A line that always cracks me up…

“If a man speaks in a forest and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?”

You can also apply it the Windward Choral Society, right?

“If a choir sings in a hall and there is no audience, is it still beautiful?”

You bet it is. The joy of music shared with the audience is also shared between the singers regardless of who’s around. Yeah, it compounds itself, feeds on itself and elevates itself with an audience but the interaction of the singers is still awesome. After all, rehearsing can be beautiful and uplifting, right? Singing to an empty hall would just be a rehearsal with nicer clothes on.

“If a choir has a fundraiser and there is no audience is it still a success?”

I’ll raise my hand and answer that one…no. The purpose of a concert is to share music, the purpose of a fundraiser it to be able to continue to have the concerts. “Fund” = money to support the arts, “Raise” = moving that money from the attendees of the event to said fund (while working VERY hard to make sure that the attendees have an incredible evening of music, entertainment and meaningful events and are thrilled that they got their money’s worth…if they didn’t it would kinda be like stealing…with nicer clothes on).

So how do we find these attendees? There are the obvious ways like the Windward Choral Society web site, the “save the date” cards that get mailed out and press releases to all of the local media for their calendars and articles about us. There are personal invitations to potential sponsors and business that may want to purchase a corporate table (if it sounds like there’s a lot of work being to done to make these things happen it’s because a lot of work IS being done). There is, however, another group of folks that need some attention and it’s up to us singers to give it to them.

I’m referring to the family, friends and neighbors who attend and enjoy our concerts. If they were asked, “Can you help support us so the concerts will continue?”, chances are the answer would be yes and, if they’re so inclined (and have the budget), they’d grab a ticket to “The Joy of Music…and All That Jazz” before they were all gone.

So ask them! Every concert we’ve had has been packed and usually standing room only (okay…except for that one night when we were performing the “Misa Criolla” and the weather was Armageddon-like, but that’s not our fault). These are the people who are supporting the arts here on the windward side by being a part of the multicultural programs that we bring to them (proven by the thunderous applause of course) and could/should/will be the people who will pack the Ko’olau Ballroom on November 19^th.

All right, all right, I know…is there any danger of the fundraiser having no audience? Of course not, we always sell out, but that’s not the point. It’s a magical evening and we want our family, friends and neighbors to experience it and need to tell them about it. A room full of our most ardent fans will be a room that absolutely reverberates with the joy of music.

(And no, when I spoke in the forest I was NOT wrong. I know because my wife told me I wasn’t  when I got home. So there.)