Tracy Friedlander is a leading classical music podcaster engaging in stories that are “redefining a classical music career.” Tracy would not consider herself a “choir person” though she sang in high school choir. Tracy is a classically trained French horn player who decided several years ago that her dream of playing professionally in a symphony might not actually be her dream anymore. 

What does this have to do with choir? Everything. I am empowered by Tracy’s story because she represents many things applicable to our Choir Baton audience. 

1. Music is music. The stories of our instrumental peers are the stories of our choir-selves. Yes, they might be colored through different experiences, but at the heart of it - we spend hours dedicating ourselves to the art of making music and ultimately sharing it with others. 
2. Is your dream music making experience your dream music making experience or what you thought was your dream music making experience? For me, I wanted to be a high school choral director of a large program and live out my dream of making music that way. For Tracy, she wanted to play horn in a large symphony and live out her dream of making music in that way. But then we both realized that either our dreams were changing, or we were changing, or our dreams didn’t embody the lifestyles we wanted to live and we pivoted. You might not take some of the pivots we have, but is the way in which you are engaging in choral music, or in any other aspect of your life, what you really want or what you thought you wanted? This might be something as general as programming music you think you should be programming or teaching somewhere you feel like you should be teaching. I hope you’re inspired by Tracy’s story to dig deep and begin to ask if what you thought you want is really what you want. If it is, AWESOME. If it’s not, let’s begin to examine that.
3. Music making doesn’t have to be a financial dead end. Tracy and I begin to discuss some of the mental blocks we have as musicians in regards to money and how we want to find ways to overcome those.
4. Is music making about the music or about the experience? How can we create experiences for people through music that inspire and impact them in ways we never dreamed? You’ll hear Tracy describe her passion for being a symphony player was not just rooted in the actual music making experience but in the experience surrounding going to the symphony hall. I challenge you to consider your own experience of making music, either as a singer or conductor or community member. Was it solely about the music or were there other components? If there are other components, can we pay as much attention to those components to help enhance our community’s experience as we invite them to choir concerts?

One of the things I love most about this episode is taken from the opening clip. Despite not necessarily identifying herself as a "choir" person, you hear the earnestness with which Tracy loves singing. I believe as choir conductors, composers, teachers, singers, community - Tracy is the type of person we have to find a way to bring into our choirs. She is #morepeoplesinging

Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
Music by: Scott Holmes

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