Upbuilding the Evangelistic Choir

The song leader who endeavors to carry on without the aid of a choir, when the material for one is available, is working under a great handicap. He is missing a golden opportunity to tie many members of the local church to the evan­gelistic campaign, and above all he is passing up an important feature that helps to hold the crowds. It means extra work and additional problems, but the results and help obtained from a good choir far outweigh the extra effort involved.

The evangelistic choir is essentially different. from the regular church choir in a number of re­spects. There is a definite place in the choir for the backslider who loves to sing, for he is often caught in the gospel net before the effort is over. Encourage the relatives of church members who are not Adventists to join. After the first few meetings members of the audience should be en­couraged to join. This invitation can be given by the song leader during the song service and should also be kept in mind by the Bible instructors in their visiting. Bible instructors usually find that it is easier to work with a person who has a defi­nite interest in the meetings by this means.

There is, of course, the eternal problem of what to do with people who think they can sing, but unfortunately cannot. Make such persons feel as much at home as possible, being careful, however, that their number does not become too large in any one section of the voices. Caution them very frankly not to sing too loud and to put forth a real effort to blend with the other voices. They will follow this instruction faithfully, and as a rule they are most faithful and punctual in attendance. There may be times when the weather is bad, or we get caught in an epidemic of colds, and then we are grateful for the faithfulness of these peo­ple who help swell the numbers on "off nights."

Do not become discouraged if not all the singers do rally to your first rehearsal. The best way to get a choir to grow is by personal work and through the efforts of enthusiastic choir members. Endeavor to get started with rehearsals several weeks before the opening night of the effort. Dur­ing these weeks keep adding members constantly. Be enthusiastic and persevere.

When the choir is organized, or when a new member joins, have each one write his name, address, and phone number on a card, also what part he sings, and whether or not he reads notes. Those who do not read notes may be asked to see the di­rector personally, so that they can be counseled as to what part they should try to sing. If there are too many in the choir who do not read notes, some may have to be asked to wait until a vacancy occurs.

It is very helpful to keep in contact with mem­bers through the mails. We have found it ef­fective to send reminders to members who have missed a rehearsal or meeting. This mailing plan is also valuable for special announcements regard­ing any change of plans that are made or to give advance notice of a special number the choir will have to get ready in a hurry and sing "this Sunday night." Choir members appreciate this special contact. It makes them feel that they are really needed. A gelatin duplicator is useful for this purpose, and not much time needs to be consumed in its use. Penny post cards are handy.

Choir socials are helpful in keeping the choir together. These should not be conducted as mere fun parties. Naturally with an effort in progress, such gatherings will be few and far between. If the program is planned carefully, the choir will be glad to take part in a good, solid rehearsal in the middle of the social evening. In fact, these socials can be planned as musical evenings, giving ama­teurs an opportunity to sing specials and so learn to overcome their stage fright, while receiving friendly coaching. The music appreciation of members can be improved at such times if it can be arranged to have some good recordings played.

We usually had the men wear dark suits, and the women, white dresses or uniforms, with a spe­cial white cape that reached to the finger tips. A touch of black on the white cape is effective. In our last effort in Windsor, Ontario, Canada, Evan­gelist J. A. Buckwalter used the name, "The Voice of Victory" ; so we called ourselves the Victory Choir. A "V" design was hung from the shoul­ders, as shown in the accompanying picture. Other touches of black, such as a large bow, can be used. The women wore their regular hose and black or brown shoes. Although in the past we have en­deavored to get the ladies to wear skirts of a cer­tain length, and to keep their feet in a uniform po­sition when seated, we believe that it would be best to have a screen made, two feet or higher, to place in front of the choir. This screen would eliminate a source of concern.

The choir should be made to feel that they are a very important part of the evangelistic company. Impress on their minds that their presence is just as important as that of the evangelist or song leader.

Occasionally use the choir to introduce a new chorus, or call on some member to sing a stanza of a song. "Sweeter as the Years Go By," is par­ticularly effective when sung by women's voices. A good soprano in the choir can be called on, more or less impromptu, during the song service, to sing the second stanza, with the women of the choir and the, audience joining in the chorus.

Whatever name we use for our choir, we im­press upon the members that we are a "praying choir." Our work is not finished when the song service and specials are over. During the entire service we must be wide awake and listening at­tentively to the evangelist, offering up individual, silent prayers at intervals throughout the service, particularly when we feel that the evangelist has reached a crucial point in the service. Admoni­tion of this nature, of course, has to be given tact­fully with non-Adventists in the choir. Yet it is surprising how these persons will join in the spirit of things and will sometimes make helpful suggestions. We remember one such member who was always sure to remind us after the meeting if we forgot to take a collection from the choir. He gave a dollar bill every Sunday night.

With a group of consecrated, enthusiastic sing­ers, and with much patience and prayer mixed with practice, a choir can be developed that will be a credit to the meetings. The longer you work together, the more improvement you will see. The choir always adds prestige to the meetings. The audience feels that an organization that can af­ford to "support" a choir must really have some­thing behind it. And, of course, the average per­son always enjoys a good selection by a group of mixed voices.