Vocalist.org archive


From:  Tako Oda <toda@m...>
Date:  Fri Sep 22, 2000  5:21 pm
Subject:  singing in ensemble


On Fri, 22 Sep 2000 mikebarb@n... wrote:

> Working with others is an essential skill. In many professions, most
> of those who do not have good interpersonal skills do not make it as
> far in their careers as people who do. If singing in the choir helps
> develop people skills, then it is indeed for that reason alone it
> should be required.

IMO, the people skills one develops in smaller ensembles such as a
collegium, madrigal group, or in an opera scene workshop or whatever are
much more relevant to the kind of interpersonal work in the real world of
vocal gigs than are "glee-class" (3 or more to a part) choirs.

There aren't a whole lot of big choirs out there that pay all their
members. When I was singing with Grace Cathedral (12 men), I was sometimes
on my own part. There is a very different sense of camraderie when one is
working with others who are themselves uniquely integral to the
functioning of the group. One has to learn to get along with and work with
everyone, because everyone is counting on everyone else. One also develops
a sense of personal accountability to the director (and therefore a real
working relationship). One can't get away with belonging to a clique or
being dead weight like one could in a larger choir.

Anyhow, I'm NOT saying there is no value to singing in a concert choir.
All I'm saying is that there should be some flexibility in a student's
schedule - there is no one solution that works for all people.

As a countertenor, I will probably NEVER have a large choir gig in my
career! Another example is the true basso profundo, who could have an
amazing career singing in small vocal ensembles. Choir directors will WANT
him, obviously, but the experience will not be very relevant to him, at
least compared to singing in smaller groups, where he would learn
specialized skills such as providing a singular harmonic foundation.

-Tako


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