The ability to organize and implement the various activities of a choral program is extremely important to the success of the department. Choral conductors who are unable to properly organize a choral program will be constantly hampered in their attempt to establish a complete choral department. Administrators who do not feel qualified to judge the conductor's musical achievements do feel competent to judge his organizational abilities. Administrators also deal with the organizational qualities of a director on a regular basis while they view the musical achievements only sporadically. They may consequently evaluate the choral director on the basis of his management capabilities as much, if not more than his musical capabilities.

Careful planning will also free the choral director from last minute flurries that often get in the way of musical preparations. The necessity of efficient planning cannot be overemphasized.

The types of scheduling throughout the country vary from a modular scheduling, which is quite flexible, to a six-, seven-, or eight-period day. Choral departments have flourished under all systems. It is not so much the type of schedule that affects the choral department as the attitudes of the people who control it—the administrators. Whatever the schedule, there are a few principles of scheduling that should be stressed.

Experience has shown that no matter what schedule is proposed, the choral department will flourish or perish on the basis of the strength of the department at the time of the change. If the department is strong when the changes are made, it will probably occupy a solid place in the new schedule.

The spokesman for the choral department must be knowledgeable of the rest of the schedule and be willing to discuss all possibilities with administrators. He must also be a strong negotiator, able to compromise at the right time and ready to stand firm when necessary.

A favorable schedule is crucial to the growth and success of a department. It indicates administration approval and a good climate for choral music. If the administration will provide the choral ensembles good scheduling times during the school day, they can probably be induced later to provide more money with which to operate. When, in the early development of a program, there is a choice of more money or an excellent schedule, it is suggested that the director choose the better schedule. No matter how much money is available for materials or how many students want to join the choirs, the program will never be successful until a director is allowed sufficient rehearsal time when qualified students can participate.

In order to develop excellent choral ensembles, it is best to meet each group one period each day. The continuity necessary for good rehearsals can best be maintained by this regular schedule. There are many schools that do not offer this type of scheduling to their students. Some schools alternate choral music with physical education classes or other classes that do not meet daily. These schedules should only be considered as stop-gap measures and one should work toward complete absorption of the choral program into the schedule on a daily basis.

The best advice when accepting a new position is to determine the scheduling used at present and if inadequate, begin attempts to improve it then before accepting the position. This is always a good time to bargain. Many situations or salaries are improved at a change of directors. Once the position has been accepted, changes can be expected only as the department becomes more successful. Once again the bargaining position will be strong. Similarly as the successful department receives more budget, it will also receive a more favorable scheduling position.

Constantly work toward curricular acceptance of the choral program. Where choral music is out of the schedule, work to have it placed in the schedule. If it is a part of the schedule, strive to have it fully credited and meet regularly as every other class. Always try to stimulate and promote a curricular, rather than extracurricular, image.

A well-rounded department should offer a choral experience for every qualified student. A good feeder program has always been described as a necessary part of a good music department. While this is true, the philosophy of the department should be one of offering the right choral experience for the student. Not every student will have the capabilities to sing in the concert choir (the term used here to represent the most select of the large ensembles). A student may have sufficient talent and interest to be a member of the mixed chorus (this term is used to represent the ensemble that is less select and the one that students will usually perform in before being admitted to the concert choir). If the student remains in this ensemble for three years because that is the level of his ability, the experience should be a satisfying one for him.

Figure 15.1. 

Some departments, where size, type of school, and administrative climate allow, will have as many as six or seven choirs. Others will have two or three choirs that still meet the musical needs of the students. Every school situation does not dictate that two or more choirs should be maintained. One should strive to provide the type of department that meets the musical and educational needs of each individual school.

There are almost as many methods of budgeting as there are schools in the United States. Very large systems may have an overall budget for the many schools with a music supervisor responsible for the disbursement of funds. Small school systems may designate a certain amount of money for the choral department and allow the choral director to spend it as he sees fit. In between these two extremes are many different types of budgeting procedures. Whatever the procedure, there are certain important considerations every choral director should remember.

1. Education costs have risen steadily and there is every indication that this trend will continue.

2. Each department in the school wants and may need more money.

3. The choral department must operate as efficiently as possible and in a businesslike manner in order to get administration approval.

4. It is better to get small increases in budget year by year than to wait and try to make large gains in one year.

5. The director must plan far in advance, anticipating the needs of the department.

6. The director must be able to show how each new item requested will directly benefit the students.

It should be remembered that administrators respond most quickly and most generously to the successful departments in a school. They also respond to those requests that they can see will be most beneficial to students.

When asked to submit budget requests, do so on the budget forms that the administration provides. Where these are inadequate, supplement them with additional information as is necessary to support the inclusion of each item. Many budget requests will have more than one part; perhaps a section for those items necessary to continue present operations of the department, and a section for items necessary to support the department in its anticipated growth.

There is still another type of budget that asks personnel to develop a "hold the line" budget, allowing no increases in expenditures. This type of request will usually require that some priorities be shifted since, although the budget may "hold the line," costs probably will not. Consequently, for the same money, the director will be expected to operate the department just as successfully as he has in the past, and probably will be expected to provide a steady growth and development. When this is the case, a director must be able to adjust his program to allow for what will be an actual decrease in buying power. Often, plans to use budget for new performance apparel, or to provide for instrumental accompaniment that cannot be otherwise provided, can be delayed until another year. This will allow the budget to cover necessary expenses such as music, folders, etc.

When the administration does not provide a budget request form, the form listed below or a variation of it, may be useful.

This example is the most brief and concise portion of the budget and suggests one or two one-time purchases. In any budget submitted, include on one page the total budget request and a small breakdown as shown. Administrators prefer this information for their use as they develop the total budget and be able to see your total request at a glance. Further pages should then detail the requests made and include estimated costs when known. These pages should also contain the reasons for the expenditures and all supporting evidence for them.

Choral department budget:

Music Purchases Amount

Concert Choir

Boys Chorus

Girls Chorus

Mixed Chorus

Contest (including solos)

Recordings

Technology

Clinic Expenses

(includes clinician's fee and all administrative costs)

Apparel Maintenance

Music Folders

Personal Computer

PC Software

New Folder Cabinet

New Rehearsal Piano

(specifications attached)

Contingency Funds

Total ____________

Piano tuning and equipment repair is included in the building and equipment maintenance budget, but where this is not the case it should be included in the department budget request.

When any new item is included in a budget, support the request with evidence that:

1. Demonstrates the need for the item.

2. Demonstrates how it will be of value, educationally, to the students.

3. Shows how similar uses in other schools have been successful (if known).

Whatever the requests that are made, whether for new items or for budget increases, the priorities will be somewhat different with each choral director. However, every director should be careful to keep the education of the student as the primary consideration in all budget requests. This does not mean that a request for office help will not ultimately benefit the students, because it may free the director to spend more time with the students or in his preparation for teaching. Luxury items that benefit only the director cannot be justified.

There are certain expenses that can be placed in other budgets, allowing better use of the choral budget. Expendable classroom items can often be placed on instructional materials budgets. This will take some pressure off the choral budget. All office items can usually be placed on a schoolwide budget.

In many situations, maintenance items such as piano tuning and repair, and wardrobe maintenance, can be placed on school maintenance budgets, again providing relief for the choral budget.

It is usually best to separate the budget into those items that are recurring ones, such as the cost of music, and those items that can be called one-time purchase items, including stereo systems, recording devices, etc. At least do this on the department level if not at the administrative level. In this way a choral director will be able to easily know his operating costs. When costs rise, it will be simple to determine how much more money will be necessary to support the department.

Placing a contingency item in the budget is worthwhile in many situations and may not be necessary in others. It should be approximately ten percent of the total operating budget, exclusive of one time equipment purchases. This would allow for some flexibility to meet, for example, the unusual performance opportunity that might require repertoire not already in the budget.

It is also advantageous to break down the music purchase budget to show the cost of music for known festival participation and annual events requiring special music purchases. It may not be necessary to include this break down in every instance (even then it should be computed and retained at the department level for reference), but in most instances such a breakdown can be valuable to administrators responsible for budget allocations.

It is most important that the choral director be knowledgeable about all areas of his budget. When he is called on by the administration to discuss or to defend items in his budget request, he must be able to substantiate his requests and explain the need for each item. He should also have a very good idea of the approximate cost of items. This can be done by checking with commercial firms in advance regarding costs. A director should do his homework well before meeting with the administration. They will be impressed by this and it will reinforce the requests.

Again, each school has its own procedures that faculty are to observe when they buy materials. If a choral director is new, he should determine what these procedures are before making his first purchases. If these procedures are found to be too restrictive and prevent efficient use of the director's time, he should then discuss them with the administration in an effort to establish procedures that will be mutually agreeable to both parties.

Some situations allow directors to purchase items under a certain limit without administration approval. This allows him to buy music freely, making orders at conventions and reading clinics possible. This is a most desirable situation for a director.

The purchase of choral music is the one that choral directors will make the most. If a choral director visited a music dealer or publishing firm, he would be amazed at the vague orders for music that pour in to these firms. Orders are most often delayed because the person doing the ordering failed to provide correct information; or when correct, enough information. The following guide should be followed when ordering music.

Follow the ordering procedure of your school. If the business office must approve each expenditure, be sure that every order goes through their office. Cooperate with these people and they will be more inclined to help you with a rush order when the need arises.

State clearly the title, composer (if an edition or arrangement, the name of the composer and editor or arranger), the publisher, publisher's octavo number, voicing (satb, ttbb, ssa, etc.), number of copies desired, and how you want the copies sent—parcel post, first class mail, etc. Unless you specify, the firm filling the order will probably mail the music by fourth class mail. If you want quick delivery, it is best to specify first class or private carrier and understand that you will usually be charged the cost of mailing in addition to the cost of the music. On normal orders it is best to order five percent more than your immediate needs to allow for growth and music loss.

Where should you place your order? This will depend on whether you order off the internet from the web sites of the publishers or from a music store that sells print choral music. This may also depend on the type of city in which you are teaching. If you are in a metropolitan area, there is probably a large music dealer close by who can handle any type of order that you place. If, on the other hand, you are in a smaller city or in a rural area, the music dealer closest to you may not be equipped to properly place your order. The dealer must know how to order the music from many publishers and must order enough music on a regular basis in order to give you a good price. Most small dealers do not stock choral music in quantity. If a choral director orders from this type of a dealer, he should expect a long wait for the music and the prospect that part of the order will probably never be completed. It should be noted that some composers have their own web sites from which their music may be purchases. The best arrangement occurs when you find a dealer that meets your needs and you become a regular customer. That dealer will give you the best price available and the best service.

There are a handful of music dealers across the country that are large enough to stock many standard and new choral works in quantity. If this large dealer does not have a particular choral work in stock, he can get it quickly directly from the publisher. Schools and churches may receive a small discount from some music dealers. If a director can place a large choral music order at one time, a considerable savings can result. The large order can be given to several large, regional music dealers for bid and the order placed with the lowest bidder. It is also possible to negotiate large online orders.

Some choral music may be ordered directly from the publisher. This is particularly the case via the internet. Dealing directly with the publisher is much easier because of internet transactions. There are publishers that seek the direct business and others who refuse to sell to anyone but music dealers. Ei