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Esprit de Corps
According to the Oxford Dictionary, Esprit de corps means a feeling of pride and mutual loyalty shared by the members of a group. To do this in a meaningful way, a group must share many types of experiences together, on different levels, building trust and friendship. There are many ways to build a Esprit de Corps.
First of all, we need to learn names and backgrounds of students. Esprit de Corps among the ensemble members unlocks the possibility of our greatest musical and interpersonal successes. To sing a great music we need to have honest, trust, and transparency between students. Beauty and truth are revealed when we plumb the depths of our own humanity, something that is unlikely to occur in an atmosphere of hostility and competition. Without caring and regard among the members of our groups, great music making will elude us. Without pride in our past accomplishments and confidence that we can achieve worthy endeavors in the future, great goals are not set and big dreams are stifled. We must tend to the relational health of our organizations. We also need to help each other if one makes a mistake.
Second of all, retreats are powerful community builders. Each retreat should have times to work on music, times for the members to socialize and get to know each other and times to vision. Retreats don’t have to be overnight or at an exotic location. They can be for a single long evening in a local thai church, community center or other meeting place such as eating Work together with your choir leadership to plan the schedule for the retreat and remember to plan specific opportunities that include learning member names, goal setting and team building. In local thai church, we can teach children a song and share our God’s love.
Thirdly, Esprit de Corps can built when we travel together. It is a great motivator and a way to build community in our ensembles. Not only do groups work hard to get prepared and raise the money to travel such as yard sale, the time together on the trip knits the group together in ways that a class time cannot. Time away from our normal routines and responsibilities opens doors for great conversation and connection. Friendships are made and sustained when we travel together with our choirs.
Finally, choir picnics and banquets are great times to recognize member contributions and create structured activities where members can connect socially. Things like campfires are very inexpensive and memorable. Everyone can bring some food, which will reduce the price to go picnic. Any time that people in the choir can simply enjoy being together will build community and raise the positive esprit de corp of the group.
To build Esprit de Corps we need to learn names and backgrounds of students, go for choral retreats, travel together, and to go choral picnics or banquets. We can work together with all the members of the class to produce great musics. Because of the competitive culture we live in, these collaborative efforts are effective for breaking down the perceived barriers. Further, they build relationships with students and share opportunities to build our skill set by directing combined forces outside of our routine. We must work hard to build the Esprit de Corps in our fun choir class.
Also, there are many ways to show and apply Esprit de corps in our class. We can listen to each other ( balance voices), participate more (effort), and follow and respect the director. If we listen to each other then we can find own mistakes. Then we can fix it which will produce even greater music. Make sure that you listen to what your friends are singing because your voice can be louder than anyone else. We need to encourage each other as a team and help each other if one needs a help. For example, Ethan Wood leads the tenor section and fix and teach us if we made any mistake. Then, it’s our responsibility to fix it and sing a right thing. We need to participate as a member of the choir because we have responsibility to do our best. I also think that if we follow and respect the director, we can apply Esprit de corps even more, because you can be singing something different or in a different style from everyone else. I know that building a positive Esprit de corps is not a easy thing but if we do it step by step, then I am sure that one day, people will be impressed.
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