A Letter From Your New CCSD Board President

Meet Kevin Wright

A longtime member of the choral community in San Diego, Kevin Wright is excited to take on a leadership role in the operations of the Choral Consortium of San Diego. He brings a strong belief in organizational collaboration, cross-promotion, and active committee engagement.

He is passionate about supporting both new and existing initiatives that strengthen connections across the choral community. His experience has shown that engagement and investment go hand in hand, and that empowering individuals to contribute their unique talents fosters a more vibrant and energized organization. He is particularly committed to deepening relationships among community choirs, recognizing that these groups are often each other’s greatest supporters. Kevin looks forward to helping expand community events, enhance communication between organizations, and ensure that the collective impact of CCSD continues to be greater than the sum of its parts.

A Letter From Your CCSD Board President

Working on the Choral Consortium’s board for the last year has opened my eyes to the greatest strengths of the choral arts community in San Diego – as well as some of its biggest opportunities to improve.

I’ve been able to connect with people like never before, choirs and ensembles that differ substantially from any I’ve been a part of, both in terms of what they perform and how they function. I’ve seen terrific concerts and spoken with incredibly talented artists. They have given me a newfound love for the art, and a desire to, in my own little way, help them all achieve their greatest potential.

Sitting with the leadership of those choruses, I’ve heard more than once how the enthusiasm for choral music is greater than it’s ever been, but the challenges of keeping their choruses aloft only ever seem to keep mounting.

A tumultuous economy and a rising cost of living make concerts a tough sell for audiences who could easily stream their entertainment at home. Venue rentals steepen with each new year. We’re all feeling the drive, the hunger for community and a shared craftsmanship – and yet, the pressure to market never seems to let up. For the non-profits among us, this can be especially difficult without professional management and careful strategizing that not everyone can afford. More than one great chorus has had to shut down its operations because of infrastructural failings in a post-pandemic world. The art form itself is sensitive to certain pressures, and we’re all feeling it.

At the risk of putting too fine a point on it, our city has withdrawn some key support for the arts. While we can argue at length about where that seemingly sudden withdrawal has come from (and I’m happy to do so, over a couple pints at our next Beer Choir), the question, for us, is no longer “why now?” It’s “what now?”

We’re at a turning point, and more than ever before, our community needs to stay unified, to share our considerable resources, and to leverage our existing tools to give us all a more modernized advantage.

Time and again, I keep thinking about how easily accessible our member choruses have been for me to work and collaborate with. Many run tight ships; they’re strong, rigid organizations designed to weather the hazards of an unpredictable landscape. Others are more fluid, which grants them flexibility and keeps them quick on their feet. Some embrace technological solutions while others favor good old-fashioned elbow grease. Some are time-honored institutions; others are brand-new upstarts with their eyes on the future. Each one has its own special sauce, the idiosyncrasy that makes it uniquely great. Choruses are resilient, and by their nature, they attract all sorts of people with countless expertises.

So why do so many feel so uncertain about the future? I think a significant part of it is simply that we haven’t been comparing notes. And I think the Choral Consortium is uniquely positioned to help make that happen.

We are a community of communities, representing literally thousands of different perspectives. With the resources and organizational knowledge we’ve all accrued, nothing is stopping us from developing programs that benefit all of us. From shared venue lists, to cross-promotional initiatives, to educational and training programs, to more robust event programming that showcases even more of your talents, the Choral Consortium can and should serve as a way to bolster our connections, not just because it’s convenient, but because it can take us all from merely surviving, to truly thriving.

This doesn’t just extend to our own city, either. Our partnerships with our Tijuana member choruses have shown us that there are even more opportunities we hadn’t even considered. The choral arts of Baja California are sophisticated and economically solvent; they have securities and strategies we’ve only dreamed of on our side of the border, and we should be working alongside them to improve both of our regions jointly, rather than in isolation.

I’m ecstatic to be in a position where I can help us all usher in a new era for the Consortium, in its role as both a service provider to all our members and as a champion of the city’s cultural identity.

But we certainly can’t do it alone. For some time now, our organization has become more siloed, and lost some of its pluralistic luster. We have so many fantastic ideas for programs, we just need the people to make them happen. Right now, our board is looking for committee members who can help us put on events like San Diego Sings, World Singing Day, and other mainstays that let us share our voices with the city. These prestigious events don’t come together by themselves, and we’re always looking for ways to improve them. The work is gratifying and creative in a way only our medium can offer. If you’ve got logistical know-how, a connection you’d like to make, or even just a good idea, we would love for you to come join one of our committees, and let your voice be heard.

I believe the work we do is important. The people we serve are important. It’s more than just the music; it’s one of the purest forms of community there is, and it deserves all the support it can get. The challenges may be great, but each one we tackle will make us nimbler and more prepared for the next one. Let’s get the choral community in fighting shape, and let’s do it together.