Intentionality – Do We Have a Choice?

From Megan Higle, R&R Chair – Youth and Children’s Community Choirs

This year, I had the privilege of serving on the ACDA National Conference (2027) Interest Session Selection Committee (for Youth and Children’s Community Choirs).  It was, in many ways, an extraordinary vantage point. I was invited into the current thinking of our field — into the research, the questions, the deep dives, and the quiet (and not-so-quiet) innovations shaping choral music today. It felt, at times, like a ringside seat to the collective imagination of choral directors across the United States.

What struck me most, however, was not simply the quality of the work — though it was remarkable — but the shared commitment behind it. There is a depth of care in our profession that is both humbling and galvanizing. Choral directors, it seems, are still deeply invested in this art form, not only as musicians, but as builders of community.

And yet, connection — the very thing at the heart of what we do — does not happen passively.

It requires intentionality.

For many of us, especially those working outside traditional academic settings, connection can feel elusive. Without the built-in structures of schools or universities, we often find ourselves navigating a more fragmented landscape. Community choirs compete for singers, audiences, and donors. Children’s choirs compete for time within already overextended family calendars. Church choirs ask for commitment in a world that increasingly resists it.

The result can be isolation — not by design, but by default.

It is easier, after all, to remain within the familiar boundaries of our own ensembles, our own schedules, our own immediate demands. Reaching beyond those boundaries requires effort, vulnerability, and, quite simply, time — a resource that always feels in short supply.

But as I read through submission after submission for the upcoming National Conference, a clear and compelling thread emerged: connection.

Connection to repertoire.
Connection to community.
Connection to resources.
Connection to one another.

This was not incidental. It was foundational.

Because at its core, choral music is not merely about sound — it is about relationships. It is about the shared human experience of breathing together, listening together, creating something that no individual voice could achieve alone. The work we do is, inherently, communal.

Which raises the question: if connection is central to our art, can we afford to treat it as optional in our practice?

The practical barriers to engagement are real. Attending a national conference requires financial investment — travel, lodging, meals — not to mention time away from our daily responsibilities. These are not insignificant considerations.

And yet, connection does not begin (or end) at a national conference.

It begins locally. It begins with the colleagues down the road, the neighboring ensemble, the shared rehearsal spaces, the overlapping communities. It begins with the willingness to reach out, to collaborate, to ask for support — and to offer it in return.

Intentionality, then, is not an added burden. It is a necessary posture.

To nurture our craft is to nurture ourselves — not only as conductors, but as human beings. The relationships we build, the ideas we exchange, the communities we strengthen — these are not peripheral to our work. They are the work.

And perhaps, in the end, the question is not “Do I have to?”

But rather: “Why wouldn’t I?”

I hope to see you in Minneapolis. We might even split a hotel room!