"Congratulations! Your son is a chorister!"

So begins a great adventure for your son and for you. The experience of singing with a boychoir is like none other and contributes to a foundation that will serve him all of his life. The staff of the Billings BoyChoir looks forward to its association with your son—and with you.

It is probably not unreasonable to assume that you encouraged your son to audition with the Billings BoyChoir. Enjoy his time with the ensemble and help him make the most of his time as a chorister. Your enthusiasm and support will go a long way towards helping him through some of the challenges that he may face as he grows into this new role.

Just as there are responsibilites each chorister must accept to be a member of the ensemble (read about some of those; click here), there are some things that his parents may need to help him with. Please take note of these, as they are of great importance to the ensemble, but possibly beyond your son's control.

Participation. We will remind our choristers (rather frequently) that they must do all that they can to attend each rehearsal and certainly, not miss performances. There is a very short window of time during which the boys must learn new music, refine their technique and blend to form an ensemble. Every rehearsal "matters" and an absence has a profound effect on the entire ensemble. Please help him to understand and fulfill his committment to the other boys and to the ensemble. If your son absolutely must miss a rehearsal (or, forbid, a performance), please let the director know well in advance if at all possible.

Practice. The ensemble will perform without music and most of rehearsal time will be devoted to working as an ensemble, not memorizing parts. If you have the ability to help your chorister learn his music, please take an opportunity. Of course, in the end, learning his part is the responsibility of each chorister—but we are pretty sure that you can help.

Transportation. Transportation to and from rehearsals, performances and other ensemble-related activities is the responsibility of every chorister's family. Although we would like to help, the staff of the Billings BoyChoir cannot provide rides for the boys. It goes without saying, please do everything you can to have your son where he needs to be, when he needs to be. Rehearsals will begin and end on time and the calendar is kept current with dates and times; please refer to it often. Also, if you cannot wait for your son, please be available to pick him up at the end of each activity, otherwise staff and other parents will need to wait for your return since we will never leave your son waiting alone. (If you must leave, it might be good to leave a phone number with one of the event chaperones so that they can reach you if need be.)

Chaperone. Our Operations Coordinators, among many other assignments, work hard to provide a safe environment for the boys at all rehearsals, performances, and other activities of the Billings BoyChoir. One of the most important things that you as a parent can do to help with this task is to gratefully accept occassional requests to serve as an event chaperone. This entails being at the event before any of the boys arrive, keeping an eye on the boys during activities and remaining until all of the boys have left with a parent. While we realize that this occasional "call to serve" may be a hardship, the safety and well-being of the boys is of the greatest importance to the staff of the Billings BoyChoir.

Thank you for sharing your son's talents with the Billings BoyChoir and with the many who will hear him sing. There is something deeply magical about music, and perhaps a boy's voice is the most magical spell of all. Songs learned as a child remain with us throughout our lives, cheering, comforting, and inspiring us. We hope that your son finds all of this in the repertoire of the Billings BoyChoir and that the friendships and experiences that he shares while a chorister will be an important part of the youth and man he becomes. We also hope that this opportunity will help you find new associations, but more particularly, provide a way for you to enjoy the gifts with which you son has been blessed.