The demise of the choir program at Yorkton Regional High School has created a chorus of voices calling for all involved to rethink the change.
Readers need only look to the Letters to the Editor section in this edition to read the reaction of former students.
The immediate reaction which has seen multiple letters arrive at the office of Yorkton This Week from across Canada is significant.
The letters section of any community newspaper exists as a forum for readers to voice their concerns, or to give pats on the back, regarding issues of local and personal importance. Usually that means occasional letters from concerned readers on a diverse range of topics.
But when a single issue sends multiple readers to their computers to write letters on a single issue it suggests the issue id one which resonates widely.
In this case all of the letter writers relate the benefits of music and choir in their own lives.
“YRHS has held a long, proud history of musical excellence. Anyone who has walked down the ‘music hall’ knows that the walls are covered with photos and awards, marking the achievement of students and teachers. These accomplishments are now being dissolved with this cancellation,” writes Emily Coupal.
“Choral singing has exceptional benefits to student wellness both mentally and socially. Not only does singing in a choir teach musical skills, but it also teaches commitment, teamwork, responsibility, and leadership. Music allows everyone to participate and contribute to the overall product — no one ‘sits on the bench’.
“Singing in a choir promotes academic achievement and student engagement, provides a sense of belonging, and builds community. There is abundant research supporting these claims, but perhaps far more meaningful than statistics and studies are the accounts of students who experienced belonging to a choir in school such as myself.”
Certainly many of the arguments, ones which are generally common to all the letters, could be adapted to most extracurricular activities at a school.
Participating in band, choir, theatre, mock parliaments, debates, badminton, chess, football, volleyball, and a long list of other activities all provide something unique to participants.
Often sport activities get the recognition at a school. Student bodies and alumni tend to live and die with the wins and losses on the gridiron, or basketball and volleyball courts. There is no discounting students gain from being part of a team, or learning about life from the highs of victories, and the lows of defeat.
But not all students are athletically inclined, nor should they be. Sports are great, but they are not the only thing.
The arts, whether through band, theatre, visual arts, writing, or choir, are certainly as beneficial to the participants as sports.
Which brings forward the question why is choir being cut as opposed to any other program?
If the situation is purely cost-saving it is hard to imagine better places to trim likely exist, as choir cannot be a high cost program. Gowns and music are hardly big ticket items.
If it is enrollment numbers, the question that needs to be asked if enough effort has been made to bolster what is a program which obviously has supporters who gained from participation in the past.
Obviously change is one constant in all things, and that includes the school setting. Programs do come and go with societal changes and the realities of finance.
But in this case people clearly want to better understand why the voices of choir will no longer be heard at Yorkton Regional High School.
