We think our classes are pretty great, but you don't have to take just our word for it. Each year we ask our guests for some feedback so we can continually improve our program.
The following are comments excerpted from the evaluations submitted by different attendees of the program. They were extracted, but not otherwise edited.
I’m not going to continue because I’m singing with another chorus (Mystic Chorale) and don’t have time or anothe regular commitment right now. However, if the lessons are repeated again, I’d be happy to repeat the whole experience. I’d even be willing to pay for it if there’s a charge. I’ve also talked to some other people who might like to take voice lessons if they are offered again. So please keep me informed. Please express my thanks to everyone in S.O.C. and to Dan Costello. You were all so generous and welcoming. I’ve rarely felt so comfortable among so many strangers so quickly.
I hope to use what I learned in my church choir, in the Mystic Chorale (occasionally), and in a quartet (with other Mystic singers).
In general, the voice lessons provided me a framework through which to understand how we produce sound and, therefore, how to sing. As someone who has only sung occasionally and on a casual level for quite some time, the classes boosted my confidence and enabled me to improve my singing just by making me aware of some simple, yet important, things.
To cap things off, Steve is an excellent instructor. He was well prepared and knows how to manage/motivate a group as large as ours. Given that the lessons are essentially free, I would say everyone got more than their money’s worth.
If there was something I would recommend, it would just be an extra sheet of paper listing out warm up exercises we could do with a short description of how to do them -- or perhaps just a link on the internet. I find that I would benefit from doing some warm up exercises before rehearsal since it seems to take a while for me to extend my range. Again, please take this suggestion with a grain of salt since this is a negligible point which may not apply to most people. From my perspective, the voice lessons were great the way they were.
The one question that is on my mind is “how can we convert more of the guests to members?” What if we had the guests perform “Heart of my Heart” in Week 3 as a group and allow them to share in the true barbershop experience by having them to sing in a quartet in Week 4. Break the members and guests up into 4 groups and send them off into various rooms to sing together (like we do for sectionals, but, in this case, with four parts). This may build their confidence to audition since singing in a quartet is one of the requirements. It will also give members a chance to preview the talent.
The other question I have is “what is the SoC’s value proposition?”. Frankly, it is far more than just singing. It is fun, camraderie and a bunch of other things. Much of that came out just through the interaction after the voice lessons (e.g., during the regular rehearsal time and after rehearsal) as well as through your emails. Perhaps we could articulate those intangible benefits over the course of the four weeks in case the men need help making a case to their significant others. Perhaps we could even invite significant others to experience rehearsal and see the positive environment first-hand. We could even have significant others of existing members come to talk us up.
Anyhow, those are my thoughts for now. I hope you don’t mind the longer email. Thanks again for your efforts.