Building a Sustainable Choir Program through Connected Culture

1. Creating a Connected culture(4 Steps to sustainable recruitment) Scott Glysson Director of Choral Activities Cal Poly University

2. Warm Up Questions • How many singers do you have in your program? • How many singers do you think you should have in your program? • What are some of the obstacles you face in the recruitment and retention of singers?

3. St. Average United Methodist Church • 20-30 on roster • Drop = Add

4. Ms. Evoking Sound • Warm and welcoming • Holds 1-2 recruitment events per year • Follow through • Scheduling issues

5. Dr. Perfect Blend • Overworked and underpaid • 5 classes, manages program, concerts, rehearsals, PAPERWORK • No time

7. Limiting expectations • “There is a cap on the size of my program for our school/church/organization” • “It isn’t the size, it’s the quality” • But…..education? • “I just don’t have time to recruit” • “Block scheduling has ruined everything” • “Students are pulled in too many directions”

8. no control • - Scheduling issues • - The personal lives of our singers • - Things in OUR personal lives • - Others?

9. Control • 1. The perception of our program • perception = reality • 2. The exposure of our program • 3. The culture of our program • Students experience? • What does our program value? • 4. Our response to scheduling challenges

10. sustainability • Culture • 1. The set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization ;the characteristic features of everyday existence shared by people • Event • 1. Something that happens

12. Fix up the house • Gather facts (handout) • What is your culture? • Do your students share these beliefs? • Are they involved in leadership and direction of the program? • Why are your students there? • What do they like about their choir? • What brought them in? • Why do they come back? • To what are they looking forward? • Do they feel important? • How do they sound? • Are you recording? • Are you asking for feedback?

13. Data

14. Retention = Growth • Term to term retention rate • University Singers: 75% • Polyphonics: 96%

15. Practical ways to Connect students Compliment hat • Retreats • Quartet/Octet groups • Musical and extra curricular • Student investment in concert process • Narration and research • Program order • Student’s choice • Cameo performances • Regular announcement of upcoming events • Trips, opportunities Other ideas?

16. Find a real estate agent • Student to Student > Teacher to Student • Do your students know how to recruit? • Do your students understand the culture of recruitment?

17. Practical ways to empower students • Choral officers • Section leaders • Student conductors • Social media directors • Social coordinators • Trip managers Participation in auditions Periodic discussion of goals • Why keep it a secret? • Plan/consider something requiring larger numbers Utilize future music educators

18. Advertise • Student to student > teacher to student (chart) • SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats) (see handout) • How can you play to your strengths? • Develop and choose opportunities that play to your strengths. • Know your target audience • What skills (if any) must they possess to be a part of your program? • Be a general not a dictator

19. Practical ways to market your choir • Embrace social media • Have your students play a role • Facebook/Instagram/Snapchat/others? • Bring a friend to choir day • Or anything you can do to get them in the door • Community/visible singing • Do as much as you can • Sports games • Create a relationship with your feeder program • Invite them to concerts • Invite them to perform on concerts • Student mentor system • Every choral director loves coffee (and…..) • Think beyond T-shirts • Bags/Car Stickers/Jackets • Starbucks Model Don’t forget to announce you are hiring everywhere you go!

20. Seal the deal Once they walk away… Make the connection personal student to student > teacher to student • Be prepared for reasons singers might not join • I can’t read music • Develop a quick exercise to teach them something on the fly • I can’t commit the time • Put them in contact with another student who has a challenging schedule • I can’t sing • Compliment them. “I overheard you singing…..” • Social anxiety • Peer follow up Da Capo (right away!)

21. Benefits of a Culture of recruitment • Work less, get more • Increased retention • Valuable skills for students • Impress administration • Student centric programs lead to happy administrators • Happy administrators lead to valued programs • Valued programs lead to financial support, exposure, and growth! • Musical growth • It’s all tied together!

22. Some Additional resources(there are many,many more!) • Choral Journal Articles • Choral Music in the Junior High/Middle School: Choir Wants You! Recruitment: Cara Sedburry • Mega-Church Mega-Choir: Tim Sharp  • Boychoirs: Recruitment for Boychoirs: Tom Sibley, Andrew Riffey and Randall Wolfe  • Show Choirs: Show Choir Competition and the Impact on Male Recruitment: Doran Johnson, Ken Thomas • Cute No Longer, Thanks Be to God: Building and Maintaining a Choir of Children: Richard Webster  • Retention Strategies for Two-Year College Choirs: Alice Cavanaugh • Other Articles • "It's Like a Whole Bunch of Me!": The Perceived Values and Benefits of the Seattle Girls' Choir Experience: Sarah J. Bartolome • Journal of Research in Music Education • Minority Recruitment: The Relationship between High School Students' Perceptions about Music Participation and Recruitment Strategies: Linda M. Walker and Donald L. Hamann • Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education