The primary purpose of this paper is to document the two-year development of The East-Central Indiana Community Singers, Incorporated. In these two years the goals were to strive for more professional musicianship in performance and to promote the group's becoming a self-sustaining organization. By a clear exposition of the methods utilized in dealing with the major difficulties, the writer hopes to be of assistance to others engaged in such endeavors, and to encourage the development of other community choral organizations. Beginning conductors hope for professional situations that will allow ample time for research of the literature and for the selection, preparation, and rehearsal of music for performance. Such professional opportunities are not only rare but are most often reserved for those with considerable experience. As director of the Community Singers, the writer is fortunate in having had such an opportunity. Many orchestras are able to pay for professional services; the writer feels that it is also possible for choral organizations to achieve a higher-position in the professional music world.The development of a community chorus is a great challenge that can grow into a professional opportunity. It requires musicianship, a commanding rehearsal technique, the belief that what one is doing is really important, and the willingness to do all the little tasks of mobilizing an organization. It is an exercise in the music education of a miscellaneous group of amateur singers and of the members of a community (the audience), the majority of whom are not likely to be musically educated. It involves cultivating the skills of those with minimal proficiency while, at the same time, fulfilling an obligation to provide a quality experience for the more talented singers. It also involves supervision of the growth of the non-musical aspects of an organizations e.g., the development of a sustained funding program and the improvement of public relations in the community.This document speaks, therefore, to the musician whose primary drive is naturally focused on his own musicianship and the musical development of an ensemble. Its message is that in order to achieve these primary goals, the young director must find ways to attract reliable singers and develop greater audience interest. He is forced to divide his energy to encompass virtually all other aspects of a young, developing organization.Paralleling an account of the actual development process is a brief history of the foundation of the East-Central Indiana Community Singers. An analysis of the state of the group at the end of its first season is also given. The document will then proceed with a description of all pertinent methods used to develop stability during the chorus' second season. The methods will cover both rehearsal-performing goals and ancillary organizational activity.The year's experience as director of the East-Central Indiana Community Singers has been invaluable to the author of this paper. At the outset she conceived of her responsibilities as being primarily musical. In fact, as a musician she was invited to assume the position as conductor of the group, and as a musician she accepted that contract. In the body of this document is overwhelming evidence of the fact that such a position in an arts organization in the United States involved many talents and energies not necessarily related to music. This writer feels that her experiences have been typical of the experiences any conductor faces in a similar endeavor. Therefore, although the work of developing a community choral organization has been of great value to her personally, she is convinced that the process described here in detail can be of practical use to others. The description is augmented by appendixes that include copies of financial business papers, correspondence, representative publicity and performance dates. These materials provide the interested reader with procedural models that can be adapted for use by other organizations.Regarding specific documentation of the development of the Community Singers, the writer includes a tape of the performance in English of the Brahma Requiem, as it was recorded on March 30, 1980, in the Masonic Auditorium of Muncie, Indiana, with full orchestra, a chorus of eighty-seven singers, and a generous audience.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/181922 |
| Date | 03 June 2011 |
| Creators | Whitehurst, Virginia A. |
| Contributors | Brahms, Johannes, 1833-1897. Deutsches Requiem. English., Koriath, Kirby L. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | 4, iii, 130 leaves : facsims. ; 28 cm. + 1 sound tape reel (72 min. : 7 1/2 ips, 4 track, stereo. ; 7 in.) |
| Source | Virtual Press |
| Coverage | n-us-in |
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