Thoughts about choirs and church music




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I had a concert in Washington DC at Crossroads Baptist Church last night.  I have been looking forward to it for some time.  It is a conservative African American church headed by Lou Baldwin along with his two sons Michael and Kenny Baldwin.

I have heard great things about the music there for some time so I have really been looking forward to this weekend.  As a matter of fact, I asked their 50-member choir to sing background vocals for me and I accompanied one of their soloists on the great song "There is a Savior."

Their music just blew me away.  The choir backed me up perfectly, and amazingly, did it without music.  They sang some other songs as well (also memorized) and sounded incredible.  Kenny Baldwin accompanies them on piano and he is a fine pianist as well.

I went out to eat with Michael Baldwin after the concert and had a lot of questions.  For example, I wanted to know how he managed to get the choir sounding so good and how he got them to do it without music.  Because I know that many choir directors read this blog, I thought I would share his thoughts.

The Crossroads choir never uses music.  Mike said he decided years ago not to let them use music and has never looked back.  That allows them to be very attentive to him.  They watch his every move.

I asked him about practice.  He said they practice 45 minutes a week and one 2-hour session on a Saturday each month.  That seemed low to me so I asked how many songs the choir learned.  He said his goal was 45 anthems/year.

Now, I have to admit that I have never even considered it possible to learn that many songs in a year (memorized no less) and sing them well with only an average of an hour of practice a week.  I have never worked with a choir that would be anywhere close to that and I have worked with choirs that are considered to be quite good.  So I asked what his secrets were.

Here are the things I picked up on.
1) Commitment to excellence.  There are a lot of people that use the phrase "God-honoring music."  Normally, they are just referring to music that matches their preferences.  When Mike uses that phrase, he is quick to say that he means music that is done skillfully (as commanded in the Psalms) and music that directs attention to God rather than the performers.
2) Teaching from the piano.  Mike is a good pianist and usually plays his rehearsals himself.  Because he is sitting at the piano, he does not have to communicate with a pianist and is able to teach things much quicker.
3) Longevity.  Because of the nature of the church (a true church plant built by reaching the unsaved), the members are not church hoppers.  They have been there forever.  Many of them have sung in that choir for 30 years.  Mike has directed that choir since the age of 15 and he encourages young children to be involved.  By the time they graduate from high school, they are fine musicians already.  The culture is instilled at an early age and those musicians stay committed for decades.
4) High expectations.  Choir members are asked to really commit.  They are expected to be there for every rehearsal and on time.  If they are not, they are not going to remain choir members for long.  If they drop out, they are not allowed to come back for two years. 

My experience is that this last item is the thing that would kill most choirs.  Unfortunately, I am not sure I know of another church where choir members would stay in the choir if they were told they could not miss rehearsals or even be late.  And that makes me wonder if the Crossroads culture is really transferable to other churches.  I would like to think so, but I am a bit skeptical. 

For sure, leadership would have to be strong and the choir would have to really believe in what they are doing.  The Crossroads choir obviously does. 

For those wondering, the music is definitely Black Gospel, though without some of the common characteristics such as a lot of movement and percussion.  It is tasteful with restrained vocals and humility but has lots of improvisation and energy.  It will be far from what many of you are used to, but it is hard for me to imagine that any white person could visit and not enjoy it.

If you are a choir director, I encourage you to take a Sunday and go visit Crossroads Baptist Church.  Take Michael to lunch and pick his brain.  You will walk away with some great ideas.




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