As optimism for the return to live gatherings cautiously dawns, it’s time to commence the work of rebuilding your choral organization’s capabilities and re-engaging its audiences. Building on “Asking Thru Adversity,” his breakout presentation at the Chorus America Winter Conference, leadership and community engagement consultant Matt Lehrman offers this guide to focusing your efforts.

BY HOLLY J. KELLAR

Across North America and around the world, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the choral landscape. A year later, hope is on the horizon, with vaccinations happening and tentative first steps to slowly reopen entertainment venues. But choral leaders know that the reverberations of the pandemic will be felt for years to come. We asked six choral leaders to give us their thoughts on what the future will bring, and the lessons of the past year.

As nonprofits evolve, what they need from their board members shifts. Some choruses reach a point where they consider bringing in people from the community to augment their own internal leaders. If you’re thinking about that, here are some factors to consider.

We asked the chorus leaders we interviewed for our 2018-19 Winter Voice article “Cause for Celebration” to pass along practical lessons learned from their experience planning anniversary seasons. The wisdom they shared ranges from knowing when to start to knowing when to stop.

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.