FAQ - B-H Singing Guidelines for Posting Information

Guidelines for
Posting Information

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Deciding what material should be available via the Berkshire-Hudson Singing web site is an exercise in balance and fairness. Ideally, we want to include all opportunities for singers to sing and audiences to hear them. But we must balance that wish against the amount of work it entails and the sheer volume of information reaching the readers. The policy below has been evolving and continues to do so; comments, suggestions, and inqueries are welcome.

Geography is the easy, if arbitrary, limit to set. We will consider a chorus or event located in the area served by our primary classical music radio stations WMHT and WAMC.

Choruses, choirs, chorales, vocal ensembles, and gatherings cover a wide spectrum of music in a variety of venues. Membership requirements range from paid professional, through selective audition, to "everyone come sing" for the joy of it. Venues range from personal homes, to churches and schools, to the great concert halls in Troy and Tanglewood. We sing great oratorios, folksongs, barbershop harmony, sacred and secular. Groups focus on modern and classical, religous and cultural, shape notes and no notes at all. Singing and listening opportunities for virtually every taste are available within our area. There is a wide spectrum of ensemble and choral singing which we want to support. Typically, we do not include groups and events that have little broad appeal, are difficult to access, sing primarily for private functions, or are restrictive in their membership. Church, scholastic, and academic choirs are examples; but we are very aware that many of them do offer concerts and other activities which do deserve listing.

Within the rubric of "opportunities to sing and opportunites to hear good singing" we consider the following factors. No single factor is either a qualifier or disqualifier.

Open membership of the chorus: members of the public who meet the vocal and musical qualifications are welcome to join.
Public access to events: the setting, the venue, and membership requirements should not restrict access.
Appeal to the members of B-H Singing: they or the public have shown interest in this kind of group or event.
Wide geographic appeal: we cover over twenty counties in four states; while few announcements will appeal to the entire area, they should attract more than a "local" interest.

Basically, the guidelines for posting have evolved, through trial and member feedback into four categories:

Calls for singers. We publish opportunities for singers to sing, whether volunteer or paid, solo or choral, religious or secular. It is the singer's choice to respond or ignore. While choruses preparing concert presentations are the primary focus, calls for participation in massed choirs, ecumenical services, sing-in events are also welcome. We willingly pass along recruitment for singers and also related fields such as organists, directors, and accompanists, since our subscribers often possess those additional talents or have friends who do.
Chorus Information Listing. To be listed the chorus membership must be truly open to the general public, and at least some of it's concerts must also be readily available to the public in accessible settings and venues.
Choral Event Calendar. Concerts of "listed" choruses are always listed as long as they are open to public attendance. This may include fund-raisers, and religious services where the venue may be somewhat restricted, but the function should not be private or discriminatory in any way. Listings are not restricted to choruses listed with B-H Singing; public concert presentations by church, school, and visiting groups are welcome. A performance presentation by a choir or chorus is not required, community singing is in itself a performance.
Workshops, etc. Activities such as workshops, clinics, choir camps, and contests are also welcome. Training opportunities whether local, in nearby cities, or international are announced and may be listed on the "Workshops" page.