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Feed the hungry, care for the poor, spread the good news of Jesus—these are the commandments Christians live by.
Nowhere do the Gospels mention teaching sight-reading and music theory to ten-yearolds. Yet the Church has historically been the center of the music education universe: Charlemagne founded the first choir school in the cathedral at Aachen in the seventh century.
So what’s the connection? Rob Ridgell, director of the Trinity Wall Street Choristers program, sums it up this way. “Choirs bring to the world a renewal of beauty. For me, beauty is a sacrament, just like communion. Dostoevsky wrote that beauty will redeem the world. That is what I hope the choristers will do for the rest of their lives: find beauty and create beauty.”
Music ministry offers congregations a chance to create a vibrant local community and impact its culture. “When it comes to singing, we are facing crises,” Ridgell emphasizes. “With low funding of the arts in our national education system to the music industry’s monopoly on what we listen to and rarely participate in, community must come together and make music together.” Here are his seven tips for starting a children’s music ministry.
1. Do Your Homework.
Study the history of music education in cathedrals and churches; from the founding of the Aachen Choir School to the present-day fulltime choir schools in New York, Salt Lake City, St. Paul, and Omaha. Churches have been the mainstay of culture and art across history, a function many no longer perform. “I think that in many ways we as a church have failed to address the musical and liturgical needs that we share,” Ridgell says. A peek into history — and a listen to the great works created by church musicians — can put the need for a vital music ministry into perspective.
2. Howdy, Neighbors.
Meet your neighbors — schools, temples, churches, YMCA/YWCA, civic organizations, etc. Research the market for music and the arts in your area. Are there choral programs in the public and private schools? If there are, make friends with the music and band teachers.
After researching music education in the neighborhood, you may decide to create a secular program that reaches out to children of all backgrounds. Ridgell points out that this kind of program can make a noticeable difference in parish life, too. “The neighbors that were not attending are now coming to hear their child sing, either for a church service or as a part of the larger community. It’s affecting parish life — the knowledge, the energy that they bring, is something we didn’t have before.”
Singing in a children’s choir, even a secular choir, has spiritual repercussions. The Trinity Wall Street Choristers sing both sacred and secular music, though they don’t always think of songs as one or the other. “Take Yellow Submarine, Ridgell explains. “We all live in a yellow submarine. It speaks of a wonderful way that we’re living here in the world.”
3. Get the Word Out. There’s one constant in starting a music ministry: get out in the community. Ridgell explains it this way, “We have to get up off the organ bench and walk the streets and meet people. If you’re going to be a good neighbor you have to go knock on your neighbor’s door sometimes and say hello. You really have to go work the crowds. People are starving for that one-on-one interaction, to have a place where their child is comforted and made whole through music. That’s the way we build community. That’s really our mission.”
Use “freebie” listings in local papers. Mail a stack of flyers to the school music teacher orput a flyer in the local coffee shop. Offer an “open house” to meet with parents and youth. People need to know who you are and what you can offer the community. Don’t forget to gather information like e-mail addresses and get photo releases for those who sign up.
4. Look to the Future.
“Children’s choir” might bring to mind a row of fidgeting kids plowing through an off-key rendition of This Little Light of Mine. But truly successful chorister programs are musically rigorous, adhering to a curriculum and essentially training the next generation of organists, music ministers, and secular musicians. The focus on quarter notes and half steps is a way into the deeper, transformative work that a children’s choir can do.
“In the long term, I see that music is helping their brains develop... it’s fostering a safe place in which they can develop character,” Ridgell explains.
5. Your New Best Friends.
Communicate effectively, and build relationships with parents. E-mail or write often and keep them informed of all rehearsals and performances. Remember that being a parent requires a lot of schedule and transportation coordination.
One approach is a “little league” model, with several satellite choirs in different neighborhoods, all of which feed into the main choir. “It’s economical and convenient for the families,” Ridgell points out. “I think we all grew up in the old times, where you open the church doors and everyone is supposed to come in, and that’s not always the case. You really have to go work the crowds.”
6. More than the Music.
Musicians play a pastoral role in children’s choirs, something that introverted organbench types may be slow to understand. A positive attitude, a caring, considerate heart, and a love of music will be noticed by others and given back twofold.
“A musician has a pastoral responsibility,” Ridgell says. “Being in touch with the choristers, always being there if they need something, is part of the job. That builds community as well because there is a trusted relationship. If I’m a bridge to something more sacred, or to a religion or a faith tradition, great, I can act as that bridge.”
7. Use What You've Got.
Chorister programs are just one option a parish should consider. The arts are increasingly left out of public school curriculums, and churches often have resources — space and volunteers — to take up the slack. Music is a natural choice because many churches have musicians on staff, but almost any art can form the backbone of a successful community program. “Look at handbell choirs, theater, dance, visual arts,” Ridgell suggests, “anything that your congregation has the skills for and can make a big commitment to.
“For the Church as a whole, it reminds me of the vision of the New Jerusalem, what it will be like with angels singing. It happens in the twinkling of an eye, and it will catch you and transport you somewhere else. It’s a mystery. Maybe that’s why I work for a church — there are a lot of mysteries in the Church. All I know is that I can help lead folks musically, and it brings me joy because I see that the beauty they’re creating is redeeming the world.”
Leah Reddy is editorial assistant for Trinity News.
Soundtrack: Robert Ridgell, Peace is Every Step (adapted from the poetry of Thich Nhat Hahn)
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