Frustrated with New Choir Director
  • Birdsong
    Posts: 4
    Hello everyone. I have sung in various choirs for about 12 years, have sung in local musicals and shows. I have taken voice lessons for 5 years, though not recently. Several months ago, we got a new choir director due to a parish merger, with one director moving, whilst the other parish director retired. When our parishes merged, so did the choirs. In many respects, the results have been wonderful.


    My difficulty is with the new director. When we first began rehearsing, she announced that we would have cantors to lead the Responsorial Psalm and Gospel Acclamation. She said if anyone wanted to cantor, to come see her. I indicated my interest, and she has pretty much ignored me. She allowed another choir member to cantor, so I do not understand why she isn't allowing me to. When I asked about it a second time, she was very evasive, and said that I shouldn't focus on cantoring. She didn't give me any constructive criticism or guidance on what I would need to work on to be able to cantor. She did give me a small solo in a hymn-- it's half a measure, if that.


    I understand, of course, that I am not owed this. I understand that it is a privilege just to sing with many gifted people. I am frustrated because I want to keep improving and being challenged, plus the choir director put this out there to begin with. It strikes me as unfair, especially since the regular cantors aren't perfect. Some of them struggle to learn a piece, but she helps them. Another frustration I have is due to the director being very obvious about who her favorites are. Some of the choir members from the parish we merged with have more training, and so they always get the descants and get to cantor more often, plus they have something called a schola where five of them sing advanced arrangements of hymns.


    At times I have wondered if the director is somehow prejudiced against me. I am the only one in the choir who veils. Maybe she doesn't like that? Seems a petty reason not to allow someone to cantor, but I cannot think of any other reason.


    At this point, I am not sure if I should stay, resume voice lessons, and hope that she notices my improvement, or if I should just quietly leave. I could explore other choirs in my area for opportunities to cantor.




  • GerardH
    Posts: 460
    Having been on the other end of this, with utmost charity, might I suggest that your own estimation of your abilities could possibly be too generous? I would recommend making a real but also obvious effort to improve; resume voice lessons, but also subtly make her aware that you are undertaking lessons because you want to be the best chorister you can be. Nobody likes a diva. The first aspect a good choirmaster/mistress will consider when allocating solos is musical efficacy, not favouritism. It is possible she could be prejudiced; we can't really know that from your post, but I would exhaust all other possible reasons before landing on that conclusion.
  • dad29
    Posts: 2,232
    Gerard makes a very good point, especially here:

    The first aspect a good choirmaster/mistress will consider when allocating solos is musical efficacy


    Absolutely true.
  • a_f_hawkins
    Posts: 3,467
    This may not be relevant here, but as an aging man I have difficulty with distinguishing words sung by high voices. Today the cantor who sang the Alleluia had a very nice, pure, accurate high soprano, but I do not know whether she sang the words in the Missal. Usually we have a cantor with an average amateur baritone, I can usually understand the words without glancing at the Missal. [Our Sunday congregation fluctuates around 100 including children. We are not well resourced]
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  • Liam
    Posts: 5,092
    AFH

    IME, that's particularly true in a resonant acoustic. The acoustical shine on trained soprano voices tends to obscure their diction. This is much less the case with baritone voices.
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  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,307
    I have a strong preference for average male voices and one of the benefits of the Solesmes style (cough) is that it helps smooth out female diction.

    But a DM should be able to give feedback especially as beggars cannot be choosers.
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  • Kathy
    Posts: 5,508
    If I were you I would wait to bring it up again till the new year. Yes, it might be the veiling or some other prejudice that maybe the director doesn't even understand. And what the issue exactly is is not really going to become clear. But what is plain is she is newly appointed in a complex situation, with a lot of new people to work with, and Christmas is around the corner and there's a lot on her mind.

    If it were me, I would wait till after Christmas, and in the meantime be as good a choir member as possible, and see what happens.
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  • Birdsong
    Posts: 4
    Thank you Gerard, dad29, and Kathy for your suggestions. As for my voice, I think it would benefit with more lessons, because it's been awhile since I sang so much. I practice all the music at home with the liturgical music and hymns posted on Youtube, which is helpful, but perhaps not enough. I'm also looking to improve my diet, as I think that some of my meal choices affect my voice, especially dairy.

    As to the point about possibly behaving like a diva, I am innocent. I have been very careful to indicate interest, rather than demand, and I haven't pestered the director about it. I am enthusiastic about the music, as I think she makes great choices. She is careful to give us some easy hymns to balance out the more challenging pieces, which is nice.

    Thank you, Kathy, for the advice about waiting until after Christmas. That's a great idea. Today I prayed to the Blessed Mother, giving her the choir and requesting her intercession.
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  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,307
    As to the point about possibly behaving like a diva, I am innocent.


    before someone says something where tone is an issue. I get it, truly. It's hard, and not enough DMs cultivate the individual abilities to sing either truly alone or in a small group with more complex repertoire.
  • dad29
    Posts: 2,232
    I do not know whether she sang the words in the Missal.


    We have a similar situation, and to make it worse, the singer uses a mike. Were I The Queen (nod to Queen Lucy of Peanuts) I would stamp up the stairs and strongly suggest that the singer over-enunciate the consonants (except "s" and the soft "c".)
  • Don9of11Don9of11
    Posts: 708
    In my nearly fifty years of singing, it's the organist or MD, who decides who should cantor or sing solos. I didn't start singing solos, until my 3rd or 4th year after joining St. Mary's Choir in Akron, Ohio. I honestly didn't think I was that good, but the organist who had been playing since 1929 must have heard something in me that I didn't.

    So whatever your organist or MD is looking for in a cantor or soloist you must not have it in there opinion. I would give it some time and just be happy to be singing with a choir.
  • ServiamScores
    Posts: 2,883
    I will add this as a DM perspective: some choir members have perfectly lovely voices, but they don’t necessarily have the projection required to lead. I had an interesting experience recently with someone who is pursuing a degree in voice. I expected that all would go very smoothly with very little rehearsal. While the notes and text were all there, the projection wasn’t, and I was having to turn up the mic so much that feedback became an issue. (In general, I try to be VERY sparing with mics, but we have a large reverberant space and you need reinforcements over the organ for the psalm.) In any case, this person has a lovely voice, but isn’t projecting strongly to fill a huge room. So it’s very possible that your singing is genuinely very lovely, but there might be a particular aspect of it other than pitch or tone that renders you a less-than-ideal (when there are others close to hand) candidate to serve as cantor.

    All of that said, in a volunteer choir, I also make an effort to feature some people who might not be perfect, but have earned the right (so to speak) to have their moment from time to time. It might not be as good as it could me musically, but it’s good for the heart. There are many things that weigh in the balance.
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  • iamjohnmorgan
    Posts: 12
    If you would like an honest opinion and constructive feedback on your singing you are welcome to send a recording of yourself singing a Psalm and send it to me as a private message. With one caveat... you shouldn't take the comments to your choir director in support of your position. There are so many factors that go into the selection of a cantor, particularly when it comes time to train new ones.

    I direct several choirs both secular and sacred and am currently working as an MD in a parish for thr last 24 years.

    I will keep the recording and comments off the forums.
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