I was going to write a post back in mid-March about how challenging it was to be a choir musician in the early days of the pandemic — five years ago! — and how we all came together to support each other.

But, as important as it is to remember the difficult times and celebrate the ways we found to connect, I just couldn’t do it. I would much rather look forward to what the next five years brings us!

So what do I hope for choirs and group singing spaces in the next five years?

That they continue to be places of inclusion and kindness and safety for ALL people.
I want conductors and choir members to understand how vital and lifesaving choir can be, and to put in the work making their organizations the safe places that we desperately need.
That they perform music by more diverse people.
It will be wonderful when programming music by trans or gender-diverse composers, Indigenous composers, women composers, historically underrepresented composers, and living composers is normal and expected, because it is the right thing to do.
That more people sing in choir, or come back to choir, and realize that singing together is actually really good for themselves, for the wider world, and for everything.
Along with this, I hope that choirs/group singing spaces can adapt and expand to welcome those who want to sing, moving beyond the Standard European Way. This will require us to support and make space for up and coming group singing leaders and conductors who come from diverse backgrounds and have different ideas of what ‘choir’ can be.

In many ways, these are personal aspirations too. I know that I have work to do in these categories.

What are your broad aspirations for the choir world in the next five years?

If you want guidance, I would love to chat with you, your board, or choir leadership about any of the topics I write here, such as inclusiveness for gender-diverse folks and community building. Please get in touch!