When I started my first community choir way back in 1997, most of the singers were in their 40s and 50s.
Some of them are still in the same choir today, now in their 70s and 80s. But where are all the new, younger singers?
In Part 1, I looked at some of the more obvious reasons why choirs begin to falter: the impact of Covid, ageing membership, toxic behaviour, over-ambitious projects, and too many concerts.
In this second part, I want to explore some of the longer-term and less visible causes — the ones that creep in gradually or hide behind apparent success.
If you’re lucky, your choir goes from strength to strength: numbers grow, standards improve, and the sense of community deepens.
But sometimes things start to slip. Numbers fall, confidence drains away, rehearsals lose their energy, and going to choir begins to feel like a chore rather than a pleasure. When that happens, what can you do?
It’s the start of a new year, a time when people make new plans and take on new challenges.
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For singers and choir leaders, that often means dealing with change: new people, new spaces, new songs, and unfamiliar ways of doing things. Change can be exciting, but it can also feel unsettling.
Many choirs here in the UK have an ageing membership.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but if you don’t bring in new members regularly, your choir will eventually die out!
Some of us are lucky and sell out our concert, or have to close our choir to new members.
It’s a nice problem to have, but I hate turning people away, so are there alternatives?
I don’t often get the chance to be a punter. But this week I went on a two-day voice and movement course and loved it.
It was great to be on the receiving end for a change, and I learnt a lot about what it’s like to be a singer in a group
I’ve written in the past about how to get choir members to volunteer for supporting roles.
But what I didn’t mention was what kind of roles they might fulfil. Here are some ideas.
Sometimes an individual choir member needs to be told that they’re getting it wrong.
In our attempt to not be unkind, we can sometimes end up being too nice, which is not helpful.
I wrote an earlier post about different choir payment systems: Pay as you go or regular fee upfront – what is the best system for singers in your choir?
What if you want to change from one system to another? How can you make it as pain-free and simple as possible?
We’ve all been there: a big concert is coming up and we feel under-prepared.
Should we just duck out, or soldier on and busk it? Here’s what I think.
Many choirs charge their members as and when they turn up: a pay as you go system.
But there are disadvantages to that approach, so other choirs operate a lump sum in advance system. Let’s look at the pros and cons of these and which might suit your choir best.
Not everyone likes to sing in harmony with others, but those who do are often really nice people.
Why is that? And is it a universal truth?
Most choirs get to the point where they want to share the songs they’ve learnt with an audience.
But how do you know that the songs are in a good enough state to share?
I always thought I ran friendly, welcoming choirs (see How welcoming is your choir?). There was always someone around to buddy new members so they wouldn’t feel left out.
But then one day, a new member said to me that standing around in the break felt like being the new kid in the playground at school.
There are choir leaders who are disappointed that their singers aren’t doing enough homework in the run-up to a big concert.
There are singers who try in vain to reach the high notes of the melody and who constantly complain about the songs in their choir’s repertoire. But this is what is on offer and fighting against it will always lead to unhappiness.
We’re often told of the many benefits to our physical and mental health of singing together.
What is not often mentioned is the benefit of the many small social interactions that occur.
Very occasionally a singer may join your choir who seems to affect everyone negatively.
They are somehow ‘toxic’ and affect the whole choir. Here’s how you can deal with such a person.
There are times, especially during the pandemic, when there are no choir events or concerts coming up.
But you need to keep your singing business in the public eye or people will forget you. Here are some ideas you might try.
Many choirs have a written constitution and an associated committee.
This is fine when everything is going well, but when something goes wrong, you might find that your constitution is not fit for purpose. Here are some things to think about when you write one for your choir.