In order for us as choral musicians to ensure the continued growth and relevance of our art form and profession, I feel that it is vital for us to become advocates for ourselves and our field. Too often, as musicians, we allow non-musicians to determine our value. It is well known that people often expect musicians to work for free. The number of memes devoted to this topic is proof enough of that. Musicians typically choose one of these three options when asked to perform for free: 1) Work for free. If you can afford to do this, more power to you, but you kind of drag down the market for the rest of us; 2) Apologetically inform people that you have a rate, and then apologize again for how much you charge; or 3) Become an advocate for your profession. One who is capable of explaining in ways anyone can understand why music performance, music study, music in worship and music education are not luxuries to pay for when you have extra, but are essentials to life in a civilized society that wants to grow intellectually and spiritually. This page is dedicated to driving a conversation for choral musicians with the PHILOSOPHY of Choral Music at the heart of every post and podcast episode. Topics will be wide ranging from the technical aspects of our jobs and careers all the way to the artistic interpretations and values that make us who we are as artists. Join me in this conversation in which I hope we can learn from each other.
Podcast Launch: Feb 21st!!
excellent post, very informative. I’m wondering why the opposite specialists of this
sector do not understand this. You should continue your writing.
I am confident, you have a huge readers’ base already!