The State of Choral Music in America—1

Often we in the choral field feel a bit like the overlooked stepsister of the classical music world.  We love our art and know how joyful and satisfying and downright stirring it is to work together with a group of people from various backgrounds, viewpoints, and walks of life to build something of beauty.  There are few things more dynamic than music and words combined, and those who come to our performances tell us so.  And yet classical radio stations seldom give choral music airplay, arts and entertainment sections focus on the instrumental and opera genres, and we choruses keep doing everything we can to say, “Hey, we’re here!”

Well, apparently choirs are far more abundant across the land than many realize, and lots and lots of people sing in choruses.  Chorus America, a nationwide choral advocacy group (Master Chorus Eastside is a member), recently did an impact study on choral music in America, and the results are astonishing and heartening.

There are almost 270,000 choruses nation-wide, including community, professional, church and school choirs.

An estimated 42.6 million Americans sing in choirs, including both adults and children.  Adult participation alone tops 32.5 million.  And these numbers are up from 10 years ago!

Children who sing in choruses get better grades, are better team players, have more advanced social skills, better memory and homework habits, and higher creativity.

More than three-quarters of the educators who participated in the Chorus America survey say they can tell which students in their classes are choir members.  More than half have recommended singing in choirs to students and parents.  And a very large majority of educators state that singing in a chorus benefits students and their communities in all sorts of ways: it engages students in school and community participation, gets students to class, and can keep students from getting “lost” as the study puts it.

Adults who sing in choirs are better citizens than the average American.  They attend arts events more often, volunteer more frequently, contribute more generously to their choruses and to philanthropic organizations in general, they vote more regularly, read more newspapers and books, serve as officers in civic organizations…the list goes on and on!

Take just four minutes and listen to this captivating piece by Charles Kuralt, recently broadcast on CBS Sunday Morning.  He touches on some of the above, along with some other enlightening insights from the impact study, accompanied by clips of choirs of all stripes and abilities.

And join a choir, attend a choral concert (I’d certainly recommend an MCE concert!), support a chorus financially or volunteer your services, and help make your community a better place to live!  It will give you a personal boost too!

Dr. Linda Gingrich

Artistic director, Master Chorus Eastside