Priorities

Clearly in times of financial strain, choices have to be made. I just want to emphasize that when decisions are made, we should put our children first. The Children's Choir and Youth Choir should not be cut at all.
If the adult choir has to take a hit, I can live with that, reluctantly.
We also have an obligation to be a good employer. Cutting the custodian's hours doesn't strike me as a good plan both for our building or our collective role as a boss.

Lend a hand with May music program!

Dear Friends:
We wish you well and hope that you are taking in the signs of Spring stirring; the peep frogs emerging from the marshes, the red maple buds swelling in the sunlight, the deep green of the turning waters in the ponds... the signs are all about.

As some of you know, our choir is planning a special musical event on for the weekend of Saturday, May 3rd & Sunday, May 4th when they will perform Missa Gia written by Paul Winters. The Saturday evening program will be open to the general public and will begin at 7 PM.

The Green Sanctuary has been asked to help purchase, prepare and serve a simple meal to the ~ 50 musicians and vocalists who will put on this program. Our Green Sanctuary Steering Committee has endorsed this activity and we are reaching out to you as faithful supporters to help with this effort. We were thinking that a simple vegetarian fare using locally grown and produced ingredients to the extent possible would be appropriate. We will be finalizing the menu in the next 2 weeks and welcome your ideas and offerings for home made items like breads, desserts and possibly main courses if you have some ideas. We could consider a simple fare of soup and sandwiches and other dishes as well. We will serve around 6:15 PM and clean up afterwards.

Please let me know if you would care to help out with this event by:
1) donating some baked good, menu item (once finalized) or your own special dish;
2) helping with the set up and serving or the clean-up afterwards; or
3) making a financial donation to help defray some of the costs.
Any contribution of labor or food or funds would be a gift.

Thanks for your consideration, I look forward to hearing from you.
Peace, Paul Popinchalk

Youth Choir director speaks out

Youth Choir Director Louise Fauteux had this to say to the Policy Board yesterday:

It isn’t just about “music!” Offering an educational program to children and then taking it away when it has been successful is undermining the sense of security and trust that children feel in this church.

Reasons not to cut our current successful choirs for children:

-- Choirs need years to develop and perform successfully. There’s no such thing as a temporary removal of choir : it would be akin to taking a large eraser and erasing years of hard work, dedication, recruitment, and the development of many practical skills for children. That hard work is not done just by the choir director, but by children, parents, volunteers, religious educators, and staff.

--Choirs meet the need of talented children who can’t afford to join summer programs, take private lessons, or do festivals. Kids find a safe place to feel accepted in choir. For Some kids who have a special relationship with music, the choir experience resonates with them more strongly than other areas in church life.

-- Church is usually a more loving environment than school, and choir at church brings kids together and creates friendships across grade levels.

-- I can’t tell you how many times I am approached by our senior members and told that the work done by children in choirs here matters to them and is greatly appreciated. I would surmise you would lose membership if music took a nosedive in quality and the children’s choirs disappeared. Your website shows a vibrant community with healthy music offerings. I would expect to see that wilt without strong professional leadership.

-- Youth choirs are a feeder program for adult choirs, teen select choirs in our schools, for the UU Players musical, for Christmas Pagaent, and for a life long relationship with music and the arts. Presenting your contribution in front of an audience (akin to public speaking) is practiced in a safe environment. Children build confidence in themselves to try, and you can’t underestimate the lifelong influence of that.

-- Skills from working in a musical ensemble include responsibility, cooperation, and the very tangible evidence of what can be produced by hard work as a team.

-- The experience of singing for service tells kids that they are respected, they have a voice in this church, and their contributions matter. Do you mean to tell them otherwise?

Two of the children in the Youth Choir have spoken out directly. Here's what they had to say:

Gabriela Smith-Rosario
Kiernan Majerus-Collins

Music is not a luxury

My name is Gabriela Smith-Rosario. I am in the Youth Choir. I strongly believe that removing a music program as fine as ours would be almost the equivalent of taking a child away from a family. The Youth Choir is one big family. Although we have our differences, we all share a love for music and singing.

I feel that Youth Choir is a place where older kids can express themselves through music. This program gives kids a chance to sing in other languages, perform for elderly people, and show their talent for singing. Every time I walk into that room I feel like I'm at home. I feel relaxed and comfortable.

At my school, the music programs aren't as exciting or enjoyable. We don't have the pleasure of singing for elderly people, and the only way I can sing there is trying out. We don't have any freedom at those programs. Youth Choir is the only place where I can sing without having to audition. I also get to work with Louise, a teacher that I like and have had for almost three years.

Getting rid of this program would make multiple kids upset and depressed. The only people I can think of who would understand how difficult it would be on us children would be Louise Fateux, Cheryl Wadsworth, and Stacey Tinker, who are all leaders of at least one music group.

At my old church, I had a volunteer choir director. She was very nice, but I didn't learn much regarding music from her. I think that having a person like that directing the Youth Choir would cause us to be as bad singers as we were when we started in the Children's Choir. I don't want our choir to lose the musical education that we get from Louise.

I wonder why this church would give away a portion of the offering when it can't even afford to pay people who work here. I know that pledges play a large role in helping this church, but did you ever consider giving less of your offering away when you need it, too? I think that pledges are a good way to bring money to this church, but you should also save up money from the offering. Also, this would put less stress on people who are unable to afford increasing their pledges.

I wrote this letter because I was not given permission to speak at the budget meeting at the church today. I was upset that the childrens' voices are being ignored although we are the future leaders of this church, and we are the ones most affected by the removal of our teachers.

Musical education is not a luxury. It lets our souls run free.

Sincerely,

Gabriela Smith-Rosario

"Choir made me feel like a part of this church"

I hope that some of the other people who spoke at the budget meetings today will send in something about what they had to say. It would be nice for everyone who couldn't be there.
Here is what Kiernan Majerus-Collins, a Youth Choir member, had to say during the 10 a.m. session:

"I am a four-year member of the Youth Choir and was a member of the Children's Choir before that. The choir director I have had has been outstanding. Miss Louise has been unbelievable. Choir is fun, and we sing different songs so everyone can learn different music.
"But my favorite part of the choir is the Christmas pageant. The excitement is unreal. Up in the choir loft, on Christmas Eve, singing songs you know and love is the best feeling a kid could have. A Christmas pageant without the choirs is like a raisin without wrinkles, Bert without Ernie, a world without hope.
"I was able to be a part of something special last year. The Phoenix Choir had three boys - Sam, Wesley and me. Three middle school boys coming to church on a weeknight to sing? Absurd. I know how it feels to lose a choir. But this was a three-member, first-year choir.
"The choirs we speak of today? Many countless years with 35 or more children participating this year. Let's not kid ourselves. Music is the stone on which this church is set. Pulling that out would topple the church. People would leave in flocks.
"Choir has made me feel like a part of the church. Sunday school didn't do that. Sermons didn't do that. Music did that."

Turn out for Sunday's meetings!

After both services Sunday, there will be meetings in the sanctuary at which the Policy Board plans to explain its position on proposed cuts to the music program and more. I trust there will also be a chance for people to speak up on the issue as well.
Child care is supposed to be available at least for the noon session. I'm not sure about the earlier one.
Try to come to at least one of the meetings and make your support for our music programs clear.

Silent Sunday?

From Patrice Fitzgerald, a section leader for the Hartford meeting house choir:

I am saddened to hear of the financial difficulties at the Universalist Church which make it necessary to discuss the elimination of any part of your first-rate music program. As you can imagine, I am a firm believer in the importance, and even necessity, of music to an effective worship service.

As a section leader, I am also aware of the skills which are brought by professionals to a choir. I am currently pursuing a graduate degree at Hartt, which requires a personal expenditure of time and money, in order to improve my ability to contribute to the Meeting House choir. Frankly, it's not that easy to do what we do. To be able to read music, produce a convincing accent in varied languages, guide and support a section, follow the conducting of the director accurately, and show up every Sunday morning in good voice, is somewhat akin to being an athlete. It's a lot harder than it looks. And it takes years to achieve. You can find volunteers to lead your choir, and to lead the sections. Typically, they won't be as good.
There is a reason that people get paid for highly developed skills.

I have a suggestion: try a "Silent Sunday." Have your usual service, without the music. See whether folks notice. See whether they feel that what is missing is critical to their worship experience.

I think they will discover that it is pretty empty without the music.

Music director for Hartford Unitarians weighs in

Dear Friends at UCWH,

We at USH on Bloomfield Avenue are so saddened to read about your difficulties on Fern Street. They sound very familiar, as we've been in and out of similar financial difficulties over the years.

What is really distressing is the proposal to cut the music program in such profound ways.

It is quite true that all church programs have importance, and all are struggling to make do with less. However, if you look at churches of all sizes, some have one minister and some two; some live higher on the hog than others....but virtually all churches of every size have music programs that serve as the heartbeat of worship. Including children in a serious way in this music ministry provides far more than musical interludes in the services. It teaches our children deep lessons about making an offering of their gifts of music, honoring and respecting their talents, efforts and growing abilities, guided by all the adults involved - the congregation as supportive listeners, and their musical directors as shapers of their skills and attitudes, in music, in church, and in life.

Cheryl, Louise and others made important points in the blog. I hope the good people of UCWH will take these seriously as you grapple with difficult decisions. As a long-time music teacher and church music director (21 years at the Meeting House) I know how much effort it takes to build a program of quality -- and how quickly it can be dismantled for short-term fiscal crises. I hope a way can be found to get through these tough times without sacrificing such a central part of the life and work of your church.

With warm friendship and all my best wishes,

Mattie Banzhaf

Music Director, Unitarian Society of Hartford

New UU music guide lays out salaries, positions for a church our size

Oddly enough, it appears that even our existing music program isn't staffed to the level that the UU Church itself recommends. So how come we're looking at cutting it? Read the relevant book for yourself...

Music in Our Congregations: A Handbook for Staffing a Music Program in UU Congregations (last update in Feb. 2008)

Why the music matters

"As a minister, I hope people will leave remembering the sermon, but I know they might carry away a song and remember nothing I have said. That keeps me humble, but it also reminds me how important the music and the musicians are.
Finally, there are a few things to remember about the music. Although it may be really lively and even outrageous at times, it isn’t entertainment. It is there to bring us into a sacred time and place, to heal our wounds, to strengthen our resolve, to remind us of our values and to bring us joy." -- Reverend Dennis Hamilton, UUA

We need professionals

Louise Fauteux, the youth choir director, sent this over:

I am mortally offended by the Policy Board’s idea to use volunteers to run the choirs. Saying we will use volunteers is a handy method to try to say we will not lose those programs.

Our church does have some very talented musicians and one or two educationally qualified members to do this. I have often tried to point out that our membership has strong music skills which can be tapped. We save money in the choirs by asking them to accompany on various instruments when they can.

Many church members show they value the music outside of church. They sing in Concora, the Hartford Chorale, and other choirs, as well as various non-classical venues. They attend concerts, send their kids to summer music programs and pay for private music lessons. I see in this context that they are ready and willing to pay for the expertise of those professionals.

To have a volunteer lead music in church is not the same as relying on a trained professional. There are many skills involved in working with children generally. Professional choir directors know how to work with children’s voices and can focus on using music appropriate to their age. Someone who has the appropriate training and experience and is unlikely to volunteer for the extra work. Why not?

A volunteer might not want to come on Easter and Christmas. A volunteer might work for a short window of time when it is convenient to do so. (Too bad for the kids who work best with the security of a continuous leader.) As soon as it’s not too convenient, requires extra time and commitment, and begs for time outside of one hour of week to plan the development of the program over a long term, or becomes stressful in any way, a volunteer CAN and WILL walk away. And why shouldn’t they? THEIR TIME IS VALUABLE.

Another way to illustrate this point: Say we propose to use church volunteers whenever the building needs a little maintenance. After all, we have talented plumbers, architects, carpenters, and who knows what else among our membership. So when the toilet breaks down, one of us will come fix it. And I do think someone would. But maybe not continuously all year long.

It might be flooding over when that volunteer would rather go attend a family wedding or funeral…. Why should they come in to fix it when they are not being paid for their time? Don’t they have bills to pay like anyone else? Isn’t what they do considered valuable?

"Kids belong at home on Sunday mornings"

From choir member Mark Couzens:

"As a church member and bass in the choir, I have to say this is very good news. The kids belong at home on Sunday mornings, watching TV and experimenting with drugs. This will allow them to better adapt to their lives as complete Americans when necessary, as, for ex. when they are given the VOTE. Also: let's not get carried away with the whole music program thang: why else did god invent the CD player? Get real! Live music is very overrated, and so is a live congregation. We're all gonna die someday, isn't that what this is all about?? Why not make the sanctuary a place to celebrate our deaths in a less "viable" fashion. Too much stress is placed on making things sound right. What a waste of time. If the section leaders what to sing, let's make them pay us! Let them put their money where their voices and their egos are. Finally, let's have 3 services each Sunday. 2 isn't bankrupting us fast enough and 1 just gets too many ironic asides. Peace and love, Mark Couzens"

Seasons of Love

Here's another taste of what our young people bring to the services with their singing:

Happiness is singing in the choir

The joy of singing

Choir member Lee Townsend sent along her thoughts on the proposed cuts. Here's what she wrote:

I am a member of the choir and have been singing in choirs since 4th grade (1954). My experience in my childhood church choir from 4th to 11th grade has completely molded my adult experience in music and hence my adult life. The harmonies in most Episcopal hymns are glorious. I am folk musician. I harmonize by ear whenever possible.

That internal ability to hear the harmonic progression in traditional secular and old time gospel music is a direct result of singing alto as a 4th grader. I cannot impress upon you how much joy being able to enrich the music brings me. It is the ultimate spiritual experience for me. Music and technical work are my two passions. I could not live without ether. I continue to be members of musical groups. I harmonize at folk concerts. I have performed at folk festivals. I put on musical Sunday services with Ellen Greist, a UU from Hamden. All these activities are due to that inner sense of what music is and what it can bring. I have taken the ability to hear the forest and the trees to classical music where I am able to hear the harmonic progression in that music as well. I may not always hit the right note but it is almost certainly in the chord somewhere. As a result of this skill, I am able to sight read fairly well and contribute to the spiritual experience of the congregation as well as the choir in the worship service. When I was last in Dallas I made it a priority to contact my choir director to thank her for the lifelong joy her choir gave to me.

Please do not cut the youth and children's choirs. They are our future choir members. They will be better camp song leaders, choir directors, folk musicians, classical musicians as a result of feeling the music at a deep level as I have. Their music will bring them peace when needed. It will also bring joy, sadness, and almost every other emotion. They will be able to reach out to the community to join in song. The joy of singing will have developed in large part because of choir membership as young people.

If the music program is to be cut I would suggest cutting the section leaders to half time and having more lay musicians on Sunday mornings. Most of our sections have at least a second member strong enough to take the lead with an occasional boost from the section leaders. We have many extremely talented non-section leaders who could enrich the Sunday morning worship service appropriately.

Thanks for listening.

Lee Townsend