It's all about passion!

​
To achieve great things, two things are needed: a plan and not quite enough time."
                                                                                                                          - Leonard Bernstein

Let's be honest, building a children's choir from scratch requires more than just casual interest. It requires passion. The rollercoaster ride of emotions, the highs and lows that come week in and week out are exhausting. Just when you think you are on the right path, a key chorister will drop out to play hockey, or a parent will tell you that their child can't sing on Christmas Eve. You might spend time teaching your singers to sightsing, or to figure out key signatures and the following week when you ask them to show you what they remember from the previous week, they will demonstrated that they remember absolutely NOTHING! Then there is the crushing feeling engendered by a choir that made a decent sound during rehearsal, but suddenly can't be heard during the service! Yes, creating a children's choir from the ground up can be a challenging, frustrating, exhausting and often times soul crushing endeavour.

What is needed to help you through the inevitable ups and downs of building a children's choir? The answer is simple: one needs a tremendous amount of passion for the work! You have to want to accomplish great things. You have to be positive when no one else is. You have to believe when to do so seems futile and foolish. If you aren't willing to passionately inspire your young singers, to work tirelessly to encourage them, then stop reading now. Without passion you might create a choir, but you will never build a truly great one! What do we mean by passion? Let's explore a bit deeper.

1. It is essential that you love working with children. It is essential that you believe than they can perform on the same level as adults and that they truly want to do something meaningful and magnificent.
   
2. You have to work tirelessly to make the impossible happen.
   
3. Your energy must be boundless.
4. Your choristers will mirror what you give them. If you don't provide the energy and the sense of expectation then who will?
5. Never miss the opportunity to let them know that you are glad to see them. Greet every chorister personally as they arrive. Tell them how thrilled you are to see them.
6. Remember that you will always believe in them before they believe in themselves. Find something positive to say to each singer in the course of rehearsal. It doesn't have to be profound, it just has to say, 'I saw you today and I appreciated your efforts!'
7. Always reflect positive energy. It is about building momentum towards the goal. If you don't keep the energy level high and positive then how can you expect the same from your singers.
8. Your choristers will 'read you' and if they sense you don't care, or that you are disappointed in them, then they in turn will be disappointed in themselves, or worse yet, not care.
9. Make the impossible happen each week. Give them something to feel very good about. This can be as simple as singing a verse of a hymn with the proper breathing! However, whatever the event is, make sure to praise them for their professionalism and remind them that accomplishing what they just accomplished was a very big deal.
10. Remind them constantly how proud you are of them. Tell them that they have the stuff of greatness in them.

Most of all, remember that building a quality children's program is hard work. There will be many days of struggle ahead! It will be largely discouraging before it becomes even remotely thrilling. There will be many nights when you will leave wondering why you are even bothering to attempt the task. However, if you have passion for the work, tomorrow will always be another day, one filled with promise, expectation and potentially even joy!
​

---