we can all make music
singing leaders gathering
Hosted by Community Music Victoria on Sun Aug 17th 2003 in Northcote
The 35 participants said they were at the gathering because they wanted:
- networking opportunities: connecting, shared experience, companionship, a community of song sharing, spiritual communion, to be with people who speak the same language;
- inspiration, confidence.
- skill development, an idea about the range of skills needed, motivating communities, different methodologies;
- to find out what resources were available: eg, new material/repertoire, book of warm ups;
- practical info, public liability, how to look after yourself;
- more paid work;
- to satisfy their curiosity about scale of the movement;
Individuals said they brought to the gathering:
- Openness
- A willingness to share
- Passion and inspiration
- Resources
- Experience
- VOICES
- Their heart and soul
- Empathy
- Co-operation
- Ego
- Humour
- Bossiness and coping with same
- Fear and trepidation
- Difference (background and skills)
- Composing skills
- Repertoire
- Knowledge
- Food recipes
- Guts and determination
- Vulnerability
- Local knowledge
The gathering then brainstormed needs and ideas of how to meet those needs:
Communications and networking
Regular gatherings
- repertoire day every 3 months
- annual choir leaders singalong
- opportunities for choirs to sing together; C Maubach described a way of formalising this: choirs come together, each teaches the others a couple of songs, then all sing. Choral intercourse
- a cappella sleepovers (or maybe just one day)
- similar days to this but with more structured themes, speakers and set topics
- an arrangers club: regular/confidence building/just getting together/learning exchange
Regular Contact
- regular sendouts; some sort of email system; how could this be resourced?
- upgrade CMV website: chat page, notice board
- contact with other states (even New Zealand)
Professional Skill Development
Be better equipped to work with men
- have an 'in-service' session on this. Jeff Woolhouse is very interested in running workshop; Faliery Koczkar (Welsh Male Choir) another possibility; Jill Scurfield is running men's classes
(other ideas to encourage men were also put forward and the report on men's singing was mentioned)
Strategies for maintaining groups over time
specific group maintenance issues were mentioned:
- the passing of the honeymoon period
- growth of expectations as choirs mature
- coping with the variety of skill levels
- coping with changeability of members
- internal ownership, power and control
- ways to valorise volunteers
- finding ways to 'personalise' the choir experience for its members
- pastoral care: recognising that its about 40% about singing
- the necessity for good management skills
- sessions to share our expertise (on such topics as above)
- finding and developing management skills within the group: delegation, 'distributed leadership'
- using warm-up techniques that make people feel comfortable
- songs for special occasions that are relevant to members: honouring significant events
- articulating goals (and re-articulating them); different groups have different purposes
How to introduce movement into choir work
- just do it
- always start with movement - put the music into the body
- Greg Sheehan could lead a workshop on body percussion (check when he's next in Victoria)
Develop skills in working with children
- peer learning; eg Flip works with kids, becoming aware of changing voices in youth
- list of all Victorian community children's choirs
Develop skills in working cross culturally
- cross-generational choirs - especially in NES cultures
- visit each others' groups/peer learning. etc
Mentoring
- watching each other work
- peer learning to develop skills - a register of our areas of experience or expertise
- swapping leaders
- visiting 'experts' to give workshops in specialisations - learning from difference
Bridge gap between visual and aural traditions
- choirs coming together (as mentioned earlier) could combine those who use written music with those who don't - each learn by the other's method
Repertoire development
- regular repertoire days (as above)
- a list of resource books (ref M O'Leary); Polly has started a book; Jill Scurfield has basic warm ups
- book or CD or web page(s) of songs (CMV?)
- a library
- an 'on the fly' CD recorded at each repertoire gathering
- encourage choir members to be actively searching for new songs, identifying authors, etc
Other professional Issues
Some kind of consensus on what is reasonable to charge - for leading and attending a choir
- more discussion on this together - develop 'rules of thumb' or range of fees guidelines
- research current scales of pay and fees
Examples:
- Victorian Music Teachers Federation scale eg. ensemble leaders paid $52ph
- Andrée is paid set fee, has a contract, gets extra if numbers higher than basic
- Judy Small suggests not charging less than local movies
- be on a par with other local recreational activities such as aerobics
Clarify public liability cover for this work and source responsible insurance schemes
- CMV investigate group insurance - including for one-off workshops
- apparently Marsh Insurance (ADQ?) in Queensland offers $10 million cover for $300pa
Protocols for song sharing
- a workshop to think through song-sharing protocols. eg. proper acknowledgement of songs, unique arrangements, always checking sources, respecting sources and each other's work, cultural sensitivities
- a usage code for original work - eg. author designates whether it is freely available or limited or must be paid for
Clarification of copyright
- CMV to write guidelines particularly for non-performance singing)
- investigate possibility of peak organization copyright payment
- have an event with APRA speaker
A directory of community choir leaders (and sessional singing leaders) state-wide
A list of inexpensive venues with good acoustics and choir-friendly welcome
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