One of the things I love most about the choral community is how proactive it is. Choral leaders are planners and communicators. They see what’s coming, and they want to plan for it, face it head on, and communicate about it.
With the very real issues facing group singing in the near term, this community tendency has come under scrutiny, and publicized articles about super-spreading choral rehearsals and performances have led to even more scrutiny. The public-facing communication about our challenges might be leading the wider world to put choirs in a folder marked, “Particularly Dangerous.”
But it’s my believe that that’s not the right category. Group singing, I believe, will not turn out to be more dangerous than team sports. It will not turn out to be more dangerous than attending rock concerts, church services, or political rallies.
It’s just that we’re so darned proactive, we choral leaders. So let’s temper being proactive with solid perspective.
Group singing is not particularly dangerous, but we are particularly well equipped to study the dangers.
We’re talking more about it because we want to solve it, NOT because it especially affects us.
An adage goes, “The early bird gets the worm, but the late mouse gets the cheese.” Let’s be clear that we’re birds, not mice…we mustn’t fall victim to a trap just because we’re the first ones out of our holes.
I applaud the forward-thinking research that group singing organizations are pursuing. It’s the perfect example of our proactiveness. And I am personally making sure that the people I talk to about it hear a little more perspective.