Secular Choirs
Truly secular choirs - choirs in which both religious and nonreligious people always feel welcome and comfortable - are rare but beautiful organizations. Let's work to create more of them. We all know and love the world's religious choral masterworks. But school and public choirs must be free to sing about other things.
Public choir directors: Please learn the secular repertoire. It's not fair to ask our nonbelieving members to sing songs about God. It is our challenge as secular choir directors to make our secular choirs comfortable to all. It can be done.
Composers: Please expand the secular repertoire by writing substantive nonreligious works for choir.
Nationalistic songs can also be divisive and also contribute to the negative stereotype that hurts all choirs. Let's work to create new choirs that are free from any divisive content. Religious choirs can be sublime. Fourth-of-July choirs can be rousing. But to break the stereotype we must also make available new community choirs that are free from both religion and nationalism.
