students feel about the program that isn’t necessarily accessible to them. Some NAAF staff are themselves parents of quickly that a continuous educational program that relies on previous knowledge that we got from the prior weeks just wouldn’t work.” Instead, they’ve adopted a curriculum that includes warmup exercises, repertoire similar to that sung by other TGC ensembles, a focus on move ment and physicality, and a compositional component, in which students pursue activities like coming up with an original text for a given melody. Recently, students have also been working collectively to choose a name for their ensemble, and student leaders have volunteered to help translate potential names into the O’odham language. And despite the complexities of access, students have made their enthusi asm about the program clear. For instance, Cleveland notes that she’s regularly asked during other programming about when the next music session will take place. At first, “some kids will come on and they’re a bit sluggish,” she says, but she’s seen them become more and more comfortable: “halfway through you see their smiles come out, and you see that energy.”
Services and resources can be challenging to access. Internet access is inconsistent— a situation that stems from longstanding inequities in technology—and temporary solutions, like Verizon Jetpacks and other mobile hotspots, can be unreliable. Students’ ability to participate consistently in the program is also informed by cultural and familial obligations. Cleveland explains, “A lot of time in our O’odham households, your chores come first. They have to do their daily duties. So sometimes they’ll be so eager to log on, and they’re like, ‘I’ll be right back. I gotta take out the trash.’ And they run and do that. Then they’ll continue their music program, and they’ll start singing again.” These factors have shaped the partner ship’s design and implementation; Molina describes TGC’s approach as one of “constant reevaluation.” Students are free to come and go at any time, rather than being required to attend each session in its entirety. Manlove says, “I learned pretty s
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www.chorusamerica.org 29 student participants, and they know the other participating families well due to their involvement with the broader afterschool program. Molina and Manlove also seek out feedback from the student leaders, who they describe as a “pillar of building this program,” and check in frequently with Cleveland to evaluate the program’s direc tion. “We are trusting Monica,” Molina says. In a different situation it could feel unsatisfying to invest copious resources in a program only to have a handful of students attend, but both TGC and NAAF recognize that the partnership’s ambitions exceed the acquisition of musical experience. “You can feel the energy coming from the screen,” says Cleveland. Many students initially were shy or embarrassed to sing with the group, but when “you see them and you hear them on the screen it’s something entirely different. Their voice just carries. It just stays with you because this is our culture, our future, our youth.” Evans notes that since many O’odham children rarely leave the lands of the Tohono O’odham Nation, the partner ship offers “a whole new awareness and appreciation for what it looks like outside of our communities.” It also allows for the strengthening of family and community bonds. Under current conditions, this can be a paradoxical benefit of home-based, remote instruction: a grandparent might listen and even join in while their grandchild partici pates, for instance. In the future, Evans hopes it will take the form of a live perfor mance: “a stage where our families can come, our community members can come” to hear students showcase their talents.
The overarching goals of the partnership are, ultimately, less about music itself than they are about the kinds of personal and social experiences that music can facilitate.
COMMUNITYCURIOSITYEXCELLENCE Singers Bard Conductor’s Chorale Bard Symphonic Chorus Conductor’s Ensemble graduate choral & orchestral conducting program co-directors James Bagwell and Leon Botstein
Editor’s note: In May 2022, the Tucson Girls Chorus received a grant from Chorus America’s Music Education Partnership Grants program. The organization plans to use the funds to further develop this collaborative program during the 2022–23 school year.
Lucy Caplan is a writer and scholar based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She teaches at Harvard University.
At the end of the day, what matters, says Cleveland, is simple: “We want our kids to always feel welcome. We want to make sure that our kids are smiling at the end of every session, and that they go away believing, ‘This is so much fun, I’m going to come back tomorrow.’” n
845-752-2409 bard.edu/conservatory conservatoryadmission@bard.edu
All students receive ample podium time working with community, collegiate, and professional ensembles including: Bard Conservatory Orchestra Bard College Community Orchestra Bard Chamber
The entrenched systemic injustices which have been exacerbated in recent years by the pandemic can seem overwhelmingly intractable, but small-scale interventions can play a role in addressing their impact.
Cleveland connects the two, noting, “We wanted to see this music be a part of the healing process for everything that our kids have been through, through this pandemic. Not just through the pandemic, but, you know, their entire lives. There’s a lot of historical trauma that Native Americans have been through. We need to take time to heal, and this music program is doing that
The mission of the Bard Conservatory is to provide the best possible preparation for a person dedicated to a life immersed in the creation and performance of music.
Photo by Chris Kayden for our kids.” These are monumental aspirations, yet it’s important to recognize that in practice, the process often takes modest forms. Manlove reflects, “I have had these really romantic ideas about what this should be that are deeply connected to my values about justice. Honestly, what I have learned is that the most important thing is: Do these kids have a good time?”
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30 The Voice, Summer 2022
This June, the Salt Lake Chinese Choir (鹽湖華人合唱團), directed by Yu-Feng Huang (黃育峰), presented their first concert since the pandemic: “For Many a Reason, I Sing” (我歌唱的理由).
B Y Y OSHI C AMPBELL sALT
The Salt lake Chinese Choir Builds Ties across America with Songs of the Chinese Diaspora
The concert, held at the Libby Gardiner Concert Hall at the University of Utah for a large, diverse, and enthusiastic audience from the local community, stood in marked golden Dream:
The story of the Salt Lake Chinese Choir, under the leadership of Yu-Feng Huang and board president Fan Kwan, offers a model of a community working together with a talented conductor to build a restorative space through choral music and a shared dedication to artistry and cultural pride. L AK e C HI nese C H o I r CIAL s er I In this still from the Golden Dream video project, the Salt Lake Chinese Choir sings at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, which commemorates the joining of two railroads to form the Transcontinental Railroad.
Hostacommunity sing-alongon WorldSingingDay andboostyour choirenrollment. Resourcesat WorldSingingDay.org Singtogether. Unitetheworld.
The Salt Lake Chinese Choir, which cele brates its 20th anniversary this November, seeks “to preserve, promote, and enhance Chinese culture through music and cho ral arts.” According to board president Fan Kwan (關麗芬, pictured) it is “the most diverse choir in Utah”—a statement that belies common assumptions about the homogeneity of Chinese Americans. Its singers have roots in Taiwan and mainland China, as well as Chinese communities across Singapore, Malaysia, Hong Kong, the Philippines, Vietnam, and the United States. Kwan herself was born and raised in Vietnam during the long Vietnam War. She recalls, as a young child, beginning to sing during an air raid over her family home and being immediately silenced by her mother. “When I get the chance, I will sing,” Kwan remembers telling her self. This resolution eventually led her to the National Conservatory of Music, where she studied voice. After the fall of Saigon, Kwan left the Conservatory and eventually immigrated to the U.S. with her family. Although war and exile had disrupted her operatic dreams, Kwan found fulfillment of her childhood deter mination to sing, and empowered others to do so, when she founded the community choir that would evolve into the Salt Lake Chinese Choir.
World
Chinese railroad workers were often excluded from the history of the Transcontinental Railroad, as in this historic photograph of its completion. Golden Dream tells the story of their immense contribution.
A Choir that Reflects a Diverse Diaspora
RCHIVESATIONALOFOURTESCyNA
The Salt Lake Chinese Choir, with Kwan’s husband Todd Dam (談和碩) as its original conductor, was officially incor porated in 2002, following an invitation to sing a Chinese folk song from Taiwan, “Song on Mount Ali” (阿里山之歌), to celebrate the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Utah. The Salt Lake Chinese Choir became an important expression of shared roots for Utah’s Chinese American immi grant community, across their background, politics, or religions. “We may all be Chinese,” explains Kwan, “but we may have different political opinions. We don’t talk about politics in the group, however, so we can get along in harmony.” The diversity of the singers extends to their musical back grounds as well. Kwan remembers that in the Choir’s early days, some altos from the People’s Republic of China, more familiar with patriotic anthems sung in unison, u Singing Day Oct.15,2022
www.chorusamerica.org 31 and joyous contrast to the isolation and stigma faced by members of the Chinese American and larger Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) communities in the United States since COVID-19 emerged. In partnership with musicians and leaders from Utah’s Chinese American community, Huang (pictured) and the Salt Lake Chinese Choir have created a remarkable body of work leading up to and during the pan demic. Their programs showcase the choral music of the Chinese diaspora, building bridges between communities, while telling unsung stories of American history.
An offshoot of Huang’s advocacy is the choir’s Chinese Choral Repertoire Promotion Project, which emerged from his DMA dissertation, a new system for teaching native English speakers to sing Chinese authentically. “He pulled in students that didn’t know the language,” recounts Bradford, “and within 10 minutes, he had them singing authentic Chinese. What I would like to see happening in our choral community in this country is for Yu-Feng to go to various choirs and start spreading this ability. There is an enormous and beautiful set of Chinese choral repertoire out there that right now I think most people shy away from just because of the language.”
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32 The Voice, Summer 2022
After her husband passed, Kwan worked hard to keep the Salt Lake Chinese Choir going with help from community mem bers. The transformative moment arrived in 2017, when Kwan hosted Yu-Feng Huang, a young Taiwanese choral conductor visit ing the University of Utah. Before coming to Salt Lake, Huang had earned a Master of Fine Arts in Choral Conducting under Dr. Ai-Kuang Sun (孫愛光) at the presti gious choral program at the National Taiwan Normal University and had been a protégé of famed choral conductor Fang-Pei (Tracy) Lien (連芳貝) of the National Taiwan University Chorus. Lien, a graduate of the University of Colorado, Boulder, encouraged Huang to study in the United States but to look beyond East or West Coast schools, and find “a place that would expand my vision,” he explains. “Tracy said encounter ing totally different life experiences can help you create art.” Huang obtained a doctorate at the University of Utah under the direction of Barlow Bradford and stayed on afterwards at Kwan’s request to direct the Salt Lake Chinese Choir. “I could see right away that his is a big talent,” says Bradford of Huang. “When he took over the Salt Lake Chinese Choir, they were down to maybe 15 members, now they have 50. And they sound so different! What I love best is Yu-Feng’s investment in making sure the choir is able to actually sing well. They can stand on the stage with other good choirs that have been around this area for a long time.“ Under Huang, the Salt Lake Chinese Choir brings to a city rich in choral traditions a repertoire that showcases the s pe s
Yu-feng Huang’s Mission to Showcase Contemporary Chinese Choral Music
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Pandemic asReimaginingStigma:theChoiraRestorativeSpace
In 2020, as was the case for so many choruses across America, COVID-19 brought the rehearsals of the Salt Lake Chinese Choir to an abrupt and painful halt. In addition to what other choruses confronted—lock down, isolation, fear of the virus, loss of community, and the inability to sing together safely—members of the Salt Lake Chinese Choir also faced the stigma of being scapegoated for the pandemic itself.
“During the first half year, the Chinese community felt very stressed,” says Huang, “due to the animosity between America and China and, I don’t like saying it, but antiAsian hate. Even though Salt Lake usually feels safe, we heard so many stories of Chinese and Asian Americans across the country getting discriminated against or just attacked. The whole community was hesitant to go out, the elder members in particular. They didn’t even want to go get groceries.”
were initially resistant to the idea of singing four-part harmony at all. “They complained of having to serve as ‘handmaidens’ to the soprano ‘queens.’” says Kwan (a soprano herself). “For our repertoire, I chose mostly songs that were composed in the 1930s before the Communists took over, from classical Chinese artistic and folk traditions that more of our singers could relate to.”
Huang started to host music appreciation sessions for the chorus every week on Zoom, strengthening the group’s musician ship. He found these allowed him and the singers to connect to each other on a deeper personal level. “When the choir had regular rehearsals before the pandemic, people came to sing and celebrate our culture, but didn’t really deeply connect to each other,” he says. “Normally in rehearsal, conductors need to get things done, but on Zoom, I could actually hear what the choir wanted to share with me.”
Huang’s work with the Salt Lake Chinese Choir during the pandemic gave him u renaissance of contemporary Chinese choral music. “Taiwainese choral music started to have a nice development after 1995,“ Huang explains “due to changes in the publishing industry and composers who were studying abroad beginning to come home.” This burgeoning movement spread to mainland China by 2010, bolstered by government investments in choral music festivals, conservatories, and commissions that encouraged composers. To encompass the diversity of the group, “I try to pick out a balance of both contem porary Taiwanese composers and composers from China. I choose art songs and settings of beautiful poetry, but we also sing folk song arrangements from different regions to reflect the diversity of the singers’ roots, as well as arrangements of pop songs to be accessible and to build bridges to new audiences,” says Huang. The sound of Salt Lake Chinese Choir adds to the sonic diversity of the region while drawing on choral techniques from around the globe. “In working with this group, I have tried to get a more open vowel sound than the forward, bright sound associated with a stereotypical Chinese group especially in the higher voices, to produce a beautiful, ringing sound that still sounds Chinese,” says Huang. “At the same time, I want to showcase a different kind of music to Western audiences, that combines Chinese musical elements, instruments, traditional arts, clothing, and even contemporary graphic design to create a complete concert experience.”
The virtual choir video New Year Medley shows SLCC singers getting ready for the Chinese New Year
CONFERENCE ATTENDEE IMMERSION ImmersionLatinoaméricaCHOIRSChoir Maria Guinand, conductor Black ImmersionDiasporaChoir Donald Dumpson, conductor Indigenous People’s Immersion Choir Jace Saplan, conductor ImmersionJazz Choir Matt Falker, conductor HEADLINE CHOIRS The May Festival Chorus & Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra Juanjo Mena, conductor featuring a world premiere by James Lee III The Jason Max Ferdinand TheSingersCrossing Donald Nally, conductor featuring the premiere of the Brock Commission by Jennifer Higdon HONOR ElementaryCHOIRS Fernando Malvar-Ruiz JH/MS Andrea Ramsey HS Mixed Eugene Rogers HS Treble Pearl Shangkuan AMAZING VENUES Cincinnati Music Hall Aronoff Center Theaters Isaac M. Wise Temple Duke ConventionEnergyCenter for all interest sessions, exhibits, and publisher showcases To belong is to be heard, understood, seen, and valued—to be a thriving and vital member of the chorus of humanity. Join us in Cincinnati (in person!) to celebrate our diversity and our affinities, while we inspire each other to create a greater Place of Belonging.
Seeing a virtual choir on the news, the Salt Lake Chinese Choir decided to try one together. Like many other choruses, the group’s first attempt was variations on a simple grid of faces made with phones in people’s living rooms that took two and a half months to produce. “It was exciting and frustrating at the same time, but it brought us closer together as a group,” says Dongfang Zhang (张东方,pictured), a tenor, board member, and creative partner in the choir’s nine video programs. “You communicate as you troubleshoot together. And I don’t know how many times we watched it together.”
With a renewed commitment to their mission of promoting Chinese culture, the Salt Lake Chinese Choir has taken this vulnerable, moving process of virtual choirs to new levels. As Zhang explains, “For us, working together to do a joyful celebration of history and culture was very restorative. And the community responded, ‘Wow, this is good!’”
going Viral with the Restorative Power of Joy
The Unsung Story of the Chinese Railroad workers
34 The Voice, Summer 2022 enjoying winter sports, prepping holiday decorations, and yes, going out to do their grocery shopping with affirming humor, warmth, and courage in the face of pandemic stigma. “Let’s go against the fear” was the plan according to Zhang. “Let’s just celebrate Chinese New Year with this production since we cannot meet each other! And so, we had this gift to offer everyone.” In contrast, Fairy of the Magpie Bridge (鵲橋仙·纖雲弄巧) is a showcase of Chinese artistry. Commissioned by the Salt Lake Chinese Choir in 2021, Taiwanese composer Chun-Da Huang’s (黃俊達) work sets a Song Dynasty poem by Qin Guan (秦觀) about star-crossed lovers who meet once a year on a bridge of magpies. This gorgeously produced virtual choir combines calligraphy, sand art, recitation, and song, accompanied by Yanqi Wang (王妍琦) on piano and I-Shan Lai (賴逸珊) playing the gaohu (高胡) in a flowing red dress on the shores of the Great Salt Lake.
The most powerful of the Choir’s virtual projects is Golden Dream (金色的夢), commissioned by the Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association (CRWDA) (鐵路華工後裔協會) to commemorate the 152nd anniversary of the Golden Spike. On May 10, 1869, a ceremonial 17.6-karat gold spike was driven to join the rails of the Central Pacific Railroad and the Union Pacific Railroad to create the Transcontinental Railroad at Promontory Summit in Utah. Nearly invisible in the famous photo of this scene were the Chinese workers who built the western leg of the railroad. Golden Dream tells their previously unsung story and seeks to right the historical wrong of their “Theyerasure.say, the Chinese built the railroad. The rail road built America,” says civil rights leader Margaret Yee (余黃鏗娟, pictured), chair of the CRWDA and an alto in the Salt Lake Chinese Choir. Yee remembers being fascinated as a little girl in China by stories of her great grandfather Wong who traveled across the ocean to “Gold something as well—a new understanding of what it could mean to be a choir director. “I really love this choir because of what they taught me. Before I felt like I was just here to bring new music and share it with new people, but now I feel like I help people to heal during the process.” For Huang, the process affirmed how impor tant the Salt Lake Chinese Choir is to its community: “Throughout the pandemic, we provided a restorative space for people to feel like, ‘Yes, we are not unsafe. We have support from our friends. We can stand together and face these difficulties.’”
One of their early videos, New Year Medley (新年組曲) arranged by Wei-Chi Huang (黃威齊), surprised Huang and the Choir by gathering 119,000 views from as far afield as Taiwan. In addition to beautifully clear singing, the humanity of the Chinese immigrant community in Utah is on display. You see the singers getting ready for the Chinese New Year that marks the beginning of the lunar calendar, s
pe CIAL s er I es cBDETAILSOnAckOvEr! SAn Fr AncIScO, cA M Ay 31–JunE 3 2023ConferenCe c h O ru S SAAMErIcAvEThEDATE!chorusamerica.org
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Two years later with the Chinese American community again facing discrimination, the CRWDA agreed to commission the Salt Lake Chinese Choir members to sing their ancestors’ story. The result is Golden Dream, composed by Xingzimin Pan (潘行紫旻) with lyrics by Yang Chen (陳阳). It opens with a fanfare for their memory with echoes of Copeland’s Fanfare for the Common Man, played by AAPI trumpeter Bronson Pascual on Promontory Summit, over historic stills of Chinese Railroad workers and a photo of their descendants by the Chinese photographer u railroad workers at the 100th commemora tion of Golden Spike in 1969. “I arranged for Chinese American advocates from San Francisco to speak. My childhood dream was coming true.” When actor John Wayne wanted to speak at the ceremony, however, the Chinese Americans were cut from the program. “At the 100th anniversary, we were discriminated against again,” says Yee. This act of exclusion only made Yee more determined to raise awareness. “I knew we must organize to let the people know about the Chinese railroad workers’ contribution and their hard work. Our voice must be heard,” she says. Together with Judge Michael Kwan (關維斌法官), an outspoken advocate for the rights of immigrants, and the advice of photogra pher Corky Lee (李揚國), who famously recreated the original photo of Golden Spike with descendants of the Chinese railroad workers as an act of “photographic justice,” Yee organized the Chinese Railroad Workers Descendants Association in 2017. At the 150th anniversary of Golden Spike in May 2019, their ancestors’ contributions were finally recognized. Many members of the CRWDA, by then 20,000 strong, plus Mountain” (as the U.S. was known post the Gold Rush) to send money back to his family and build a great railroad which she longed one day to see. Yee’s greatgrandfathers Wong and Ng were among the more than 12,000 workers, mainly from Guangdong Province, recruited by Central Pacific Railroad. “They sailed across the Pacific in a three-pole ship. Once in America, they were discriminated against,” says Yee. While their Irish counterparts were paid $35 per month and given room and board in train cars, Chinese workers were initially paid only $27 and had to provide their own food and tents. Yee’s Great Grandfather Wong worked as a chef. Great Grandfather Ng was never heard from again. Historians estimate that over 1,000 Chinese railroad workers were killed in hazardous conditions, hanging off mountains in reed baskets and blasting tunnels with nitroglycerin. As an adult, Yee followed her ancestors across the ocean, landing in Salt Lake and founding the oldest existing Chinese restaurant in the state of Utah. As the rep resentative to the AAPI community for two governors, Yee found herself in a position the of the Chinese
to honor
They Too Sing America: A golden Dream and Musical Justice
www.chorusamerica.org 35 representatives of the media were present to witness a U.S. Navy Blue Angels fly over, fireworks, a lion dance, and speeches by Chinese American leaders, as Yee, accom panied by the governor, representatives of both railroads, and a representative for the Irish workers, drove in the ceremonial spike.
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“People ask: ‘Why do you guys do so many productions during the pandemic?’” Zhang says. “To me, the reason you join the choir is to join the choir. It’s not something you can do individually. You can be a good vocalist and sing alone, but when you join the choir, you sing together to create something beautiful. The joy level is way higher in that.” Zhang adds, “In the end, we are here. We are Americans. We are Asian Americans. Choral singing is not a traditional Chinese art form, but it is a beautiful art form so we are learning it and can contribute to and even transform it— to build something beautiful, something great, something good!” n Yoshi Campbell (she/her) is a writer, singer, and Executive Director of Coro Allegro, Boston’s LGBTQ+ and allied classical chorus. She serves on the Steering Committee of the Network for Arts Administrators of Color of ArtsBoston and the board of the Greater Boston Choral Consortium.
Filmed at the Golden Spike National Historic Site, the Salt Lake Chinese Choir, supported by an ensemble of predominantly Chinese musicians, sings of the Chinese railroad workers’ epic journey to reshape America: “I get on the ship of my hope to cross the ocean…My hands draw the map of my life. I leave my mark on this vast country as I seek my dream.” Pan’s music and Chen’s lyrics tell this story in choruses whose Chinese consonance and alliteration combine with rhythmic string and piano writing and sonorous chords to evoke the sounds of a steam engine on a track, with whistle and bells. The video will soon be featured at the Golden Spike National Historic Park Visitor Museum at Promontory Summit. Says Yee, “Our song will be permanently there. You can push a button and you will hear it and see it.” Golden Dream is an act of reparative musical justice for the Chinese workers, who were driven out and discriminated against through the 1882 Chinese Exclusion Act, but it also resonates with the dreams of other American immigrants.
Piedmont East Bay Children’s Choir 21 Sing A Mile High/young Voices of Colorado 25 Soundtracks Travel 11 Temple University Boyer College of Music and Dance 27
Steven F. Smith Berkshire Choral International (MA) Karen P. Thomas Seattle Pro Musica (WA)
“The idea is to create a bridge to help Asian and Chinese communities connect with the U.S. community across division, separation and racism,” he says. That commitment to bridging commu nities through choral music is shared by the Salt Lake Chinese Choir’s members.
Indianapolis Children’s Choir 31 MUSICFOLDER.com Inc 7 MyMusicFolders.com 16 National Lutheran Choir 28
36 The Voice, Summer 2022 Chorus America Officers Chair Anton Armstrong St. Olaf College (MN) Immediate Past Chair Brian Newhouse Minnesota Orchestra (MN} Treasurer John Earls May Festival Chorus; Vocal Arts Ensemble (OH) Secretary Marie Bucoy-Calavan University of Akron (OH)
ACDA 33 Bard College Conservatory of Music 29 Berkshire Choral International 2 Cathedral Choral Society C2 Choral Arts Society of Washington 18 Chorus America 7, 34, 35 Cincinnati youth Choir 34 Empowering Song: Music Education from the Margins 34 Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC 15 Hal Leonard Corporation C3 Heritage Film Project 17 Houston Chamber Choir 6
Huang’s vision for the future of the Salt Lake Chinese Choir includes a second tribute to the Golden Spike, this time by a Chinese Canadian composer, Cui Wei (崔薇), and an invitation to local American composers, Creed Riddle and Clifford King, to set works by contemporary Chinese poets.
As Zhang reflects, “Generations after generations come to this place. You have dreams to fulfill. You imagine what you can do to contribute. Think about the railroad workers. They didn’t know the language, they didn’t know the culture, they worked so hard, some died, some were injured, some discriminated against, but some sur vived, some succeeded, and together they built this country.” CIAL s er I es Ad V er TI s I n G Index
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Members of the Board
Anthony Trecek-King University of Hartford (CT); Handel and Haydn Society (MA) Duain Wolfe Colorado Symphony Chorus (CO) and historian Li Ju (李炬).
The St. Louis Children’s Choirs 8 World Singing Day 31
Hilary Apfelstadt University of Toronto (ON) Jeffrey Barnett Dorsal Capital Management LLC (CA) Charles Berardesco Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington (DC) Dashon Burton Professional Singer (NY) Iris Derke Distinguished Concerts International New York (NY) rollo Dilworth Temple University (PA) Mary Doughty Mauch Conductor and Community Organizer (IL) Todd Estabrook Handel and Haydn Society (MA) David Hayes New York Choral Society (NY) robert Istad Pacific Chorale; CSU Fullerton (CA) Craig Hella Johns Conspirare (TX); Vocal Arts Ensemble (OH) Anne B. Keiser Choral Arts Society of Washington (DC) robyn reeves Lana Cincinnati Youth Choir (OH) Mark Lawson ECS Publishing Group (MO) Alysia Lee Baltimore Children & Youth Fund; Sister Cities Girlchoir (MD) Marcela Molina Tucson Girls Chorus (AZ) David Morrow Morehouse College (GA) Linda Moxley Sarasota Concert Association (FL) Steven Neiffer Los Angeles Master Chorale (CA) John Nuechterlein Community Leader (MN) Elizabeth Núñez Young People’s Chorus of New York City; SoHarmoniums Women’s Choir (NY) Eric V. Oliver Zion Baptist Church; Loretta C. Manggrum Chorale (OH) Dianne Peterson The Washington Chorus (DC) Molly Buzick Pontin Pacific Chorale (CA) Andrea ramsey Composer, Conductor, and Music Educator (MO) Eugene rogers University of Michigan (MI); The Washington Chorus (DC) Diana Sáez Towson University (MD) Pearl Shangkuan Calvin University; Grand Rapids Symphony (MI)
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