I don't know why you would need mics in a choir loft... the acoustics are (supposed to be) designed with natural acoustical amplification. Can you explain WHY you would need electronic amplification?

Claire, we have our mixer in the choir loft.

In response to Francis: there are several churches in my area that have good enough acoustics that singing will carry throughout the church. However, both the choir and soloists still use mics when singing with the organ. Isn't that an acceptable situation to use microphones?

I am in the choir loft and when seated at the organ console, face the rose window on the back wall. I am also fortunate enough that the church is not very big at all and almost entirely marble.

When listening to recordings, the biggest issue is diction. I have spent a great deal of time trying to improve that, especially now, when only cantors are allowed to sing and we are encouraged to use music that is unfamiliar to discourage the congregation from joining.

I completely agree that the sound should be as natural as possible. If anything, microphones can help improve diction and clarity. In such large churches where there is so much reverb, microphones definitely help with that.

Seeking the help of a good sound technician is definitely important as they can help you to achieve balance with the space your in, the organ and any other issues that may affect the quality, such as capacity.

As a side note, cantors should try recording themselves from various points in the church to get an idea of the “microphone presence” so that there is no overwhelming when they sing. Sadly, I’ve been to so many churches and the “keyboardist” is playing hymns a la lounge music and the cantor is having a go with the microphone. The result is a lot of distortion and sometimes me walking right back out.

Assuming you do need to use microphones in your situation, consult with an expert who actually understands and appreciates choral singing and church acoustics and that will strive for simply boosting the presence as minimally and as naturally as possible. A Concert Hall or Movie Theatre is a total different venue. I one had an audio tech bid on a church PA and he said how much he hated church acoustics. He didn't get the job.

Ideally you would want an independent system in the loft so the speakers are facing the same direction as the choir. If you mic your choir in the loft and send that to speakers in the front of the church, it will never sound natural as the sound is coming from different sources.

I would personally prefer a small analogue mixing board in the loft so that I could control when the mics are on and off. Digital mixers are too fussy and cumbersome, IMO. Again your purpose for setting up the board in the loft is so that you can control when the mics are on or off. Perhaps you'll want multiple channels (choir, cantor, etc.) if you have a Mass with cantor and no choir, you'll want to mute the choir mics and turn on the cantor mic and visa versa. A board that has channels mutes would be even better so you don't have to mess with the level sliders or knobs. You may want to lock the mixer in a cabinet so no one else messes with the levels either. The professional sound engineer will have preset the levels during installation. You can mark these levels on the board. You don't want to be messing with different levels or EQ. Once it's set, it should be left alone except for toggling channels on and off.

The only advantage to locating the board somewhere else, that I can think of, is if you were having someone else run the sound board live during the performance. This might be helpful for recording purposes or for a praise band where individual singers or instruments are mic'd in different channels, but not typically for a choir setup.

@M. Jackson Osborn at our little church we just raised the money to put tile on the floor where there is currently carpet - after a 1970s renovation. Can't wait to hear the difference once it is installed.

not only has wall-to-wall carpeting but padded walls!

I once worked for a parish that relocated an organ from a much larger building. Rather than having someone revoice it or hiring an organist who could be sensitive to this fact, they just CARPETED THE WALLS. Nothing says sacred space quite like beige shag carpeting on the walls.

MikeAkronOrganist:
"If anything, microphones can help improve diction and clarity."

That is not my experience. Microphones and speaker systems can make a sound louder and perhaps screen out some unwanted sounds and emphasize some other sounds.

However, in general, amplified poor diction just comes out louder poor diction.

It is important to remember that unified and clearly distinct vowel sounds are just as important, if not more so, to the ability for listeners to comprehend the text as the ever-emphasized consonants. Microphones may amplify the latter but will not help if the former is deficient.

I think that "holding a microphone" is more a matter of appearing to be doing something with that hand. It's like the social tradition of holding a drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other. (not my style)

It depends on what your goal is.

If you just want to use the mixer to turn the mics on and off, then right beside you is fine.

If you want to make a better sound for the congregation, then your mixing desk needs to be where the congregation is, alongside a trained person who knows how to make a good mix. Because in the loft, you have NO IDEA what things actually sound like for the congregation. Your sound person should know they are free to turn all the mics off, if it sounds better that way. But equally, there will be times when some amplification helps.

If you are mixing to be use in a recording or live-stream, then it depends on where your feed is is taken from. If it's from in the congregation, then see para 2 above. But if it's taken from the mixer (so you don't get the congregation's noise), then put it someplace where your sound engineer can hear the mix properly through their headphones.

Our choir director is also a sound engineer and thus knows how to use mics effectively to amplify the all over sound and not in the way many people think. It is possible to use mics without it sounding bad.

"A microphone is like a weapon: you have to know how to use it." -- T. Burns