Choral Field Building Study Released by BHS

The Barbershop Harmony Society (BHS) announced the public release of the Choral Field Building Study on Monday, March 6, in an article on the Society's website.

The study is an outcome of the Choral Ecosystem Forum, a unique project that, for the first time, examines the connections between the different types of choral communities in the U.S. The Forum was convened by Chorus America with partners BHS, the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA), and Yale University School of Music. It was co-facilitated by Alan Brown of WolfBrown and John Shibley, and supported by lead sponsor the National Association of Music Merchants Foundation (NAMM).

The Choral Field Building Study looks at 29 organizations involved in the Forum, and seeks to answer this series of guiding questions:

  • Who are these choral organizations – descriptively, structurally, operationally, and programmatically?
  • What is the collective programmatic work of these organizations?
  • What challenges do these organizations face in implementing their work?
  • What new opportunities and trends are shaping the work of these organizations into the future?

Chorus America will be publishing a white paper that examines the relationships between the various organizations and agents in the choral ecosystem, and also covered the Forum in an article appearing in the Winter 2016-17 issue of The Voice.