Community Choir
Community Children's Choir
There is a particular dynamic between the
people of community choir; emphasis on the word community. We must
discover and consider, "what kinds of attitudes, beliefs and actions are
necessary to sustain and nourish it," (Bowman, 2009). If we look
back at our definition of community: "a group of people that get together who share similar views, in
this case, about music and the ability to work as a cohesive unit," we should keep in mind that
through this there is a bond created between the people of a community choir.
In a children's choir the bond between students is present, but the bond
between the students and their teacher is of the utmost importance. I
have found that the students in my choir, ages 7-9, look to me for advice,
comfort, structure and encouragement. Their trust and comfort in singing
with me came from me, but also from the previously established environment that
exists within this particular community choir. The organization I work
with has five sections of choirs ranging from ages four through eighteen.
Despite the age differences there is no feeling of division among the choirs.
We begin every rehearsal singing together and sing songs together during
concerts which helps to enforce a feeling of unity between the choir members
and the directors. There are differences, and similarities, between the
environment of the traditional setting of the music classroom and the
environment of a community children's choir. As the director of this
young choir I recognize that the students are in the process of shaping their
identities, as well as their musical identities (Mills, 2007). This is no
different from students in a traditional music classroom setting, however
because I am only in charge of eighteen students their identities and
personalities are not diluted. The micro environment which I am nurturing is similar to that of a general music classroom; however we are constantly aware that we are a part of a larger environment. The emphasis on choir means an emphasis on community. The act of singing together means “working together, improving and realizing the highest standards” (Rao, 1993). The students know that they are working towards a goal and the idea of singing in front of the other choirs positively motivates them; they want to sing to the best of their ability. Students encourage each other, help each other and look out for each other. The focus of the environment is nurturing. Procedure, structure and standards are also incorporated into the environment, but above all is a sense of working together. Fostering the type of environment that can lead to thinking, experience, and growth can be done in a community choir through the act of incorporating student’s ideas and concerns into each interaction. The students of my choir often choose their warm-ups and often ask to sing songs or do activities that we have previously worked on. The teacher is also a part of the environment (Hansen, 2002) and sometimes stepping out of the way and deviating from the lesson plan to allow the students to determine certain aspects of the lesson enhances the feeling of working together and thus enhances a feeling of community.