Establishing a school relationship

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Getting to know the Music Educator (ME)

  1. Attend a music concert put on by the school. Introduce yourself to ME after the show and tell him/her that you were impressed with the work of the students, or that you enjoyed the concert. Give the ME your card and say that you will be in touch.
  2. Attend a musical at a school. After the performance, ask musical director if he/she is the school's ME and ask what kinds of music programs are available at the school.

Building a relationship with a school

  1. Call ME to ask if your chapter can make a donation to the school's music program, if the ME has any specific needs not covered by the school's budget.
  2. Call ME to ask if your chapter can make a manpower donation to the school (i.e. ushering at a concert, building sets for a musical, etc.).
  3. Establish an annual scholarship at the school for a student pursuing musical education.
  4. Volunteer to help students learn their music or to be a volunteer class assistant.

Introducing BBS to students

  1. Send out letters to MEs advising them of possible BBS activities for their students in the coming weeks, months, or semester.
  2. Invite MEs to send selected students to your next chapter show.
  3. Invite ME to a chapter rehearsal and ask ME to bring selected students on a field trip.
  4. Invite school chorus to sing on your next show (even if they don't sing BBS).
  5. Do a youth outreach show featuring young singers from the schools in your area. (Your BBS chorus might sing one or two songs to introduce BBS, but then get out of the way and let the kids sing what they sing best.) Distribute proceeds to the schools.
  6. Send a quartet out to sing to the ME's chorus classes. Follow up with bulletin board pictures of visit.
  7. Refer a ME to other ME’s that are benefiting from using barbershop in their programs.

Getting a quartet started at a school

  1. Send the ME the BHS (and SA, too) Educator's Packet.
  2. Invite HS quartet to attend chapter rehearsal for purpose of receiving coaching.
  3. Send out a coach to help a HS quartet.
  4. Sponsor students to Youth Harmony Camp.
  5. Sponsor students to HS Quartet Contest.
  6. Do some free PR work for the HS quartet, sending news releases to the school newspaper and local newspapers.

Lawrence Stern
Gold Standard Chorus
Santa Cruz, CA