Barbershop chorus singing is just one facet of a much larger international continuum of the choral art form. But as a long-established, richly resourced organization, we have a great deal to offer the entire choral world, as we discovered this month at "Sustaining the Chorus Ecosystem: A Forum on the Opportunities and Challenges for Choral Singing in Our Communities," hosted at Yale's School of Music. CEO Marty Monson and Chief Strategy Officer Kevin Lynch were among a cohort representing various sectors of the choral field gathered to consider the relationships between choral artists of all kinds, our organizations, our work, and our supporters.
In a recent blog posting, ACDA Executive Director Tim Sharp summarized some of the topics covered:
- What comprises the chorus ecosystem and where are its weaknesses and potential threats?
- What is happening in the environment today that we can learn from and experiment with in order to help choruses and their leaders adapt to potential changes in their environment?
- What is the role of new media/technology?
- What are some of the pressing issues and opportunities for choruses related to inclusion/diversity/socioeconomic divisions and race?
- How could a member of the chorus ecosystem align its performers, performances, leadership, governance, and constituents to better maximize its public value?
- What is the public value that the choral field as a whole creates?
- How do we educate the next generation of singers?
The Barbershop Harmony Society is proud to have been an early supporter of this initiative and part of the steering group that brought it to life. Throughout the forum, the Society was known and recognized for our efforts to modernize, celebrate and reach out to youth and music educators. In the process, we substantially extended our network of fellow advocates for choral music as a critical element for healthy, sustainable communities.
Read Tim Sharp's complete post at The Choral Ecosystem.