[Choir] Important re Choir

[Bethany Reeves]

Dear Choir,

I am sorry to send yet another email, but it's looking necessary.

If you are a veteran member you can skip this one. 

If you're new:  I am already getting emails along the lines of "can't 
come to rehearsal because I have to study" or even just "sorry, can't 
come tonight," with no further explanation. 

The second of those is simply unacceptable. Choir is not and cannot be 
completely inflexible, but neither can we have people just 
disappearing. Anyone who has ever been left to manage their part in a 
decimated section because of absenteeism understands why.

As to the study issue, I am pasting in my reply to someone who wrote 
about this:

"Well, here's the deal. Studying for exams cannot be a reason to miss 
Choir. If it becomes one, there will be a lot of people missing every 
rehearsal, and there won't be much of an ensemble. Ensembles need 
rehearsal, and that means people must be present. It's difficult enough 
already with the night course conflicts and the inevitable illnesses 
that go around campus.

Being part of a musical group of any kind, or in a show, or on a sports 
team, means one has to manage studying around those commitments. If 
it's going to be necessary for you to skip choir when you have tests, 
it's not something you should take on. This is up to you and I 
certainly don't have any judgments about it - as long as you do decide 
this week. This is, indeed, the 'commit or don't commit' week for fall 
semester Choir.

If you feel you really should focus on your studies this fall, you are 
very welcome to come back and join in the spring. :-) 

Best,
BR"

Please note that I'm not slamming the particular people involved here. 
Education as to what it is to be in an ensemble is an ongoing project 
with the Choir and other groups.

I should further note here that I myself am having to miss a couple 
rehearsals this semester because of exams. However, that is not in 
order to study. Rather, it is because I get home very late from Choir 
(I do not live nearby), and must be out the door by 5 a.m. on Friday 
mornings to get to my test site for 9am-4pm tests. If you must start a 
commute at the crack of dawn for a day-long exam, let me know and you 
are cleared. ;-)

BR

-------------------------------------
Bethany Reeves
Artist in Residence for Voice & Choir
Lecturer in Music, College of Arts & 
Letters
Stevens Institute of Technology
breeves at stevens.edu