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The Voice

Chorus America's award-winning quarterly magazine, The Voice, highlights chorus news, artistic initiatives in the choral world, and advice and commentary on the business of running a successful chorus. The Voice is distributed to nearly 2,000 choral leaders throughout North America. It is published in Spring, Summer, and Fall/Winter; ISSN 1074-0805. Browse articles and past issues in the tabs below. Editor, Liza W. Beth

Cause for Celebration: Why Choruses See Major Anniversaries as Major Opportunities

North American choruses are anticipating a wave of major anniversaries in the coming years, and their leaders are hard at work preparing to mark the occasions. The most thoughtful celebrations honor a chorus’s past achievements, while laying the groundwork for an even stronger future.

Planned Giving: Opening a Door to Deeper Dialogue and Commitment

Planned giving, also referred to as gift planning or legacy giving, is the act of making a commitment to give a charitable organization a gift, typically as part of a donor’s will or estate plan. It’s something that many choruses are interested in pursuing, but don’t know where to start or worry that the process will be complicated.

How Can Volunteer Choruses Navigate Re-Auditions Smoothly?

Asking your chorus members to re-audition may be the single greatest test of the notion that choruses can create outstanding art and at the same time create meaningful community. Artistic leaders, managers, and singers who have experienced re-auditioning in volunteer choruses large and small talk about its benefits and pitfalls, and explain how they have managed this delicate process.

Chorus Education Programs Today

Partnering, Collaborating, and Deepening Community Connections

More and more choruses are developing in-school programs in partnership with local schools and nurturing their own youth choruses. In doing this work, they are learning that successfully involving more young people and their communities in choral singing often involves meeting them where they are.

Copyright and the Community Chorus

Now more than ever, it’s important for choruses to understand their rights and responsibilities regarding the use of published music. New technologies are changing the way organizations purchase and use copyrighted materials. To complement a session at the 2018 Chorus America Conference, five music publishers talk about the key questions they are facing.

Vu Le on the Evolution of the Nonprofit Sector

Nonprofit leader, humor blogger, and truth-teller. It’s a unique job description, but a perfect fit for Vu Le. Le is the executive director of Seattle-based social justice organization Rainier Valley Corps and the author of NonprofitAF.com, a blog that mixes pop culture and pictures of baby animals with candid insight into the current state of nonprofits.

EXIGENCE: A Vision Unfolding

Expanding its work around issues of equity and inclusion in classical music, the Sphinx Organization has launched EXIGENCE, a new professional vocal ensemble made up of singers of color. What were the impulses that led to the creation of EXIGENCE? Why is this development important to the choral field?

Sing Skillfully Unto the Lord: The Modern Gospel Chorus Movement in Chicago

In early 20th-century Chicago, the intersection of classical and gospel church traditions gave birth to the modern gospel chorus movement. This history has made Chicago the gospel choir capital of the world—and continues to have an impact on ensemble singing today.

How Can Many Singers Speak with One Voice?

More and more choruses are practicing advocacy inside the concert hall, representing social justice and community issues in their performances. What kinds of steps are they taking to ensure that singers are on the same page so that they can perform as a collective?

How Do We Talk About the Value of the Arts?

There are seemingly countless ways to make the case for the arts. The trick is knowing which ones are most effective. Leaders at five different arts organizations explain how they talk about the value of the arts, and how those messages are connecting with the audiences they are trying to reach.

Making the Case for Choruses: Three Studies in Advocacy

Three choral organizations show how united voices can make a difference for themselves and their communities.

Making Your Chorus Welcoming for Transgender Singers

Choruses seek to foster an open, welcoming culture, but some practices can exclude and cause pain for transgender singers. Here are some steps your chorus can take to avoid them.

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