Bucks
Nick Cleobury, Chorus
Dear Friends,
“Since singing is so good a thing, I wish all men would learn to sing,” William Byrd wrote in 1588. That’s the line that one of Europe’s eminent conductors trotted out for Mighty Betsy and me when he visited Quakertown (and Philadelphia) last week. He has a funny variation on that saying which you’ll note at the end of today’s column.
But the reason why I’m introducing today’s letter with the Byrd quotation is because of the findings of this year’s Chorus America survey. The essence of it is…if you have singing talent, sing; if you don’t encourage others who do. Don’t let public schools cut chorus activities. Those who sing are more likely to be community leaders, better students, and are likely to be community volunteers.
More on this in a moment. But, first, let me set the stage.
Nicholas Cleobury is a Brit who was attending Chorus America’s annual convention. Its venue changes each year and because it was in the City of Brotherly Love, Nick spent some time with M.B. and me. It was wonderful seeing him.
Nick has been a guest conductor of Europe’s most famous orchestras and opera companies. He’s led orchestras in Israel and South Africa too. We first met Nick and his beautiful and talented wife, Heather, in Canterbury 20 years ago.
Around 1988, the Berkshire Choral Festival traveled to the Canterbury Cathedral on the southeast coast of England. With the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, we performed the Brahms German Requiem under his baton. We’ll never forget the experience. We sang in the Cathedral, which must be the size of two football fields.
It was in the Canterbury Cathedral
that King Henry II ordered the slaying of Thomas Becket in 1170 A.D. He was the
Archbishop of Canterbury and the leader of the Anglican Church. Four mounted
horsemen charged through the Cathedral gates and slaughtered him on the steps
of the alter. The incident marked one of
But I stray.
The Royal
Academy of Music (
But I stray again.
In the Forward of the Chorus America Survey, I was struck by this introduction. “Simply put, if you’re searching for a group of talented, engaged, and generous community members, you would do well to start with a chorus,” the Chairman and President wrote.
“The choral field includes a great deal of diversity in terms of organizations, missions, repertoire, performance venues, and participants,” the pair continued. “In a society that seeks civic engagement and student achievement, the data suggests that it would be a mistake not to leverage the benefits that choruses bring to children, adults, and the communities they serve.”
Here are the key findings of the report.
1. Choral singing continues to be the most popular form of participation in the performing arts. Overall, 18 percent of households report one or more adults currently participate in a chorus (when you add children, the number increases to 23 percent). There are 270,000 choruses nationwide. This includes 12,000 professional and community choruses; at least 41,000 K-12 school choruses and 216,000 religious choirs.
2. Adults who sing in choruses are remarkably good citizens…much higher than the general population. They are avid patrons of the arts; volunteer significantly more frequently than the general public; contribute much more financially to philanthropic organizations; exhibit greater civic leadership; more likely to vote regularly; more likely to read books and newspapers; serve as officers of civic organizations and work for political parties. Chorus participants make better team players in other activities in their lives.
3. Children who sing in choruses have academic success and valuable life skills. Children who sing in choruses get significantly better grades. Parents of singing children report that their child has many other qualities conducive to learning and development. Singing children are better team players and have more advanced social skills. Educators agree that choir participation makes students better participants in groups; develop stronger social skills, better emotional expression; improve overall academic performance; instills self-discipline and punctuality. Parents say that young choristers are more likely to participate in sports and other extracurricular activities.
4. The decline in choral singing opportunities for children and youth is a key area for concern. More than one in four educators say there is no choir program in their schools. One in five parents say there are no choir opportunities for their children in their communities. Many parents whose children stopped singing in a choir say they did not do so voluntarily.
Finally, choral singing is an activity that fosters personal fulfillment and an appreciation of beauty for a lifetime. Moreover, singing with a chorus has life-long collateral benefits including fostering behaviors that lead to good citizenship.
I was not surprised by the findings of this report. Are you?
If you want the full 28 page survey, you can download it on your computer by accessing www.chorusamerica.org The survey was funded by the following foundations: Morris and Cafritz; James Irvine; McKnight; and the National Endowment for the Arts.
I almost forgot. Nicholas Cleobury reminded me that in 1588, the letter “s” resembled the letter “f.” Our conductor friend laughed as he changed the pronunciation of the William Byrd’s quip by substituting “f” for “s.” To wit: Fince Finging if fo good a thing, I wifh all men would learn to fing.
Sincerely,
Charles Meredith