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When players arrive for rehearsal, chairs should be arranged in orchestral order, music should be on the stands, and a room should be provided for instrument cases. Music should be marked for bowing, cuts, or other important editing (the contractor can help you with this, if needed). It is also helpful to put tags on the players' chairs. Adequate lighting is a must. If theatrical lighting will be used, you must provide stand lights.

Begin and end the rehearsal on time and encourage choir members not to be late. Union players will be required to break every hour for 10 minutes. If you think you'll forget the break, ask the contractor to remind you. Allow tuning with the church's instruments and be sure to rehearse the entire work. Your time with orchestra will be limited, and you'll want to play through each piece even if you don't have enough time to rehearse it thoroughly. Often, professional players will correct their mistakes on the second read.

1 The ideas above were taken from Terry Taylor, "Marketing Your Choirs," The Chorister, October 1997, 4.

When the players arrive for the performance, have their checks on their stands. If their checks are to be mailed, this should have been communicated at the contracting phase. Be sure that they are aware of other aspects of the service, and provide them with marked bulletins if possible. If the service will run long, they should be alerted ahead of time and should be allowed to exit at an appropriate time.2

When you give careful attention to items such as those above, you will develop a positive rapport with symphony players, and they will look forward to opportunities to play in your church. They will be eager to assist you in other ways as well. In the future, they may need you as their minister.

Music Teachers – Music ministers should work to build relationships with local music teachers, for this relationship can be mutually beneficial. Music ministers can offer their assistance in accompanying programs, critiquing the band or chorus, working with soloists, leading a sectional, or loaning equipment. Music teachers can fill in for you when you're away, loan equipment, assist with programs, and direct a choir. In addition, music teachers are great resources for recruiting youth choir members and instrumentalists. Once they know that youth and children will receive quality training and ministry in your church's music ministry, they will often refer children and youth to you. Music teachers are usually pleased when their students are involved in music activities outside of school. Once you've earned their trust, they will support the church's music ministry.

Mission Opportunities – Every community has many opportunities for the music ministry to minister to others. Examples include nursing homes, homeless shelters, children's homes, hospitals, jails, food pantries, clothing closets, and senior groups. Each music ministry choir or ensemble should plan for times to offer ministry to others. These may include the above or may include service projects with Habitat for Humanity, assisting with fundraising for charity, and helping with many other projects. It is important that music ministry not neglect these important outreach opportunities.

Appearances – Music ministry groups are often asked to provide music for community groups. Whenever possible, accept these invitations. Look for opportunities to make appearances in the community, such as singing in malls and airports or for civic groups and athletic events.

Music Academies

Some churches serve their communities by providing an arts academy or school where children come to the church to take private voice or instrumental lessons or group lessons. The church contracts with teachers to provide these services and is responsible for bookkeeping, space, policies, and coordination. Many communities have limited numbers of private teachers and little opportunity for children to receive musical training. If this is the case in your community, the church's music ministry should consider providing this service to the community. When organizing such a ministry, observe effective models in your area.

ommunicating with Media

The music minister is often the person on the church staff who is responsible for communicating with media. If you are not responsible for the entire church's communications, you will most likely determine whether or not music events are communicated to the media in your community. Music ministers often excel at preparing programs and events; however, they may fail in letting others know of an event. As every event is organized, a publicity plan should be incorporated.

Who Is the Audience?1

Whom would you like to come to the event? How is this group likely to hear about the event? What can you do to attract this group? The answer to these questions should determine the media that will be contacted, how the photos will appear, how the story will be written, the color and style of brochures, and other related information.

Get To Know People Who Work in the Media.

Build a personal relationship with people who work at local newspapers, radio, and television stations. Realize that your event is not the most important news to them, but make sure they know it is important to you. Learn to communicate with them on a first name basis, and know their secretaries and others who work with them. Send them thank you notes and do occasional favors for them.

Deliver stories in person. If you have a story for the current week and another one for the next week, it is best to make two deliveries. Handing an editor a stack of stories and photographs is not a good way to get coverage.

Many editors complain that churches rarely send them information to include in the religion section. In most communities, certain churches receive frequent coverage in the newspaper while others are never mentioned. Churches receiving frequent coverage have usually developed relationships with editors and keep stories on their desks. If stories are available and well written, they will likely be printed if space allows; however, if an editor has to rewrite the story, take pictures, or call for clarifications, the story will likely not be printed.

Understand the Limitations of the Media.

Space in any newspaper is limited, and editors are often frustrated by the limitations that are imposed on them. For instance, a small town newspaper of twenty-four pages on average will devote about six pages to classified ads and ten pages to display ads, leaving eight pages for stories. Of those eight pages, three to four pages are set aside for sports, and additional pages will go to television grids, comics, and editorials. This leaves little space for news!

Other media have severe limitations as well. When pleading your case for a story, realize the limitations. Always be kind and respectful. To the media you are the face of the church. While public service announcements on the radio or television are a good alternative, they do not have the staying power of the newspaper since papers may lie around the house for several days. Remember to use calendar sections of newspapers as good ways to advertise choral, organ, handbell, or orchestral programs in your church. Radio and television stations also allow free public service announcements.

Buy an Advertisement if You Must.

Buying an advertisement may be the only way that you can be assured your story will be announced in the time and manner you desire on the radio or television. Once you buy an advertisement, you become a paying customer, and you are in a much better position for negotiation. Buying an occasional ad is a great way to insure that you'll be given free advertising at other times. Buying an advertisement can be an advantageous investment towards building relationships.

Write Clearly and Precisely.

The story must answer who, what, when, and where in the first paragraph. Write in an inverted pyramid style, i.e., write the most important information in the first paragraph, next most important in the second, and so on. Typically, editors edit-out from the end of a story so write with this in mind. Quotes are great; however, avoid unattributed opinion. Editors will almost always delete flowery adjectives. Write simply, and get to the point!

Provide High Quality Photos.

Most newspapers prefer 5X7 black and white glossies. Always attach a caption to a photo and label a mug shot on the back. Check with a newspaper to see if they prefer hard copies of photos or ones sent electronically. Electronic photos from web sites are usually not appropriate for printed media.

Purchase a Media Guide or Request Specifications.

Larger communities will have media guides for purchase that can be helpful in determining which media to consult. You should also request editorial policies for the local newspaper(s). A media guide will include public relations and communication organizations, business publications, news services and bureaus, regional and national magazines, daily newspapers, radio stations, television stations, college and university newspapers, as well as ethnic and religious publications.2

Publicity Checklist (in the Community)

Mark Thallander offers the following publicity checklist:

Newspaper News Releases

Newspaper Articles

Newspaper Advertising

Magazine News Releases

Magazine Articles

Public Service Announcements – Radio

Public Service Announcements – Television

Radio Advertising

Television Advertising

Professional Music Organizations3

esigning Printed Materials

Printed materials communicate multiple messages. Beyond the printed information, they also communicate attention to detail, creativity, quality, and budget. In addition, the layout, color, and paper communicate different messages to different audiences. When designing printed materials, send deliberate messages. The following information* can help ministers of music to be more intentional in producing quality-printed pieces:

Before You Design

Budget – Before you begin the design stage, you must know how much you intend to spend. The decision to do the piece yourself using clip art and the copier or to have it done professionally will largely depend on the amount of money you can spend. Many people become involved in printing projects without realizing the eventual cost.

Time – How soon will you need this piece? If you have the work professionally designed and printed, it will take several weeks. Time may determine quality and budget.