CUEnotes
YouthCUE's blog on topics of youth choir ministry, leadership and professional well-being
“Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten” David Ogden Stiers
During our retreat, I break my choir into “families” and we use these families throughout the choir year. I explain to the singers that they will join a choir family and how much fun it will be having choir brothers and sisters. Before we break into...
Behind Every Great Director. . . .is someone who is doing a LOT of work!
One day my 4 year old neice asked her mom, "Is Uncle Randy married?" My sister-in-law told her daughter, “Uncle Randy has always been single, he doesn’t have a wife” My niece looked confused as she formed her thoughts and asked, “Then, who does all of his work?”...
“Kindness is for all times in all situations not just when it suits you.” Audray Landrum
Finding-Common-Bonds.pdf Importance and goals of a choir retreat; “How to” on planning your retreat; The different levels in building community: Level 1 – getting to know you Level 2 - in-depth discover exercise Level 3 – goal setting/commitment...
Marketing in the Short Run and the Long Haul
A couple of you asked about the effectiveness of the advertising and choir promotion programs that we have done and I wanted to take a chance to respond. But before I do, let me explain the picture that is above the article and chase a rabbit about spontaneous...
It’s all about relationships.
Relationships can be difficult to nurture and nourish if we only see students on Sunday mornings, afternoons, or Wednesday evenings. We, as directors/ministers, have to make time during the week to invest in relationships with students and ministry volunteers....
“NO ACT OF KINDNESS, HOWEVER SMALL, IS EVER WASTED.” Aesop
towards a level of trust within that community. When placing students into small groups for Level 2 group building, I am more purposeful in choosing who belongs in each group. I call them family groups and use those small family groups when participating...
The Baylor Festival at 10 – always something special!
It happens the last full weekend of February every year, or at least it has since 2006. Anywhere from 12 to 24 youth choirs gather from across Texas - sometimes from as far removed as California, Kansas, Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi - to combine...
So, is it Either/Or or is it Both/And?
So, if your church is like Tallowood, we offer worship services in Traditional, with choirs, orchestra, and pipe organ AND we offer worship services in Contemporary, with guitars, bass, keys, and vocals. What should the Youth Choir Director do in that situation?...
Warm-ups
One of the most important but often overlooked aspects of the rehearsal is the vocal warm-up period. Much like physical training, warm-ups are crucial to establishing the overall tone of the rest of the rehearsal - no pun intended. While many directors fear that...
“If you can laugh together, you can work together” Robert Orben
activities get your singers moving around and interacting with each other. Please join in the fun or if you decide only to observe, make sure you are on camera duty. (Posting pictures from the retreat in your rehearsal room and on your web site/social...
