Thanks to those who responded to this thread. Below are the responses I
received to my request.
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From Jeffe Huls:
1. Because it is life-affirming
2. It tickles your brain
3. I teaching individual strength amongst teamwork
4. It makes you feel good
5. Colleges look favorably upon a sustained commitment to the arts
6. Choir gets to travel, field trips, miss school
7. Choir creates a sense of family on a very large campus
8. It is not judgmental and everyone is welcome
9. Learn a new skill, learn how to read music etc.
10. Be part of a long standing tradition
11. Learn about history, perform music that is hundreds of years old
12. Make new friends.
13. Improve your self esteem
14. learn goal setting and achievement
15. Take a risk, live on the edge, join choir!!
16. Girls love boys who can sing
17. Girls love boys who wear tuxedos on a regular basis

From Ann Nichols:
10:your mother wants you to sing in the high school choir
9:it's the only way to get out of algebra this semester
8:your best friend sings in the high school choir
7:you like the concert costumes
6: you want to sing and dance at the same time
5 :you want to memorize songs
4: you want to learn to sight-sing
3:you want to sing in harmony
2: you already sing in church choir
and the #1 reason is:
you can hear and match pitch with your voice, you know rhythm, you love
to sing, and you know how to listen and follow directions

From Charles Claiborne:
1. Choirs are singleton classes. If you and your friend want to be in a
class together, and you both sign up for women's choir, the odds are
good that you will be in the same class.

2. Choir is a chance to do something different during the school day.
It will be a break from sitting in a desk and taking notes.

3. There is often an opportunity to travel ( and miss class).

4. You will have an opportunity to sing music that you enjoy and have
some fun. (that is if the director picks the music with care)

If you try to appeal to students by trying to explain the incredible
aesthetic experience they will have if they take choir, you will
probably not get too far.

From Lynne Kearney:
I just gave my high schoolers a mid-term with a questionnaire at the
end. The questions were:
1. What kind of music do you think we should learn as a high school
chorus and why should we sing this particular kind of music. Name a
particular song or style you would like us to sing.
2. What do you think is the purpose of a high school chorus?
3. Why did you join chorus this year? I feel this ties in with your
question. Here are some of the responses to this question:
To sing, pure and simply. Also to get better as a musician.
I like to sing. 14 students responded with this one.
I like to sing and I knew it would be fun.
Because I missed it. I started in 6th grade, went through 7th then quit
in 8th. I missed singing with my friends.
My Mom and Grandma said I should because I always sing, but I have a
fear of singing in front of people by myself and I wanted to learn how
to sing better.
To get better at singing. --3 responses
To sing because I love to sing. It is my passion.
I joined because I love to sing. I didn't join because I sing well. (She
does have pitch problems we're working on.)
I had been singing since fifth grade and had always enjoyed music and
want it to be a part of my life forever.
I thought it would be fun and I like music.
I wanted a chance to sing every day.
Beause I love to sing and I love to get experience singing and I want to
work on my voice.
I joined chorus because I love to sing and I have been in chorus since
4th grade and school wouldn't be the same without it. --3 responses
I enjoy being in chorus.
I joined chorus because I love music and singing. --3 responses

From James Dearing:
1. Students want to belong. They need to feel wanted and to be a part
of something, somewhere where they can have positive human interaction.
A choir gives them something to belong to. A director is foolish to
ignore important social needs an ensemble supplies.
2. Students want to be a part of something good. A positive
experience in ensemble singing provides a sense of self-confidence and
success.
3. People need experiences in which they can express their emotions,
find a sense of mission, a sense of accomplishment or fulfillment.
Through the choir, students find a vehicle for their humanity and
spirituality, creating works of art and giving them a sense of meaning
through text and musical elements in performance. They rarely find this
in other places in the academic world.
4. Students are affected by the passion and enthusiasm of a leader
or director. Love for the art and enthusiasm for performance infects
and moves the student. It assists them in finding meaning in what the
choir does.
They become more involved in the music and it binds us all together in
human and spiritual realms.
5. Students want a sense of ownership in the choir. Students want
to be trusted, believed in, and given responsibility for excellence.
They know that only by their efforts will the choir succeed and through
their diligence will the choir excel. A director must promise them all
he or she has--all knowledge, talent, and skills--but ask of them a
sense of personal duty to the quality of the choir's success. They know
they will be as good as they want to be.
6. Students want the loyalty of the director and in turn give their
loyalty. They need to be confident that a director is dedicated to
them, works for them and with them, and loves them deeply. Students are
forgiving of faults, but only if a director is honest and human. Having
a servant attitude causes them to respond in kind.
7. Through these things they develop an enthusiasm for the ensemble.

The most effective means of building a choir is by the positive attitude
of its members. The students themselves are the greatest recruiters.
Students stay in the choir longer, try harder to work out their
schedules to remain in the choir, and create a positive image of the
choir to their peers on campus and prospective students with whom they
are in contact. Singers are proud of what they do and desire to bring
others to share this experience.



Jessica E. Lardin
Director of Choral Studies
Westfield High School
Fairfax County Public Schools
703-488-6431 (phone) 703-488-6397 (fax)
Jessica.Lardin(a)fcps.edu
http://www.westfieldhschoral.org