My community choir board is struggling.  We have been working hard at making sure our bylaws are followed and making any necessary changes to keep them up to date.  However, we have run into some gray areas that we aren't sure how to handle.  Those gray areas have to do with attendance.

Our bylaws state that members must attend at least 80% of the rehearsals in order to sing at a concert. They must also attend the dress rehearsal.  We have four concerts a year, and they happen approximately 7-8 weeks apart.  We generally have one extra Saturday rehearsal for each concert, so let's say that we have nine rehearsals per concert.  If we figure 80% of 9 rehearsals, every member must attend at least seven rehearsals in order to be able to participate in a concert.  That means that everyone can miss two rehearsals and still participate in the concert.

This particular bylaw was put into place many years ago to make sure that choir members took rehearsal attendance seriously.  Board members wanted to guarantee that every member of the choir knew the music well if they performed at the concert, and they also wanted to make sure choir members didn't "flit in" and "flit out" and expect to be able to sing at a concert. Unfortunately, we have had some situations where choir members have sung at a concert without attending the required number of rehearsals, and the board is trying to do a better job of keeping track of attendance to make sure those things no longer happen.  We have already had situations where we have had to tell members that they couldn't sing at a concert due to lack of the required attendance.

We are now facing a situation where one of our officers is taking a trip to Australia and will miss three rehearsals. She is an excellent singer and is also a former music teacher, so she knows how to read music.  In fact, she has already been studying the music and feels that she knows it well.  However, with her missing three rehearsals, she will not be able to attend the required 80%.  The board has to decide whether to dismiss her from the concert or make an exception for her. If we don't allow her to sing at the concert, we will be "shooting ourselves in the foot," as the old saying goes, because her strong voice adds a lot to the soprano section.  However, if we make an exception for her, that means that we have to make exceptions for everyone else.  What a conundrum.  We are having a board meeting in another week, and this particular issue is on the agenda to be discussed.

Bylaws are necessary.  Without them, choirs would have members who didn't attend regularly, who didn't pay their dues, and who weren't committed to the success of the ensemble.  However, there are times when the bylaws themselves create problems.  That's when the board has to take their jobs seriously and sit down and make some decisions.

I'm not sure how this situation will turn out.  As the director, I am a non-voting member of the board, so my thoughts don't always make a difference.  I am hoping that the board will decide to allow her to sing, especially since she has already been rehearsing the music.  Nevertheless, I do know that if we make an exception for her, we may have to make exceptions for others.

Readers, do you belong to a community choir?  If so, how would your group handle this situation?  We would value any input that you can give.