15.11 Choral department public relations  (Page 3/3)

Shown below is an example of the form for a typical news release.

FROM:

Susan Jones - Choral Director - Central High School Telephone, 393-5555

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Four students of the Central High School Concert Choir were selected as members of the All-State Chorus, according to choral director, Susan Jones. This marks the seventh consecutive year that Central High School has been represented in the Chorus.

Mary Green, soprano, Jane Smith, alto, George Miles, tenor, and Marvin Brown, bass were among forty students chosen from over two hundred students auditioning in Lakewood on March 10. Jane Smith is returning to the chorus for the third year.

According to director Jones, the competition was especially strong this year. Jones, in her eighth year" as choral director at Central High, said, "The overall quality of students auditioning this year was higher than ever. The All-State chorus will be one of the finest in its history."

News releases should be sent only when there are bona fide news stories. If releases are sent to editors when there is no real news, they will begin to doubt the value of all of the releases they receive from the department. A release should be sent before every concert and to announce anything that is unusual about the department. For example, the fact that another soprano has joined the choir in October is not worthy material for a news release. If that soprano happens to be an exchange student from Sweden who joins the choir after having sung in one of Sweden's community choruses, it has news value. It will have even more value if the girl is living with the family of another member of the choir and the tie of choral music can be shown both at school and at home.

Other possible news releases include: auditions held, officers elected, honors chorus students selected, officers plan fund-raising, concert backdrops being painted, Christmas concert, chorus invited to perform at annual service club dinner, fine arts festival, contest, and any awards received. These are only some of the possibilities. Every school has some unique qualities that are newsworthy. Do not underestimate their news value.

OTHER METHODS OF PUBLICITY

In addition to the news release, the following methods of publicity are also good, depending upon the situation. Probably the best publicity is word of mouth. People who have attended concerts in the past will, by their positive comments, influence the attendance of other people at future concerts. The best publicity then is a fine performance. Use the following means of publicity as they are best adapted to each specific situation.

Website. A good website is a great publicity tool. Designing a website is not easy but there can be students or other teachers that can do this. A website can be as sophisticated as there is talent and time to design it. Updating the website is yet another problem. There are opportunities to place current information on the site as well as rehearsal or publicity pictures, videos, and an audio clip of part of a choral piece. Letting people know how to access the site is important; it can be listed on every piece of literature about the choral program and on concert programs, etc. One should never underestimate the importance of a web site. Even a modest one will be advantageous.

Email directories. Where possible, an email directory consisting of the email address of the many people you want to tell about the choral program. They can be grouped in folders or files for mass email blasts. This is also a good way to communicate with various groups within the email directory. Of course, having an email address of every singer in the ensemble is an effective way of communicating with them between rehearsals or for emergency notification of changes in rehearsal dates or times.

Posters. Student-made posters are acceptable and even desirable if they are neat, original, and convey the message. Twenty posters placed in the areas of the most traffic will produce better than fifty poorly placed ones. Excellent locations in which to place them are banks, shopping centers, utility companies, grocery stores, and stores immediately adjacent to the busiest intersections in any community.

Handbills. These are only valuable if they are brief and are delivered to homes.

Public Service, Radio, and Television Programs. Most stations allow short announcements for nonprofit organizations. Contact these stations well in advance. They often have early deadlines and strict rules regarding the announcements they will broadcast.

Selected Mailers to Program Chairmen (or Presidents) of All Local Service Clubs. Ask to have the date and time of the concert announced at a meeting prior to the concert.

Personal Written Invitations. Either the president of the choir or the director can send these invitations to a VIP list that includes administration, board of education, officers of local music clubs, fine arts association officers, and similar people.

Personal Invitations. Members of the choir can personally invite faculty members. Have each member of the choir be responsible for inviting a certain number of faculty members and their families to the concerts.

Photographs

As soon as possible in the school year arrange to have a photo taken of the choir. If a school photographer is not available, have a professional photographer take the pictures. He needs to know that you want the pictures for newspaper and other publicity uses, such as a website, so he can provide you with suitable prints. 8" X 10" glossy prints are most suitable for publicity purposes. Make these prints available to the newspaper office with your first story or as soon as they are available. Once copies have been sent, attention can be called to the fact that the office already has a photo of the choir for use with later stories.

Publicity is only the means by which you call the public's attention to your department. A director must be careful not to overpublicize himself, but he must also see that the department receives the publicity it deserves. Build a program and not yourself, and you will be rewarded as the program is rewarded.