There are Infinite Choir Pies!

In May 2022 at Choral Canada’s national conference, Podium, I had breakfast with a wonderful group of conductors from across Canada who conduct women’s choirs.

As we went around the table introducing ourselves and our choirs, I was the first to make the distinction that I don’t conduct a women’s choir. The choir for sopranos and altos that I founded in 2019 is called Winnipeg Upper Voices. It was a very intentional choice to not call this group a ‘women’s choir,’ because it is explicitly not just for women. The choir welcomes all people who sing in the soprano/alto range, regardless of their gender identity.

As I expected, this brought up quite a lot of conversation in the group about the language that we use, and why/why not some choirs are having conversations about their names, their mission, and their members. It was interesting to hear all the different viewpoints, and how each group has approached the subject, or if they had ever considered it.

Sometimes when this kind of conversation comes up, there can be defensiveness: “Women’s choirs are important places for connection and community and sisterhood. How can we just throw that away?”

I believe this kind of thinking is fairly narrowminded. As the title of this post states, there are infinite choir pies available in the world. There is space - and need - for all kinds of choirs.

There is absolutely a place for the kind of community that women’s choirs, or men’s choirs, create and provide. But by their nature, they are exclusive. If someone doesn’t fit the expected gender to join, then they won’t have a choir to sing in.

New ensembles, like my Winnipeg Upper Voices, aren’t trying to do away with women’s or men’s choirs that are thriving and are important communities. Instead, we want to expand the choir world so that we make space for all singers who are looking for the wonderful community that singing together provides.

If starting a women’s choir or a men’s choir is your calling, and what your community needs, then please start that choir! If your community needs a choir that defines itself in other ways, then please make that happen!

We can always have more pie, and we can always have more choir.

Why does it matter what words I use?

We started a new piece with my community choir this month, and the edition we’re using has certain entrances labelled “all women” or “all men,” when what is actually intended (and shown by the staves/clefs) is “all sopranos and altos” or “all tenors and basses.”

I took a moment in the first rehearsal to clarify that wherever it says “all women,” I would like all sopranos and altos to sing, and that where it says “all men,” it should be all tenors and basses.

“But Katy,” I hear you say, “they mean the same thing! And isn’t it just faster to say ‘men’ instead of ‘tenors and basses’?”

And to that I reply, “They don’t mean the same thing. And if taking the time to say 5 syllables of ‘tenors and basses’ bothers you, perhaps you need to look at your rehearsal time management...”

But seriously: the language you use in rehearsal, matters. The language we put on our published scores, matters.

What do I mean when I say that they aren’t the same? Your voice on its own is inherently ungendered. A voice is just a voice, and the way it sounds has everything to do with your physiology and the shape of your vocal folds/larynx, and nothing to do with your gender.

Society has placed the signifiers on voices that ties the way they sound to particular genders, but we don’t have to go along with that. In fact, many people don’t. There are people in your choir who may have diverse genders, whose identity doesn’t ‘match’ what our society expects based on the way they look or the way their voice sounds.

And we, as conductors, may never know about them. We may look at our bass section and see “men,” or at our altos and see “women,” when in reality, there could be any number of gender identities present. Gender identity is extraordinarily personal and each person decides for themselves what their gender identity is. By lumping our sections by “men” and “women,” we remove the agency of our singers to decide their own identity.

Using the correct name of the sections you are referencing is just more accurate and precise, no matter how you look at it. There will never be confusion or hurt in asking all sopranos to sing, or all tenors. We strive to use precise and factual language elsewhere in our rehearsals for clarity, and it is no different when using the names of voice parts instead of genders.

It may seem insignificant, but even small things add up - for better or worse. And if we want our choirs to be safe, inclusive places, then we must shift our language to match.

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For a more in-depth (but still approachable) look at the role that language plays in choir, especially as it relates to gender, read this blog post on Chorus Connections: Understanding the Linguistic Nuances of Gender Identity in the Choral Ensemble by Melanie Stapleton.

What do we wear?

A question was recently asked on Facebook about how to word choir dress codes to be inclusive of all choir members, regardless of gender. The question-asker indicated that there are some non-binary and/or transgender singers in the ensemble, which has prompted a re-consideration of the policies.

Changing something that is historically very gendered into something more neutral is a great shift towards being actively inclusive. Because even if you aren’t aware of gender-diverse folks in your organization, it’s highly likely that they are there! And so, making these changes will only benefit everyone in your ensemble.

But first, some tough love: This work should only be done if you are truly ready to be accepting of everyone, and have done the self-reflection beforehand.

For example, if someone you assumed to be a man, because they sing in your bass section and have never corrected your assumption, showed up in a more typically feminine outfit, how would you feel? Be honest with yourself here. Would it be a ‘big deal’? Would you be supportive? Would you be concerned about the reaction of your audience? Would you be worried about the ‘image’ of the choir? Would you know how to handle it if someone commented negatively about it to you?

In addition to preparing yourself, you must also prepare the choir. Include language in the dress code that explicitly states its inclusivity, and have a conversation about it to ensure that everyone understands, accepts, and upholds that the choir is a safe place for people of all genders – and gender expressions.

All that being said, here is something you could put in your policy that is explicitly inclusive. Please feel free to copy and paste, if it is helpful for you!

This dress code is not tied to voice parts, and all gender expressions are welcome. I want you to be comfortable in your performance outfit so that you can focus on singing your best.

And then list the guidelines, keeping the focus on the pieces of clothing, rather than the person who might wear it. Again, here is a hypothetical dress code that you can adapt to your situation.

All clothing should be clean, pressed, and semi-formal black. Ensure you can sing, take a full bow, and stand comfortably for the whole concert.

Tops: sleeves at least 3/4 length. Bottoms: floor length pants/dress/skirt, and not leggings. Jackets/blazers: optional, but welcome. Jewellery/ties/bowties: optional, but welcome. Shoes/socks/tights/belt must be black.

This does bring up a whole other argument of whether we need overly prescriptive dress codes for choir. In my example above, I could potentially stop after the first two sentences. But that is for another day.

In the end, just as with other examples of outward inclusivity, the changes should be done without major fanfare and without being overly notable. For many people, the shift in language in your dress code won’t change a thing for them — they will wear what they have always worn.

But for some members, and for new people coming into the choir, it might mean they (finally) feel safe to wear something more comfortable and more aligned with who they are – and that is immeasurably good.

Rethinking "Blend"

A rarely talked about facet of inclusiveness in choir is: blend.

In the European/British classical choral tradition, conductors work hard to ensure that there is a perfect blend, to smooth out all the voices and make it sound as though they are one. But at what cost? By implying that everyone needs to sound the same, what do we lose?

If we want to be truly inclusive in choir, we should be asking for our singers to sing with their full, true voice.

This is a bit of a radical idea to me, because “of course choir is an inclusive place!” But how can it be if, even after we do all the right things to welcome someone as they are, we still ask them to modify an integral part of themselves - their voice - to fit an outdated aesthetic.

Now, I’m not suggesting that we don’t strive for a unified sound. But I believe there are ways to achieve this and still honour every unique voice.

Voice matching. This is going to have to be a whole entry on its own, but the magic of voice matching within a choir cannot be understated. Sonically, some voices fit well together, and some fight with each other. By taking the time to find the right combination and order of voices in a seating plan, we are making the choir fit the singers instead of the other way around. Voice matching allows us to find a place for every voice, based on each person’s unique sound. Once they are in the right place, they can sing more freely, and the choir sounds better - it hasn’t failed me yet!

Repertoire. Just like voice matching, choose pieces that fit the singers instead of the other way around. Listen to the voices that are in the choir, and make the music work for them.

Vowels. A unified sound is as much about vowel shape (and diction, generally) as it is anything else. There is an important distinction between asking someone to modify their vowel (i.e. articulators and resonance), and asking someone to modify their voice (i.e. “sing with straight tone”). A choir with unified vowels will have a more unified sound.

Listening. One of my favourite phrases about listening in choir is: “Sing into each other’s sound.” In other words, listen to the people beside and around, and hear how your voices can fit together. Importantly, this isn’t about merging. It is about singing with awareness towards a common goal.

Once we banish the word “blend” from rehearsals, and choir members see, feel, and hear that their unique and authentic voice is welcome and encouraged in choir, only then can we say that the choir is truly inclusive.

I am grateful to Knox Sutterfield, a New York City-based conductor and singer with the Inspire: A Choir for Unity organization, for bringing this idea to me and giving me something to think about.

Outward Inclusivity

Choir is often seen as a safe place for people to be themselves and explore their identities, especially for high school students or young adults. So how do we, as conductors, guarantee that for them?

Right now there is a wonderful shift in the choral community towards gender inclusivity.

For example, we can be accurate in rehearsal and stop saying “men” or “women” when we really mean “basses” or “sopranos”. We can revamp dress codes to give a range of options/guidelines, without tying it to gender or voice parts. We can talk about policies with boards and choir members. We can wear nametags with our pronouns.

These are all wonderful and necessary changes that every choir and conductor should make. But they are internal, and we can do even better.

We need to make sure that a potential member sees that choir is a safe place and that they will be welcome before they even join.

Some ideas of what this outward inclusivity looks like:

1. Using inclusive/accurate language in the name of the choir: Upper Voices, Lower Voices, Bass Clef Choir, Trebles.

2. Updating forms and information gathering tools to include a spot for people to put their pronouns, so that from their very first interaction with the choir, we respect who they are.

3. Being explicitly inclusive in the description of the choir. For example, one of the first things someone reads about my ensemble Winnipeg Upper Voices is: “We welcome women, men, trans, and non-binary singers.”

4. Using inclusive language at concerts and in programs. This could be by swapping out “ladies and gentlemen” for “everyone” in introductory remarks: “Welcome, everyone, to the big show!” Artist biographies in the program can include pronouns: “Katy Harmer (she/her) is the conductor.”

These changes should be made without fanfare and without it being a big deal. But they will be noticed by the people who need to see them the most.

Being more inclusive benefits everyone, and ensures that our choirs actually are the safe places we strive for them to be.