“Painting should make you happy, if nothing else.”
– Bob Ross
There are those who seek to make Art with a capital A. And they are likely to disdain those painters like Bob Ross, who made joy the point of his art.
Well, count me with Bob Ross. Choral music has immense power to bring joy, to both the singers and the listeners. And I am with Bob – let us put that joy at the heart of our music-making.
Of course, bringing joy isn’t the same as “just having fun” – the joy comes from precision, from attention to detail, from skill. Bob Ross was unarguably skillful at his art: in his particular techniques, in his attention to the details, his vision of the whole, and his willingness to follow his paintbrush as he painted. We must demand the same commitment from ourselves and our choirs – skill and diligence in the service of bringing joy.
Or, as my son said after watching his first episode of Bob Ross: “I like how he’s so creative, but he also has a plan!”