Last week, I was able to visit the Young Men's Chorus at CMS for the first time. I love how Kyle connects with each of his choirs while still establishing himself as a leader. He has a great sense of when it is appropriate for him to "follow down" an opportunity to connect more, and when to stick to rehearsal. For instance, he used the metaphor of a unicorn as he asked for more resonance from the tenors in their head voice. One baritone shouted out, "Or be a narwhal!" Kyle asked what that was, and then the men erupted in explaining the whale with a unicorn-like horn and he had someone look up a picture of it. It was simple, didn't take a lot of time, and was a fun way to incorporate their ideas into his teaching of a concept.
Kyle's also not afraid to set expectations and follow through with them. This day was picture day, and since one of the kids didn't have his performance shirt, he wasn't able to be in the picture. Those are the things that I feel like I'm going to have trouble following through with, but I think that because he follows through, he gains the respect of the parents and the kids. Even if the student is disappointed that he's not in the picture, he understands that it was his responsibility, and I don't think he was actually all that mad at Kyle for enforcing the rule of which the whole group was fully aware. It's evident that Kyle respects the students, and that they respect him.
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