Choruses are pouring more resources and creativity into education outreach programs that have a far-reaching impact on students, teachers, schools, and communities—as well as on the choral artists who deliver them.

How Minnesota's VocalEssence and composer Eric Whitacre helped high school students, choral directors, and community members of all ages discover the power of contemporary choral music through a festival and community sing event.

Eric Whitacre muses on how he gets inspired to compose, his special connection with young people, and what he thinks about the future of choral music.

Arts education is a civic investment with a tangible return. Dana Gioia emphasizes the need for arts education in all schools and for all children, and cautions against trading off the challenging pleasures of art for the easy comforts of entertainment.

Many types of organizations are tackling issues of diversity. Patricia Moore Harbour, who has facilitated a number of these discussions in a process that she describes as the Transformative Learning Experience, believes arts organizations, especially choruses, may start out ahead of the game.

Cellists hang out with the other cellists, singers hang out with other singers, but conductors—who do they hang out with? Stephen Czarkowski and 31 other conductors hung out together for four days in May 2006 to share with each other, explore some of the great works in the choral-orchestral repertoire, and learn from some of the nation's finest choral conductors.

Inner-city choruses are serving diverse populations in large urban areas where kids often do not have access or the means to participate in quality musicmaking. These "urban youth choruses" are uniting neighborhoods across differences of race, religion, ethnicity, and economic status to inspire and energize communities with messages of hope and healing.

Thanks to a residency program, one composer spends time with three high school choirs, creating new music, new singers, and audiences for the future.