Two choral conductors become bloggers for a year

A new blog from baton-wielders Krishan Oberoi and Kirsten Shetler will discuss various issues about “choral leadership, arts administration, musical integrity, and more” over the coming year, and their endeavor is well worth checking out:

Unchoir Your Choir

Many of us know Krishan as the founder and director of San Diego’s excellent ensemble SACRA/PROFANA, of course, and although Kirsten has returned to her home in the East and become one of the founding directors of the South Shore Children’s Chorus, the duo got to know each other when she was in school and working in the San Diego area.

But it’s not just the familiar names, the topics or the emergence of new potential thought leaders that caught our eye:  it’s the very manageable, somewhat unusual approach they’re taking to blogging. This is clearly a passion project, rather than a business strategy, and the language is personal and charmingly artless — we’re watching two colleagues in conversation about big and little things that affect their lives and work.  It looks like they’re posting about once a week (an excellent guideline for first-time cyberscribes), and framing each piece as a sort of he-said/she-said, to show different perspectives on each chosen theme.  Topics will appeal mainly to choir directors, although anyone running an arts program will find the posts relatable and thought-provoking.

Things we love

• The featured quotes which intro each post already come from widely diverse sources, tapping wisdom ranging from Florence Nightingale to the script of Se7en.  
• The authors are responsive:  leave them a legitimate comment, and they’ll likely answer you.  (It’s probably safe to assume that comments are moderated, and not all will be published.)  This is essential in creating a discussion space, and we look forward to seeing the interaction grow.
• The conversational back-and-forth encourages active thought, rather than just passive skimming.  The similarity between the names Krishan and Kirsten is a bonus wake-up call, as you’ll find yourself checking back once in a while to make sure you know whose “voice” you’re reading.

The site is just getting started and a little buggy, e.g. the Subscribe link at the bottom of each page yields only a sea of code.  But that’s understandable in new site jockeys, and hopefully they’ll get that fixed soon.  Other ways to connect:

• Log into Blogger with your Google account and add them to your reading list.
• Enter http://unchoiryourchoir.blogspot.com/ into Feedly and other readers to add them to your lists there.
• Visit and Like their Facebook page.
• Bookmark the site in your favorite browser.
• Or just visit the site regularly.  (That works, too!)

Keep your eyes on this new venture, as 2016 should be an interesting year for two young conductors examining what works for them and what doesn’t as they grow their careers and their organizations.  The evolution of that discussion should be fascinating for the rest of us, as we become the flies on the proverbial wall.

Updated:  Ms. Shetler’s organization, a new choir in Boston of which she is one of the founders, has been updated above.