Vance George, former director of the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, reflects on a lifetime of musicmaking.

In the 2005 study, Choral Conductors Today, Chorus America learned that as many as one-third of choruses are conducted by their founders, and furthermore that a majority of these choruses were founded a generation or more ago. This data suggests that a large number of choruses will be facing significant leadership transitions and indeed, experience in the intervening years has borne out this assertion.

What should we do when a piece of music offends a whole group of people?

Never program down to your audience, and never assume that your audience isn't ready to be challenged by fresh interpretations of familiar pieces, by works from the canon that unjustly have been ignored, by the music of today and tomorrow.

Chorus America's Conducting Masterclasses give conductors valuable podium time. Offered in 2004, this was the first workshop of its kind to specifically invite conductors of children's choruses to advance their professional training by working with the Chicago Children's Choir and orchestra.

People came from across the country to celebrate the farewell concert of the Dale Warland Singers. What can we learn from a chorus that achieves the pinnacle of aristic acclaim when it decides to close its doors after 31 years—what is the cost of excellence and when is it time to say goodbye?

Powerful early experiences set conductors on career paths with unusual twists and turns. Several conductors recount how they got their start.