The Choir Room Podcast
This podcast exists to promote and encourage two long-time traditions in our society that seem to be dwindling…The Choir and Corporate Singing. We hope to revive the excitement and joy experienced with singing in a choir, as well as inform and educate the listener on all things singing, and all things choir related.
A weekly podcast featuring discussion and interviews with choir directors, choir members, and other guests representing church choirs, college and university choirs, community choirs, show and theatre choirs, composer of choir music, and other.
Segments include tips and instruction from skilled and professional disciplines within the choir community covering topics such as choir culture and community, choir directing, vocal training, ear training, sight reading, and more. A monthly virtual live audience episode allows the listener to engage with hosts and guests during instructional and Q&A segments via the live recording, chat, email, on various social media platforms.
A production of Metromusic & Arts, Inc.
- www.metromusic-arts.com
- thechoirroom@metromusic-arts.com
- mail@mmertomusic-arts.cm
The Choir Room Podcast
Exciting Changes Coming : The Exciting Future of The Choir Room, Provoking CRQ’s, and The Reboot of Programs and Service.
Step into The Choir Room where the harmonious blend of voices isn't just about music—it's a testament to the power of community and faith. Greg is joined by passionate co-hosts Dorian Johnson and Mietta Stancil-Farrar, and together they usher in a symphony of discussion on the resurgent love for choir and corporate singing. This episode promises a soulful journey through the hymn of the week that ties us to the divine, as Dorian spotlights Isaac Watts' "How Sweet and Awesome is the Place.” It's a weekly dose of musical enlightenment that will leave you pondering the depth of fellowship and grace.
But we don't just celebrate the past; we're also fine-tuning the present and composing the future of choral singing. Mietta leads us in our CRQ as we deliberate on the delicate balance of choir size, and the role of Section Leaders. We weigh the merits of inclusivity against the need for harmonious excellence and the desire for numbers.
This first episode of 2024, Greg brings us updates on the exciting future of the podcast and what’s in the pipeline of Metromusic & Arts for this year. In the spirit of new beginnings, he reveals 'The Gathering', our latest initiative for impromptu singing, and breathe new life into our Artist Referral Service. Our notes rise higher as we commit to fostering a robust arts community and present an unblemished gospel through both melody and mission. Subscribe and stay in tune with us for a year where music and ministry harmonize beautifully.
Perpetuating and Promoting the Christian and Positive Idea Through the Medium of Music and Other Arts.
Welcome to the choir room. A very happy new year to you, the year of 2024.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the choir room.
Speaker 1:I'm Greg Thomas, your host here in the choir room, and I'll soon be joined by my co-host, Dorian Johnson. Welcome to the choir room. Mia de Stancil-Farrar, and who we like to call the fourth wheel, Coleman Smart. This podcast exists to promote and encourage two long-time traditions in our society that seem to be dwindling away, and that is choir and corporate singing. We hope to revive the excitement and joy experienced with singing in a choir, as well as inform and educate the listener on all things singing and all things choir related. And this podcast is a production of Metro Music and Arts, whose purpose is to perpetuate and promote the Christian and positive idea through the medium of music and other arts. It's a new year and therefore a new season for the choir room podcast, and we will share some of that exciting information with you in a few moments. And then we'll share some exciting information regarding new programming and services coming through Metro Music and Arts and opportunities for you to get involved. But before we do that, Dorian has our hymn of the week. Thanks.
Speaker 3:Greg, this week's hymn of the week is how Sweet and Awesome is the Place. This hymn was written by Isaac Watts in 1707, and Isaac Watts is famous for a number of other hymns that we will cover in future weeks of the hymn of the week, such as when I Survey the Wondrous Cross, alas, and Did my Savior Bleed, our God, our Help, in Ages Past. And this hymn actually also notes some of the change in the English language as well, because the original title of this hymn was how Sweet and Awful is the Place. Now, of course, in Old English, awful meant something that was made someone full of awe. In our current setting, though, awful has a different meaning, and so the title of this hymn, as you would likely find it in many hymnals, is how Sweet and Awesome is the Place.
Speaker 3:In Luke 14, jesus tells a parable about a great man who made a great banquet and invited many, and it says in verse 17,. And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited come, for everything is now ready, but they all alike began to make excuses, and Jesus goes through all of the excuses that people made not to come to the banquet. In verse 21,. It says so. The servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And the servant said, sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. And the master said to the servant go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in that my house may be filled, for I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet. And so the theme of this hymn is very similar to the theme of God's grace that we have been looking at over the past few weeks. And it truly is God's grace, as we will hear echoed throughout the verses of this hymn, as we think about the fact that God's temple, god's dwelling place, now is not a physical place, but it is his church. 1 Corinthians 3.16 says do you not know that you, and that you, as a plural, are God's temple and that God's spirit dwells in you? So in the Old Testament, god filled the temple with his glory, and in this last hour of time God fills his church, which is the buttress and pillar of the truth, as we read in 1 Timothy 3.15. And that church is made up of those who very much were the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame that are in Jesus' parable. 1st verse says how sweet and awesome is the place with Christ within the doors, while everlasting love displays the choices of her stores.
Speaker 3:2. While all our hearts and all our songs join to admire the feast, each of us cries with thankful tongue. 3. Lord, why was I a guest? And verse 3 continues the questions. Why was I made to hear thy voice and enter while there is room, when thousands make a wretched choice and rather starve than come? 4. It was the same love that spread the feast that sweetly drew us in else we had still refused to taste and perished in our sin, reminding us of the fact that we did not find God. God found us. We weren't looking for God. In fact we were blind, we were lame, and we were found by him and brought to the feast.
Speaker 3:5. Pity the nations, o our God. Constrain the earth to come, send thy victorious word abroad and bring the strangers home. 6. We see once again that, looking towards the glorification of God's people when it says we long to see thy church is full, that all the chosen race may, with one voice and heart and soul, sing 7. Sing thy redeeming grace. The redeeming grace of God will be the theme of our songs throughout eternity.
Speaker 3:8. As we think about this hymn, we are reminded of words of Peter in 1 Peter 2, verses 9 and 10, which say but you are chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 9. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people. Once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. 10. And because we have received the mercy of God and because we have received the redeeming grace of God, we can truly say that it is truly a sweet and awesome place where our Christ, our Savior, our Lord, our Redeemer, dwells 11.
Speaker 1:Welcome to the fire. The time in which we are living is nothing like previous years, and I don't believe any year ahead is going to resemble any previous years, and the same is with the Choir Room Podcast. We've welcomed your comments, your reviews, your suggestions, and many of which were great, and we've taken a lot of them to heart, and I'd just like to share a few of the changes that are coming here in 2024. Now, I won't bore you with a year in review of 2023. There's enough videos and podcasts out there for you to listen to if you're interested in what happened in 2023. Now, as it relates to the Choir Room Podcast, I will give you a quick snap shot of what we've been able to accomplish in the past year and then share with you some of the things we're going to be implementing this year through the Choir Room Podcast and some of the things that are happening in and through Metro Music Arts. Now, over the past year, we've had some incredible guests, who we refer to as guest contributors, all of whom, in their own way, have brought education, inspiration, encouragement and even challenges for us to do better, as we know better, and with those guest contributors, we've been able to cover various areas that have a direct impact on our ability to sing and the value that it brings to our lives spiritually, emotionally, relationally, physically and even financially. And so, if you haven't done so already, we encourage you to go back to the previous 32 episodes and listen to Dr Brian Rawls, dr Professor Danny Murray, dr Catherine Hall, who all give us their various perspectives on the value of singing and corporate worship. We've also had the opportunity for practicum, some application from our vocal coaches, ashley Gonzalez, lady Volce and, of course, tara Simon. We've had the church choir to Broadway, from Broadway to the church choir and everything in between. We've had Q Smith and Lauren Stallings come and share their personal experiences on Broadway, and then our very own Chris Montelli, own Alia Glitten and Tara Simon all sharing their personal experiences as well. We've had great sharing of information from our guest contributors over the year, and so we plan to continue bringing you good education, good information, good inspiration to keep you singing wherever you are on the road of life.
Speaker 1:Now, we started this podcast off with season one, episode one, and we continued through episode 32, and we've decided, after some consideration, that we have no plan to stop this podcast unless we have to, and so if we decide to take a break for season, we'll certainly inform you. If you are subscribed to this podcast and you should be you will certainly be one of the first to know when those breaks are coming. But in the meantime, you can look forward to weekly poses from the Choir Room podcast. And, while I'm thinking about it, a shout out to Dorian Johnson, mieta Stansu, farar and, our fourth wheel, coleman Smart, for their unwavering dedication to this podcast every week.
Speaker 1:Now, we have seriously considered every request and every suggestion from our listeners over the year, and one of those requests was that we review and suggest more choir music in addition to the hymns. Now, I think this suggestion, if I recall the email properly, came from a person who was responding to the hymn of the week, stating that she wanted to hear more of the hymn after Dorian's commentary. Now, our original intention was to sandwich the commentary between a rendition of the original hymn and a modern day version of the hymn. Now, for copyright reasons, we decided to not do that in the first season, but in the near future you can look forward to hearing more of the hymn in its original version and a modern day version of that same hymn, with commentary in between. Now, that's going to require a little more work on the back end, so you may not hear both versions every week, but it is our goal to sandwich Dorian's commentary between the traditional hymn and a modern day version of it during our hymn of the week segment. We also want to be a resource for great choir music where you can find some unheard material for your choir, whether that's your church choir, school choir, college or university choir and your community choir, and so, as we ramp up our research and ramp up our repertoire, we want to encourage you to join us in the search by sending us some of your choir room findings. Tell us what's on your playlist as it relates to choir and feel free to send that to thequireroomatmetromusic-artscom.
Speaker 1:This year, we want to continue to be a source of education, inspiration, encouragement and, at times, entertainment. We'll do this through our discussions, our interviews with our guest contributors, playing more music, music reviews and more Seeking out the finest vocal coaches, choir directors, music program directors, choir members, school teachers, college and university music professors, and then adding something that we mentioned briefly a few months ago and that is choir rehearsal sit-ins yes, sit-ins. We're going to be visiting choir rehearsals in the New York, new Jersey, connecticut and Pennsylvania areas and bringing you some best practices from different choir directors, different choir rehearsals, schools, churches, choirs, colleges, universities, community choirs, etc. Learning from each other and bringing that to you right here in the choir room. Now, with that, we will remain Bible based and Christ centered with our offerings, while at the same time acknowledging the fact that all that we know is not all that there is to know. So we will be learning from other people, from other places, from other sources.
Speaker 1:Now let me remind you that the best way to stay informed when a new episode is available each week is to subscribe. Wherever you listen to podcasts, whether that's Apple Podcasts, spotify, google Podcasts, podcasts Index, overcast, amazon Music, iheartradio, tunein and Alexa Podcast Addict Castro Cast Box, podchaser, pocket Cast, deezer, listen Notes, player FM, Good Pods and Pod Friend. Now, I'm sure most of you didn't know that this podcast was available on all of those different platforms, but it is, and we're glad to report that we have listeners in 12 countries throughout the US and Canada, australia, europe and Africa. So you can help us make the podcast better with your suggestions and your comments. You can also help us spread the word. Make sure you subscribe, share it with a friend and tell them you're in the choir room. And before we share what we're planning in and through Metro Music Arts, miata has our CRQ.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the choir room. Thanks, greg. Here we are this evening with our CRQ. Should we limit the number of singers in our choir? Should we limit the number of singers in the choir? I asked this question to my husband just this evening and, as it relates to our church choirs, I don't know. Depending on the type of setup you have, I don't know if we should limit the number in our church choirs because it's such a, you know you can come, come, one, come all type situation.
Speaker 1:Most times, who so ever will come choir?
Speaker 2:Yeah, you know who so ever will come on through and we have space for you that type of thing. So in our church choirs I don't know if you can really stop the amount of people coming in Our community choirs. Well, that's a little different. It depends on what it is you want out of your choirs. You know some people hold auditions before some people even hold auditions. As a matter of fact, in our church choirs there's some who do that. I've never done it.
Speaker 1:I know we did.
Speaker 2:Yeah right. So it depends on you know the type of setup we have. We came from. I came from a smaller background in terms of you know, you didn't have that many choir members and you had about a band of maybe four and you just were whoever came. Okay, we pretty much knew who could sing and who couldn't sing. We kind of knew that because the church wasn't that large where we didn't know. We, you know, we knew who we were dealing with on every level, but when it came to the community choir, that was a little different.
Speaker 2:Sometimes I don't want anybody to walk away and think the more you have, the better you sound. That's not the fact. That is not the case. Not that that is so untrue. It is a horrible myth. You know you have so many and you're gonna sound great, you're gonna sound. Sometimes a lot of people come with a lot of different things too, and so you have to be careful of that when it comes to our community choirs. I have a community choir. We started out at about 45, right, I felt like I had too many as time went on and now we're down to nine. Now you go figure how that happened, who knows, but it did. And the great thing about that is the sound didn't change. That's why I say that just because you have many doesn't necessarily mean you're going to sound or have the best sound ever. So when it comes to your community choirs, you can trim it down as you need to trim it down. There's no harm in that. But what do you guys think about that?
Speaker 3:It's an interesting question. It is. It is Interesting question and I, reading the question, I immediately thought of our friend Coleman.
Speaker 2:And.
Speaker 3:I think you already said it it's the content.
Speaker 2:It's the content.
Speaker 3:But I do think that I would say no. I mean, you shouldn't try it. It really depends. It really depends on the resources that you have, and I think this also feeds into thinking about how you go about administering the choir as well. I mean, if you don't have a lot of help and it's just the choir director, then yeah, you're probably well served not to have it become too large, because having to just do all of the different things around communicating with people outside of just rehearsal, looking after people, trying to respond to needs that arise If you have very few people doing the administration of the choir, you're not going to have, I think, a choir that is as well run as it could be if you don't have a lot of support.
Speaker 3:So I would say that's more the limiting factor than the desire to have a large choir. If you desire to have a large choir, go for it. Just know you need a lot of help. You're going to need a lot of help to make sure that it's running as well as it can. I think there are sometimes advantages to large requires. I mean, if you think about music and in terms of dynamics and things like that, a group of 100 trying to sing, say, very quietly, is sometimes easier to accomplish than trying to create that same sound with only like nine or 10 people. So I mean it can. It has a lot of different factors, but that was my thought when I first saw this question was that it really depends on the kind of support that you can bring to however big the choir is.
Speaker 1:Key element. Key element when we talk about the choir being more than just a singing aggregation, we have to drill down a little bit on those administrative things Choir calendar, taking that load off the director. That includes, you know, rehearsal times, rehearsal changes, that could be a change in location, that can be a change as a result of rain or snow, and all of that has to be communicated. Are we on, are we off Canceling? Are we postponing?
Speaker 1:All of those things and, of course, the larger the choir, the more energy, the more resources, the more people that it takes to communicate that kind of information. Now I mentioned space or location, and this is not everybody's problem, certainly, but it's a good problem to have. Sometimes your choir size is limited to the space that you're working with. I've worked with schools that had a rehearsal hall or rehearsal room that was a certain size and they couldn't fit more than a certain number of people in there. I've seen church choirs that were so big.
Speaker 2:Isn't it nice?
Speaker 1:Yeah, that they had to limit the number of people because they didn't have room in the choir loft to hold all the people. Now I've seen that in school and church choirs a lot. Another reason could be that the choir director, he or she, may want to limit the number of people because you know that's all that they can handle, or they're looking for a specific sound and they can't get that sound from a larger group. So there's a number of things that could be contributing to their reason for limiting the number of people in the choir. So to Dorian's point I think you have to have the support. If you want a large choir, you have to have the support in order to manage a larger group.
Speaker 2:Exactly, exactly, know what your limitations are. And that is because, again, it's work. It's always. I think that's the end of everything that I have to say about it. It's going to be work. It's going to be work.
Speaker 1:You see, our keys are always very interesting and we love receiving them. Now we don't have all of the answers, but with our combined experience in church choirs, schools, colleges and universities, community choirs and then, of course, with the input from our guest contributors, we're certainly able to give you some sound advice, some tips and tricks. Perhaps that can help you reach some of the goals that you have for your choir, solve some of the problems you might be experiencing, and to encourage you. As we know, just like us, we can get tired in the race, but should never get tired of the race. So be encouraged and know that we're here for you. You can send in your CRQs and remember to never hang up your heart.
Speaker 3:I have a question for you, though, miata. You said you came from a background that didn't limit people from coming into the choir, and even with even with a choir of 45, you had somebody who couldn't sing.
Speaker 2:You had about? Yeah, I had plenty of those, even in 45. How did you do that?
Speaker 1:What did you do with?
Speaker 3:that.
Speaker 1:I know where this question is going.
Speaker 3:What did you do with them?
Speaker 2:Well, what I did was I tried to be as strategic as possible. I won't say they could not sing.
Speaker 3:They were just not great independent singers. That doesn't make sense.
Speaker 2:They weren't independently ready. I'll just say that, and what I did was I just mixed them in. I mixed them in with the ones that had a little more. How can you put this?
Speaker 3:A little more experience.
Speaker 2:Exactly A little more experience in that I didn't have a lot. I have to say I joke about it, but I didn't have too many. That could not.
Speaker 3:There were a few that were like tone deaf.
Speaker 2:They weren't tone deaf.
Speaker 3:Okay.
Speaker 1:But, but, we had choirs in the community that had tone deaf people. Oh man.
Speaker 2:Oh man Sorry.
Speaker 3:This might be going into it. This might go into another CRQ. What do you do with the tone?
Speaker 2:deaf people. You know I've that's hard for me.
Speaker 1:I got to soften what I just said, though Okay, because I think there was a time in the church in fact still exists in a lot of churches today when there was a push to to fill the choir loft with more available people than it was capable people More willing but not ready, right. And so the choir and the choir director spends a lot more energy in rehearsals because you know it takes longer to learn songs, because you have people who you know, you're hearing things you shouldn't be hearing in rehearsal.
Speaker 1:Right, you know so be careful what you ask for yeah, and that has happened.
Speaker 2:Welcome to the Choir.
Speaker 1:So I believe you have another CRQ for us.
Speaker 2:All right. So this leads us to our next CRQ. What are the requirements for section leaders, should they be able to assist the choir director with teaching? What are the requirements of a session? That's good.
Speaker 1:I think this question is perfect on the heels of the previous CRQ, when you consider we're talking about the size of the choir, and the larger the choir, the more help or assistance the choir director will need. And to have section leaders who can help musically, I mean that's a plus if they can go beyond just administrative skills and communicating with the choir and handling, you know, interpersonal issues. This is a plus if they can help with parts, because then you can break off and do sectionals and the choir director can trust that that person can handle a section, whether they play piano or they just got a great ear or they can sight read. I mean that is a bonus. It may not be a requirement in most circles but that would be a highly coveted skill set and would likely put that person in the lead running for a choir section leader position.
Speaker 3:I saw this question and I would say that the main requirement for a section leader is that they have they, they keep a pulse on the choir, they know what's going on, right, I would say that's like foundational, if you have the built they, if they come with the ability to to help teach and things like those are that's like icing on the cake bonus, yeah, but, but the cake itself.
Speaker 3:They have to be able to have the pulse of the choir, to know what's going on with various folks, know when people especially if it's a large require, if folks aren't there, why they aren't there, if folks aren't doing well, if they need help, all of those kinds of things. And again, I think we're as we often are, we're speaking from sort of a church context. I would imagine that in this goes back to an early, early CRQ. If it's a professional choir, it's really about, as you said, greg, making sure that folks know their parts. I mean, you think of an orchestra. There's a principle, exactly, and that principle is always the one that everyone looks to in terms of knowing what it is that the conductor wants out of the piece or wants to choir or, in this case, wants the choir to be doing so.
Speaker 3:But in a church context, having the pulse of the folks that are in that choir is is a key requirement, and in order to do that, you have to have people that care about people.
Speaker 1:You gotta have people keepers.
Speaker 2:Yeah, people keepers. I like that, people keepers yeah.
Speaker 3:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah, during you asked me previously about having a choir at the time 45, I had section leaders for that particular group at that time and I found it to be the best thing ever. I had never considered doing something like that. But with a community choir you can kind of make your own rules and do your own thing, and so I was able to do that and I had a section leader, of course, for every section, and they did just what you said. They were the people keepers, if you will. They checked up on the choir members and not only just wanting to know whether or not they'll be a rehearsal and keep them abreast of rehearsals and that type of just checking on their well-being as well. Even though it wasn't a large, large group, there was enough, it was enough to have to govern and those section leaders I loved it. They still sing with me now, as a matter of fact. I love that because they did that.
Speaker 2:They did some of the work that I didn't have to do. They let me worry about the music and stay in prayer, stay before God's face and all. They let me do all of that. And they take care and made sure that the choir members I didn't have to really do too much. As it related to the choir members, they did the teaching if needed be Thank God that I didn't have to use them for a lot of teaching because many of the singers already knew they kind of knew what was needed to be done vocally. But that the other stuff making sure that families were okay, keeping them abreast of scheduling and things of that nature they did that and I was grateful, very, very grateful. It made ministry easier. It just made ministry easier when everyone was caring for one another. Caring for one another.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think every group needs some people keepers. I mean, it's just five of us who live here, and just today I needed a couple people.
Speaker 3:You could have used a little help today huh, yes, some sections, section leaders.
Speaker 2:Section leaders.
Speaker 3:Section leaders.
Speaker 1:Now we have been working on opportunities for you to join us in corporate singing gatherings, in an event called the Gathering. This is not something that's going to pull you away from your church choir, school choir or your community choir, but we do believe it's going to be an opportunity for spontaneous and explosive singing together with people and friends that you might know, certainly others that you won't know. It will be an unrehearsed gathering. It will be an opportunity to sing songs on the fly, learn them on the fly, share them with the world and encourage one another in the value and the importance of singing with others. So if you'd like to stay informed about the monthly gatherings, when they do start, send an email request to mail at MetroMusicDashArtscom and, because you're listening to this podcast, you can also send it to the Choir Room at MetroMusicDashArtscom.
Speaker 1:Now, before we became Metro Music and Arts, we were Metro Music Ministries and many of our listeners are familiar with that fact and have followed us over the years. Many of you would be familiar with the fact that we had a very successful artist referral service and through that service, we provided professional and reliable artists for concerts, weddings, church services, community events and much more. Well, I'm glad to announce that the artist referral service has been undergoing some restructuring, some reorganization, and is about to be rebooted. That's right. You're going to have access to professional vocalists, musicians, actors and actresses, fine and graphic artists, photographers, videographers, voiceover actors and a few additional disciplines from the performing arts community. We have been rebuilding and expanding our database to include young professional artists, seasoned artists and artists, development and management professionals. Now, if you're an artist, whether a singer, a musician, an actor, a photographer, a videographer, a voiceover artist, and you just love to do the art and bless people with your gift, but, at the same time, this is your living, you definitely want to be a part of the Metro Music and Arts Artist Referral family. Now, in addition to the artist disciplines that have already been mentioned, songwriters, publishers, licensing professionals are all being added as we speak.
Speaker 1:Now, if you've known anything about our artist referral service previously, you do know that it was a thriving resource in the Tri-State area and we're excited to be extending our reach throughout the Northeast, across the US and, yes, even in some areas around the world. Now, having established great connections in the industry and in the ministry and maintaining good relationships over the years, we're excited about this reboot and we want you to be a part of it. You've heard it here first, in the choir room, so for more information, be sure to email us at mail at MetroMusicDashArtscom Now. In the coming weeks, you're going to hear from our team members who will share more information about other programs and services coming through Metro Music and Arts. Some of those will include our workshops and seminars, boot camps and training camps, all specifically designed to educate, equip, develop and support our members.
Speaker 1:So again, if you want to stay in the know, we encourage you to join our mailing list, and you'll only get email when there's pertinent information to come out, and we do not share your contact information. Send that to mail at MetroMusicDashArtscom Now. We are believing God for new things and great things here in 2024 and we want you to join us. So remember, if ever we put the messenger before the message, we have failed to present an unblemished gospel. I'm Greg Thomas. Please join us again next week here in the Choir Room.
