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Here’s a scenario for you:
It’s summer. Your choir is on hiatus for the summer. You don’t have enough cantors to cover all the Masses. Some singers would like to help out, but they’re not really capable of doing the psalm by themselves, or their voice is too low for the high notes, or they’re scared of “being alone up there,” or, or, or …
What to do?
Bunch ’em up.
“Where two or three have gathered” applies to singers, too. People (yes, singers are
people) will often do things in a small group of two or three that they won’t do all by themselves. You can think of it as a mini-choir, but don’t say that word to them; it can seem way too daunting.
Approach possible combinations together. “Jack and Teresa, I think you guys would sing well together and be supportive of each other. You both know the music for [date]—what about leading the music for that Mass together? Jack, you could sing the psalm response, and Teresa, I think you’d handle the verses easily.”
What happens is that since neither has to shoulder the whole burden of being cantor, they can work together effectively. Teresa might say, “Okay, I’m fine with the psalm verses—and I can also sing a little harmony on the communion song refrain.” They’ll start looking for ways to enhance the experience for the assembly, or you can suggest a variation here and there.
And when choir starts up again, guess who feels more confident and can contribute more to the ensemble sound!
All challenges are opportunities in disguise.
P.S. Thanks to Gregg for asking.
M.D.
Ridge
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