To the uninitiated it may seem that the detailed work done every Monday night, at rehearsals is why the Big Apple Chorus is a leader in its specialized field. It all seems seamless and simply focused on the art and craft of singing (and sometimes dancing). Chorus Director Joe Hunter has an uncanny gift for cheerfully, effortlessly and effectively coaching a unique and distinct vision for each song out of his 95+ singers. It might seem that a good interpretation, a facile director and a well-run rehearsal, are how the thing gets done and that's all what separates the Big Apple Chorus from legions of other choirs.

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But behind the spirited ease of Monday rehearsals is a cadre of men who selflessly and routinely spend hour upon hours of their personal time, effort and attention, attending to the countless details that make a musical organization like the Big Apple Chorus as dynamic and successful as it is. The attention rightfully is on the music as the jewel in our crown, but in fact, without the infrastructure to support and frame our art, the Manhattan Chapter would only, at best, be just another pleasant gathering of good singers and ideas. Recent news about the financially beleaguered Harlem Boys choir and the financial woes of Carnegie Hall, poignantly illustrate that great performances and a good product alone do not necessarily make a successful musical group.

With the 23rd annual induction of the Big Apple Chorus's Board of Directors it is timely to identify even just a few of the components of the engine behind the Manhattan Chapter and its performing arm, the Big Apple Chorus, and how they contribute to its international reputation in the world of the Barbershop Harmony Society.

To begin with, nearly one third of the membership actively and voluntarily participate in the administrative and operational duties that make things happen behind the scene. In essence: about one out of every three men who stand on the Manhattan Chapter's risers work in some capacity to provide learning and performing opportunities for their riser mates. In the field of volunteer organizations this is a rare, telling and exceptionally high percentage.

Beyond the sheer number of men who take it upon themselves to be the masters of their own recreational destiny, there is a breadth of talent, dedication and expertise that provides a necessarily wide foundation upon which the chapter is able to stack the details of it's many activities and goals. Few, even within the chapter, realize the full spectrum of these activities:

The Music committee: This 11-man team whose responsibilities (beyond acting as general counsel and sergeants to the director and the artistic vision of the chapter) also involve music selection, composition and arranging, sectional voice and music coaching, reviewing, recording and demonstrating learning materials, securing copyrights, auditioning prospective members, planning the program content and agenda for each rehearsal, show, educational retreat, contest and commercial performance and dovetailing all their work with an entirely separate choreographic team. Two of the Music committee's members are trained and certified BHS judges and one is currently enrolled in the 3-year certification process, that's comparable to a Bachelor's of Arts program.

The Board of Directors: This is a 10-man team whose responsibilities read like those of the Board of Directors for any mid sized corporation. Indeed, the Manhattan Chapter is a $100,000-a-year business, and is managed as such. Their areas of responsibility can be overly simplified under the cover of departments like: Marketing, Membership, Finance and Accounting, Insurance and Legal, Grant Writing, even Real Estate (as in rehearsal hall site location issues - think Harlem Boy's Choir). But under the simple cover of these general areas of activity may fall dozens of tasks and sub tasks, each vital to some aspect of the overall culture, vitality and activities of the chapter and played out through a large field of operational team players.

A case in point might be illustrated in a single area (like contracts) for a given event (like the staging of the Big Apple Chorus's annual show at Alice Tully Hall). The contractual issues in and of themselves would be daunting for most not-for-profit amateur organization. Talent contracts for the international Medalist quartet performers who are the featured guest talent, concert hall contracts and obligations for the management of everything from ticket sales (about 1,000) show journals, advertising restrictions, stage rehearsal time to sound systems, lighting and union stage grip management. There are catering and catering hall contracts and legal music copyright obligations and fees to be secured. These are just the contractual areas to be addressed. This doesn't even touch on the actual work and details behind the mechanics of putting on a relatively big budget show and coordinating 95-120, very independent men with multiple uniform changes for the one night event!

The Operational & Administrative Teams: This is more of an ad hoc committee consisting of about 15 to 20 regular volunteers who handle and manage equipment and uniform procurement, music distribution and library maintenance, technology and web site management, travel and housing procurement, guest materials management, events coordination, archival and secretarial work, etc., etc.

The object here is not to bore you with the details and minutia that go on behind the scene of the Big Apple, or to impress you with the tremendous capital expense it represents in man-hours. Rather this may afford you some insight into the passionate energy and commitment necessary for a dynamic organization like the Big Apple Chorus to make an engaging Monday rehearsal an opportunity for its members to experience and participate in something far greater than a rehearsal. This even if it seem like a wonderfully good time and a process that's simple and seamless.

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