For most of the 20th century, the typical American church had a room containing rows of chairs, shelves stacked with music and cabinets full of robes of various sizes and contrasting stoles for sopranos, altos, tenors and basses.
This was a choir room, and these singers were led by a choir director.
Times have changed. These days, most up-to-date churches have "praise bands" with a few skilled vocalists, guitarists, drummers and keyboardists with stacks of synthesizers. And most church members have smartphone calendars with zero room left for a choir.
"It's often about time, now more than ever, especially for 20- and 30-somethings. A lot of them have children, but people had children in the '60s," said Mark Cabaniss, president and CEO of the Jubilate
Music Group, near Nashville. "That was a different era and a different world. It's hard to even get kids into children's choirs today. … They're too busy playing soccer or T-ball or whatever."
Cabaniss has directed choirs for 40 years while composing and arranging music for ensembles of all kinds. He joined a choir at age 6 and began directing church choirs in college.
"You have to be very sensitive to people's time," he stressed, reached by Zoom. "The days of two-hour rehearsals are over. Even a 90-minute one is a tough stretch. … It's all about time, time, time, if you're trying to recruit people into the choir."
While the COVID years were a disaster, the trends – shrinking choirs with miked-up praise bands on stage – had been clear for several decades.
In 1998, the National Congregations Study said the number of U.S. churches with choirs was already down to a little over 50%, noted Will Whittaker, writing for Baptist News Global. He is the author of the book "Cultivating Intergenerational Worship."
Churches with choirs fell to 40% by 2019 – before the pandemic. While 75% of Black Protestant churches had choirs, along with 70% of Catholic parishes, that number was 47% in white liberal mainline Protestant churches, and only 34% of white conservative evangelical congregations reported having traditional choirs.
It's hard for choir directors to compete in the praise-band era, noted Whittaker. "Sure, an overly polished, slick sound is perhaps better achieved with a few of your best musicians, but the Lord certainly has called more than a few very talented people to serve in worship ministry."
Instead of choirs that focus on modern anthems or classical church music, some congregations now have worship choirs consisting of volunteers – no robes, few rehearsals – who offer background support for worship-team leaders standing in the stage spotlights.
Churches that want choir directors often find few musicians with the right skills, noted Cabaniss. Many observers ask: Which came first, the shortage of choir directors or the sharp decline in church choirs to direct?
"The lack of choirs came first, if you ask me," he said. "So, the institutions that trained young people, college students, to be sacred choral directors started trimming that down. … Seminaries just don't train directors like they used to." Some have closed their music departments, he added.
In an online essay, "From Empty Chairs to New Voices: How Choirs Win Younger Singers," Cabaniss offered advice for choir leaders. Summing that up, he said:
∎ Offer a sense of community that many younger adults crave, combining prayer, beauty, a sense of purpose and intergenerational connections. "Younger adults will love choir when the choir loves them back."
∎ Many singers fear failure, since they cannot read music. Directors should plan short classes teaching basic skills, and choose music the faithful love to sing.
∎ Offer childcare during rehearsals. For many, this will be the "deciding factor."
∎ Enthusiasm is crucial, especially in recruiting, he said. "Choir is about community. … It's about worship and ministry, of course it is. But it's also about coming together."
Cabaniss concluded: "Here's my soap box. I don't want church choirs to be the dinner theaters of tomorrow. … The golden age is over for dinner theaters. Are there any dinner theaters out there? You bet there are, but not like there were in the '70s.
"There are church choirs out there, but not like there were in the '70s. … But that doesn't mean that people no longer want to sing in church."
Terry Mattingly is Senior Fellow on Communications and Culture at Saint Constantine College in Houston. He lives in Elizabethton, Tennessee, and writes Rational Sheep, a Substack newsletter on faith and mass media.
This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Once upon a time, churches had choirs | Terry Mattingly
