Choral Census

WE BELIEVE THAT THE ARTS ARE THE SOUL OF A COMMUNITY, AND THAT CHORAL MUSIC IS THE MOST ACCESSIBLE OF THE PERFORMING ARTS.

We often get approached for information about the number of choirs and singers in the province, and were brought to realise that it is far too many years since the last Choral Census was held in BC. We know already how much choral activity there is across the province; we believe that it has increased exponentially over the last twenty years, but we have no hard statistics to back that belief up.

Chorus America is the national organization in the States equivalent to our own provincial one - an organization focused on choruses and choral singers rather than on conductors (whose organization is the American Choral Directors Association), although the two organizations are mutually supportive. In 2002 Chorus America conducted a national survey through telephone polls, focus group interviews and the assembly of data from various sources. Some of their results come from statistical extrapolation from a random national poll, but they include:

• More people participate in choral singing than in any other performing art - 18% of households include singers.
• Many singers surveyed said they sang in more than one choir.
• Most singers also reported that they grew up with music in the home, and many had their first performing experience at school
• Singers tend to be active in their communities - three-quarters of them reported other volunteer activities.
• More than 60% of singers report charitable giving to other arts organizations, compared with 18.8% of households in an independent survey. Singers are also more generous in their giving to charities or political organizations.
• Singers are joiners in, and major consumers of, the arts - singers often report more than double the attendance levels of the general public at theatres, museums and concerts.
• Singers overwhelmingly report that choral participation improves their lives and their contributions to society in many ways.

Contacting our member choirs will be a big enough job, but we know there are many choirs across the province that are not part of the BCCF network. We're not trying to force them to join, but we do need the information they can provide. If you have a bosom buddy in Bella Coola or an uncle in Uclulet, a cousin in Castlegar or a friend in Fort St John, please steer them here and get them to download the census form - and if they don't have web-access, do them (and us) a favour and snail-mail it to them! Almost every community has singers somewhere, whether in the local church choir or at the school - we want to hear about them all! And while you're at it, check that your own choir Executive has given us the data on YOUR choir, too! Survey forms can be sent by email, snail-mail or fax to the BCCF office.