I don't know how my choir got to your church, since they were with me at my midnight mass, flapping pages and looking for music. LOL.

My group actually did well, but you have to realize many of them are older, and some don't hear as well as they once did. Then there are the ones who think they are more capable than they are. These are the ones who try to wing it. I find that peer pressure from choir members can work better than something from me, so I don't say much until the members have a shot at the problem. I have to console myself with the fact that if I didn't have these people, I wouldn't have any people.

Afterward, I had an alto complain that their section was thrown off by the big mystery voice behind them, particularly during the singing of "O Magnum Mysterium."

Amazing, Expeditus! That tenor sure gets around. The exact same thing happened during our "O Magnum Mysterium." Someone in the congregation started singing the soprano line, and it threw me off for a measure or two since it was so unexpected.

We have some young teens in the choir who will at the most inopportune moments loudly yawn or sigh which drives me up the wall, but I couldn't help but smile at one girl who came out with a heartfelt (but audible) "Wow!" after the big wind-up with violins and soprano descant on the Adeste Fideles.

As my husband is fond of saying, anything can happen during a live performance, and it is your measure as a musician how well you pick up the pieces and keep rolling.

Well, I have handled this issue in the past and lost a very beautiful Soprano voice from the choir. I guess it is OK. I would much rather have a bunch of mediocre singers who listen to what I say than a premadona who is too good to come to rehearsals.
I would have simply stated when he walked through the door that you really regret that he wasn't able to attend the rehearsals and there is just too many things that he missed, like last minute dynamic changes or ? and you can not risk him throwing off the others by mistake. You look forward with working with him for the next rehearsal on X night, and that he should go sit with the PIPs and take notes so that he can fill you in on how it sounds.
As I stated earlier this did not work for me because the Soprano I did that with for Easter did not join us for Christmas.

Thank you, guys, this is really helpful feedback!

JulieColl, are you telling me that there is perhaps a "mystery singer" making the rounds of churches, much like a "mystery shopper," who is engaging in specific behaviors, in order to test the quality and effectiveness of the operation?

Yes, it is great advice from Mary Ann, Mr. Osborn et al. It's hard to know what line to take when you're trying to preserve your choir's equilibrium but don't want to stifle someone's enthusiasm so having some diplomatic words ready for the occasion helps immensely.

Expeditus, that really is a weird coincidence. Were you singing Victoria's O Magnum Mysterium as well? I could hear the soprano line coming clearly from two opposite directions, and it was just enough to throw me momentarily off track since I like to "lock in" with the soprano when I'm singing alto. It's very hard jumping back in when you fall off the track like that but I somehow managed to get back on the train and hopefully no one was the wiser.

Spelt-out attendance policies are one thing, but no one has answered the question. I had a drop-in who turned one of our singers sideways to share a score of Messiah. I wish I could say they never saw the extra copy coming...

Cheers to M. Jackson - I couldn't agree more. My husband runs a medium sized company that has nothing to do with music but we often share battle stories about "leading" and what it takes to be an effective leader.

He shared this WISE advice with me years ago and I'll offer it here: If someone in a leadership position fails to impose order on a situation where people need to work together as a team, those in the group will lose trust in their leader and order will quickly break down. The hardworking members of your choir will lose interest if there are no boundaries that they can count on to preserve the delicate order needed to produce something beautiful. We don't need to be harsh or rude or nasty. We simply need to be strong enough to firmly point out the truth of considerate behavior in a public way. Even when teaching grade school, I quickly learned that I had to impose professional standards on the kids. For both adult and children's choirs, I routinely post "Choir Etiquette Rules" that state things such as: If you don't come to the rehearsals, you cannot sing. I'll only make an exception if I meet privately with the choir member.

I have been known - in desperate situations where the my middle school choir was huge - to post a "bouncer" at the door of performances/masses that was instructed not to let anyone in after a certain time or if they have not been to rehearsals. Hope this is helpful.

OK, all, I have taken your advice to heart, and do hereby resolve to buck up in 2014. I'll let you know how it goes, because there will undoubtedly be practice opportunities ahead.

I did exactly what MaryAnn described with an alto at Midnight Mass. Our "O Magnum" was spot on and I was thrilled. I told said alto to mouth the words b/c she was not able to attend a good amount of rehearsals. I asked her not to be offended, it is just a difficult piece to sight read. We'll see if she comes back.

Even volunteers must understand professionalism. It is not professional to skip rehearsals and then expect to perform with the group as if you had. I know they're not "professionals" but this type of behavior puts the entire performance at risk, and cannot be allowed by the director. I know that there are singers out there who do music "just for fun" and that it "shouldn't be work" but the truth is that if the music is to be of any quality, work must be put into it, and not just from the director. This is where I feel many volunteers do not quite understand how music works: they believe that if they have a hard working, talented director to lead them, the music will be good regardless of how much work they put into it. What they don't realize is that the director makes them work, and the result is their effort paying off.

Beautiful tribute to Mary Ann, Melo. I'm so inspired by this:

she labors in a humble garden that she has cultivated and weeded out negativity in an impoverished sector of San Diego.

Easy, friends! Now I have to live up to your kind words! :)
Charles W, your story makes me cringe. It's amazing what clueless hubris some singers can exhibit.

Clerget is spot on about fostering professionalism. I have no patience for the "hey I'm here on my free time so I should be able to do whatever I want" attitude. That kind of approach fails to respect everyone else's time and effort.
Getting that across in generally flaky SoCal has been a labor of love, believe you me. :)

Amen and amen, MJO.
"But I know this" has become such a ironic bit in our choir that it usually sparks little chuckles. Familiarity with a piece and making music with/ entering into an ensemble without sufficient rehearsal are two very different things.

Knowing notes takes an ensemble to first base, maybe. A musical home run is what we're after- we give our best to God.

Expeditus, I know what you mean by being stunned by the maverick singer. The director is up to his/her eyeballs in preparations and being thoughtful, tactful, and fair in the high pressure situation is nigh impossible. Many of us have "been there" and have the battle scars. Making sure the steady members feel appreciated is key. The kindhearted among them will understand how you were blindsided by the cameo tenor.

Good point. I have done that with a couple of good singers who are in the vocal program at a local university. Even if they couldn't make our rehearsals, either I or someone I trusted, rehearsed with them privately.

In the accepting reality dept.: I know my choir is elderly, for the most part, and some of them don't hear as well any more. There is a limit to how well they will sing no matter what I do in rehearsal. I sometimes wonder if a couple of them even remember rehearsal a few days afterwards. They look at the light fixtures with all the concentration usually given by recipients to heavenly apparitions, then are not ready when it is time to sing. Oh, well! A sense of humor is a good thing to have!

Choirparts: Then let them join in the congregational singing. A choir is a body trained to sing music that is too difficult for the congregation to sing. Those who can't sing this music have no rightful place in the choir.

I have many imperfect voices, and I am pleased with them, as long as they come to rehearsal. They don't even have to be perfect in their attendance, but they must come most of the time. I have many, old and young, who work far away, travel often and have all sorts of illnesses. Weather (have you seen the ice storm news in Toronto?) is often a factor in the winter. But folks have to try. It is unfair to the tried and true for others to simply "show up" and sing.

Thank you, Canadash, for that is my feeling completely. I have told my choir over and over that I'm not looking for perfection, only time and commitment. We can always work on improving, but we cannot improve without attendance. And, yes, it is VERY unfair for the tried and true for others to just "show up" and sing. That is my biggest problem. People don't show up for rehearsal and then sing. And some people come to rehearsal and then don't show up for mass. It's impossible to plan anything good and to learn new music. But, I'm also realizing that this is not exclusive to my parish. A good friend of mine is the music director of a very large parish and recently performed a gorgeous cantata. His attendance was VERY poor. It's just so sad all the way around.

We can work on imperfect voices, but we cannot make people show up and we cannot look into people's hearts to see their true desire to be in ministry.

Oh, and as a general rule society has demonized the notion of telling people, "no."

It's why we have a population of adults who behave like children when they don't get their way and threaten to leave a parish and take their money with them - the
threat that strikes fear in the hearts of spineless pastors who place mammon over the welfare of souls - when decisions regarding music and liturgy don't conform with their self-centered notions of what liturgy and music are all about, that is, the work of Christ and the property of the Universal Church, rather than their weekly playground.

Yes…we are always looking for those few good volunteers who will take direction, show-up always, and sing beautifully. Yes, we only want dedicated people to join…no part-timers need volunteer. Yet, many faithful volunteers tend to be elderly, have illnesses, or are caregivers. Even dedicated young volunteers have job requirements, or educational demands. Unexpected events still happen in one's life. It is unfortunate that this forum thread is titled "spanking techniques". If you have a good choir of faithful volunteers, don’t punish them, or treat your volunteers badly, or you may end up with only a few paid singers and musicians who think of the Mass as just another “gig” or “performance”.

In no particular order, here is what keeps choir members coming back on time for me. I would say that I have vastly changed my approach for the better over the past year or so.

-I created a choir handbook at the beginning of the choir season, and everybody was required to read and sign a commitment statement (for themselves, not to hand in to me). Periodically I give general reminders of things in the handbook (whether it is about the upcoming schedule, punctuality for rehearsals, proper dress for Mass, good chorister behavior [e.g., "When instructed to 'listen,' don't sing"; or "Raise your hand if you have a question"]).

-There used to be an issue with chronic lateness for the vast majority of the choir. So I started making sure I began rehearsal on time, regardless of who was there, and then several times during the break/announcements I emphasized the importance of being present for the prayer and vocalise, and that missing this was like not tuning your violin before orchestra rehearsal. We still have a few who are often late, but it is generally not a problem anymore.

-If someone misses a rehearsal unexpectedly (i.e., they didn't let us know beforehand), I send an email or call and say, "Hey, we missed you on Thursday! Just wanted to check and make sure everything was ok. Here's what we did..."

-Sometimes I have asked people not to sing for certain pieces if they were not at enough of the rehearsals for it, or even if they were at all the rehearsals and still just can't get it. This is not at all a punishment for not coming, but prioritizing the beauty and dignity of the liturgy over inclusion. I have never had to fight someone on this, and while it has occasionally caused disappointment initially, the singers understand why we had to do it.

-I have not had to ask anyone to leave the choir, but many people have left on their own after realizing they couldn't keep up with rehearsals or with practicing music on their own. I am grateful for their honesty and willingness to sacrifice their preference for the good of the liturgy. I am extremely grateful for hardworking committed singers and do my best to treat them extremely well. We always have unlimited free snacks, coffee, water, cough drops, and pencils, and have half a dozen potluck parties throughout the year.

-I try to do the best with whomever God sends my way, but for good order there have to be some minimum hard guidelines. Small numbers used to upset me greatly, but now I realize that it is better to have a very small group of reliable hard-working people, than try to herd a large, unruly, uncommitted group. I've come to believe that clever or gimmicky marketing does not grow numbers (I've tried lots of it!), but attraction to beautiful music does.

-Perhaps most importantly, where I used to see myself as an authority figure, I am now seeing myself more as a servant. I serve God in the liturgy, I serve the people of the parish, and I serve my choristers, under the direction of the pastor, whom I tactfully advise and willingly obey.

-Also, a wise person once advised me, "Say what you mean, mean what you say, and don't say it mean." This I have found to be a good approach to problems in the choir.

-If anyone (parishioner, my assistant, my wife, a visitor, a chorister, one of you, etc.) complains, critiques, or otherwise points out something they think I should do differently, I try to honestly consider the truth of the matter and not act rashly in either accepting or rejecting it. Believe me, I am often a rather poor, inconsistent, and unorganized director, and I certainly don't have the charisma to inspire commitment like the great choral conductors. So I try to be willing to learn from anyone. If I get something useful, I use it; if I get something less than useful, I discard it.

-Patience. Faith, hope, love. Doing my absolute best to be internally and actually participating at each and every Mass. The Mass is incredibly rich, and have often missed out by being preoccupied or worried about frivolous things regarding the choir.

(For what it's worth, while I do have elderly choristers, the above practice has given me probably a relatively younger choir, and one that is both close-knit and welcoming to new members. I consider it a generous gift of God!)

I am grateful that this thread has now migrated towards encouragement and positive support. This should be our model for leading choirs.

The issue is those veteran members who were there before you who insist on everything being perfect, or they won't sing. Sometimes, I think they're just trying to assert the fact that they've been there longer...