OCONOMOWOC COMMUNITY CHOIR

SURVEY

JULY, 2008

• In our previous community, I had sung in an Oratorio Chorus. I heard the OCC perform during Festival of the Arts Week in 1991 and thought it would be a group I’d like to be in. I enjoy singing and being in a choir that keeps my voice "in shape".

• Enjoy singing.

• I was invited by Sue Stave.

• To help with funding the OCC Scholarship fund. Participate with local singers musically/socially. I like to sing.

• Love to sing and be involved with music and people who also enjoy singing.

• I love to sing.

• To participate in a choir

• We joined for some fun & fellowship thru singing.

• I love to sing and I also like to help support music programs or scholarships to our talented musical community. I like to look out at the audience and see the smiling faces.

• Sing Christmas music.

• To keep my vocal chords active and because I love to sing.

• I was looking forward to singing the Phantom of the Opera with the OCC.

• I enjoy singing.

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• I originally joined with my parents back when the group was founded. I have sung off & on ever since. When my Dad died this past February I felt the need to sing in a choir again.

• I knew some of the people and liked them. I like singing.

• I enjoy choral singing—have been in choirs all my life—many different styles of music—this is relaxing.

• I missed singing in a choir around Christmas time and since I enjoyed the winter season so much I stayed for the next season and more to follow. I was attracted to the choir, because it was one of the few in the area that didn’t require an audition and was based solely on enjoying music.

• Friend invited me. I love singing all types of music.

• I like to sing & the group is local so it doesn’t involve driving for 25-30 miles.

• I love to sing!

• I love to sing. I could be having a bad day and coming to choir practice cheers me up.

• My love to sing. I wanted to get involved in a group.

• A friend sang in the OCC & invited me to join.

• I enjoy singing.

• I have sung with this group (on and off whenever I could) ever since rehearsals were at the high with Shem directing.

• My dad brought me to sing Soprano II and I like to sing.

• Good spirit of music and enjoy blended voices.

• I had seen/heard the choir before, especially liked the "Phantom" performance several years ago and felt I could try a season this summer and see if I liked the group.

• I love to sing and have a fairly good voice.

• I love to sing.

• Liz Bednar invited me to the "Phantom of the Opera" Concert a few years ago and I wanted to get back to singing in a choir and voila, here I am enjoying myself.

• Got involved with too many other things.

• Time—I needed more time at home.

• Voice is unreliable—can’t contribute like I used to.

• Lack of time. Visit husband every evening in nursing home. I truly miss the choir.

• My mother had surgery & I stayed over at her home often to help her.

• Mondays are difficult days—often I have a night class but always teach until 5:30pm. Don’t get home until 6:30-7:00pm.

• "Leaving" was not the intent. We had a rough patch @ start of the year w/some health issue affecting John & me, also caregiver responsibilities for my Mom, who has since recently passed away. A shortage of time & energy at times—"away" too long?(John & Esty Rice 560-0181)

• I wanted to join the summer session, but I don’t have internet, nor do I get the Focus, which I believe you put an ad in to announce when rehearsals start. You used to call or mail out a newsletter.

• Extended vacation (3-4 months).

• Had surgery to remove my thyroid, because of a malignant tumor, which affected the quality of my voice.

• The same week I joined, I ended up in the hospital. My problem required many tests so was unable to drive. (Kathleen Angrick)

• Too busy at work. No longer have the energy to come to choir & get up at 5:30am on Tuesday. Summer’s bad due to family reasons.

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• I enjoy the various types of music that we practice and perform. I appreciate the musical skills of our Director. I like the friendly spirit that is evidenced in rehearsals.

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• It is fun, and I like to learn music. I enjoy singing in a large group of people who strive to sound good and continually improve.

• I like the people in my voice part. I am thrilled when I hear us sing a song together well.

• Anne is a good director—always teaching—the more she demands, the better the quality of the singing. I always learn new things after singing for >60 years.

• I enjoy the people, the concerts and the satisfying feeling when a song comes together w/all the parts. I also enjoy being challenged by the music, by learning to sight read and use different techniques.

• Variety of music. Excellent director & pianist. Made new friends.

• Singing with a group, variety of music, learning new music

• Variety of music. Friendship with other members. Doing something to benefit community.

• The camaraderie between all of us.

• The people are very nice. I like to perform.

• The friendliness of the members. Music selections are good.

• It is a great group. No one is judgmental. We have fun!

• The variety of things that we have sung over the years and that we provide scholarships for students.

• Choir doesn’t fit in my schedule at school so OCC gives me an option for singing.

• Friendly spirit

• A good group of people and voices; I am enjoying singing and good music.

• Practices, performances, learning new music, fellowship; I really enjoy it.

• Friendly people and I love it when a song and all the voice parts come together.

• Obviously getting more members would help. But bigger is not necessarily better.

• Encourage younger voices—see #5.

• More members.

• Great organization! Maybe a directory by section so you would know the names of the people you sit by.

• OCC is fine as is. If searching for other ideas maybe shorten practice a little—probably not practical—maybe add a social element. When working, we would occasionally hold that meeting at an individual’s home for variety—but not so practical in this case really.

• I like the Choir. I don’t believe any improvements would be necessary. Maybe one; a "call buddy" setup where a choir member would call 2-4 others to remind them when rehearsal sessions start.

• When Sherman Leatherberry directed the "LeMiz" portion last year he was able to improve our sound, it seemed. Also audience members said the same thing.

• Greater variety of music. I’ve always felt repeating music we know could be very intimidating to new members. It saves money to re-use music, but I wonder what the public thinks. Music geared towards younger people.

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• Maybe have to small-group singing (quartets, trios….) & be available to do small luncheons (church luncheons, Kiwanis) that sort of thing.

• I think "Lake Country" would reflect the name of the member base better than Oconomowoc does. Require attendance at practice.

• The word "choir" might suggest to some that we sing "religious" music. Suggest "chorus" or "chorale".

• The publicity has been improving lately—the name change (with a promotion) might draw new members.

• My only suggestion is to GROW!! We sound good now but imagine the possibilities!!!

• Perhaps just one more rehearsal for each performance, so that we are a little more perfected.

• Increased numbers—especially of people who are younger than the majority of our members. Include some more challenging music. Let the choir work up to a higher level.

• Build up a continuing repertoire by continuing to include a song or two from each session (at least in practice) as we have with returning to Ubi Caritas and River in Judea.

• Everyone should "talk up" the OCC to family and friends. I think the ethnic concerts will improve our spring concert attendance.

• We need to recruit more members. We should sing more popular songs.

• Perhaps have additional practices if the majority feels we aren’t well prepared for a performance.

• I think the handouts we voted on for distribution (for paper boxes, etc.) is a good start.

• Sing and don’t focus on social events during rehearsal. I’m here to sing, not plan social activities. Hold a private tutorial on how to run/get to the website so we don’t waste time in rehearsal! Not everyone cares to spend time on that.

• The choir is fine, but could perhaps be improved through more voices and more younger members than are currently in the 30’s and 40’s age groups.

• Move us "around" among other voices when we practice (after knowing the music).

• I would like to see more "old favorites" sometime. The music is unnecessarily difficult for an amateur group. These old favorites should be worked into a short program as detailed below.

• I’d like more challenging music. Also, I like the idea of building a repertoire of songs that we could put together on short notice to perform. It certainly would be nice to get more members, especially some more male voices. When we sing with other choirs it is a wonderful sound with more Tenor and Bass voices contributing!

• It seems that we are making advances—membership in the Chamber of Commerce, singing at the Festival of Arts weekend, etc. The Board seems to be very aware of opportunities

• Collaborate with other choirs, such as middle school or high school groups. New auditorium a possibility? Invite parents to participate?

• Perhaps wearing our OCC shirts when out and about—people may notice and it may provoke a conversation regarding the OCC.

• More members.

• Already being done—ads in papers; @ business ???? boards, announcements @ City Beach Concerts, etc—"no experience needed, schedule of sessions, performances, times, place, see who to call for info, maybe a "greeter" at practice sessions to "orient visitors".

• Sing with the Legion Band at the band shell more often. Sing at intermission at street dances in the area.

• Perhaps more publicity in area newspapers. Have a photographer from newspaper at the summer concert to take photo of choir & also of scholarship winners (perhaps you already do this).

• Publicity, publicity, publicity. Singing at public events such as, booths and informational-type events as much as possible. The publicity people do a good job; there are limits. Does Oconomowoc have a magazine with lists of area activities? Are we in it?

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• More visibility. The article in the Enterprise was great. Again, small group performances at various city events.

• The term "choir" may sound too formal or religious and people may dismiss singing with us or asking us to sing. Chorus or chorale would be nicer and more appropriate.

• Change the name to "Lake Country Chorus" or "Lake Country Community Chorus" —not ‘choir’, which implies religious connections.

• We should investigate Craigslist.com and post an ad regularly in the groups & events section.(If you need help w/Craigslist, please let me know. Lindsey Kaptur) Sing at more gallery nights/festivals/athletic events/commercial events, etc. We should also perform at local colleges & high school music classes so that students learn about us so they could join after they graduate or even before. Also, this would create more awareness about the scholarship program.

• Singing in the new auditorium when it is ready. More concerts like the Irish one, where other groups were involved, thus expanding the scope of the concert & consequently the draw from the community.

• I think we are doing it by performing at the Arts Festival, singing at the various nursing homes in the area.

• Get the word out as much as possible. Advertise on Craigslist. It is free & lots of people see it.

• Advertise concerts on local radio station.

• We should take advantage of all opportunities offered even if it means performing with a smaller group.

• Any way that we can get radio advertising??

• More photos in the newspaper.

• Like many choirs do (e.g. Waukesha Choral, Bel Canto, Lutheran A Cappella) the choir should consider having some of it’s concerts (e.g. Tuesday night one in summer) at another venue/church to increase exposure elsewhere.

• Have us sing at various venues—we’d have to have more "modern" music—or classical—dependent on the audience.

• I think we need more "appearance"-type performances throughout the lake country area—such as we did at the small downtown theater last fall. We need to get out more. I think not doing the 4 ^th of July appearance was a big mistake.

• Have more performances with smaller groups at different venues. We could get a few people from each section, who would want to be available to practice and sing the songs in our repertoire at short notice.

• I hope to return in the future. Music truly is therapy for me. I miss all of you and the joy of rehearsals. (Ms. Nancy Williams)

• I will be back now with the choir. (Sandy Maahs)

• Great Director & Accompanist!

• Overall, OCC seems fine as is. Hope to see you soon—still Mondays @ 7pm?(John & Esty Rice 560-0181)

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• You could see what musical instrument talent is in the choir. Also, for example I can play the flute (pretty well). We could then tap that resource rather than paying for it. Crazy Idea—instead of asking for donations to fund the scholarships, we could instead sell "advertising" to list in program—¼ page, ½ page, full page type of thing. (Jenny Stoltenburg)

• I think it is excellent that you care to know what the members think. Thank you. The men should cooperate and dress as nice as the ladies. Retain older (80+) members by making them "emeritus" and not charging dues.

• Seek affiliation with local schools that would entice younger people to join the group—we could sing more ‘modern’ music, like songs from more recent Broadway musicals.

• I also think the general info flyers that are being worked on will be helpful. We could put them at businesses and libraries & town halls, etc. We should also investigate music websites that provide links to choirs in the community & the state (I think that is how I found OCC). I also think that we could maybe have contact sheets available at our concerts so that people who want more info can leave their name & phone & e-mail info. We could even put a place for contact info on the back of the ticket so that people could leave their name when they bring their ticket to the concert. A more formal, clearly stated announcement that we are looking for more members at our concert should also be made. This should be a substantial announcement providing all needed info about practices and the choir. The spring concert had an announcement but it was sort of short and in passing. Music that I would like to sing in the future: "Gospel", timeline or history of music, Sinatra, Rat Pack, Etta James, Billie Holiday. Era music. Blues, Blue Grass. I also would refer to not do a whole concert from one country. Also, more music involving local bands & musicians would be great.

• The present board has done an excellent job! Hurrah for Ann & Becky!

• Sometimes it would be nice (at least to me) to include more small-group numbers—duets, trios, quartets, etc. in our concerts. Tryouts for solos—special numbers. Change rehearsal time to be done at 8:45pm especially if we start at 6:45pm.

• I hope we don’t become so "organized" or spend so much time talking about it that we overshadow the joy of singing. The extra few minutes at beginning of rehearsal for vocalizing is beneficial. I think we should concentrate on doing as well as we can without losing sight of the kind of group we are—money raising for scholarships for kids in the community and singing for enjoyment as well as singing for nursing homes, etc.

• I really enjoy the choir and I miss everyone when we are not in session.

• Use of CD’s was very helpful.

• I just enjoy singing.

• I kind of don’t care about the website, because for the most part it seems like a waste. I never use it for the music because crappy midi makes me sick and I would rather play it for myself on the piano. Does the 6:45pm call time have to be required? I don’t need the extra theory; I just need the warm-up to get my head into the rehearsal. Do more to get younger voices, not old-lady socials, but fun things to get the younger people. When we have a guest soloist who struggles with his/her solo because they learned it in another key: ONLY THE DIRECTOR SHOULD HELP HIM/HER GET ON THE RIGHT TRACK, NOT THE WHOLE CHOIR!!! Way to make the soloist feel embarrassed!

• I have been in church choirs since high school. I have been in barber shop choruses. I’d like a music committee formed to have a "say" as to the music our Director plans to select—no true bass parts. Borrow some music from the high school to save cost $$.

• I like the two big performances we do each year—but I think the choir should also develop a "short program" of 4 to 6 fairly easy songs that we could do at various appearances. People love choral music and I would like to see us do more short shows at different venues. And that gets our name out there which increases concert attendance and choir membership. For example a nice Christmas repertoire could be developed for other venues besides nursing homes. I’m not talking about full concerts, but easier favorites that could be performed on short notice. I realize we all have time limitations, so the venues need to be chosen carefully. I’ve always felt our music could be more traditionally oriented and a little less esoteric. We could work in a few "new songs" each session, but I think people just like to hear the "old favorites"

• I really like the CD’s with the voice parts on them for practice! If for some reason I can’t get to a practice, the CD or the setup on the website helps me to practice my part. The website is a great resource not only for the Choir, but for the community as well. It is a great job and a lot of work Barb Fabus has done to help us sing better with additional practice at home. This also makes Anne’s job a little easier and should reduce the time it takes to learn the songs so Anne can concentrate more on putting our voices together and doing more "fine tuning". Ultimately this makes us a much better choir for everyone’s enjoyment. I also want to take this opportunity to tell Anne and Becky how much I appreciate the time and effort they spend to make us a great choir!

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