Amateur or professional?

I often wonder what to call myself. Although I'm no longer actively pursuing a vocal career, I still consider myself a professional singer, in so far as I pretty much only sing in public if I'm paid for it, or at least if the level of the performance is "professional." I don't think that this is vanity. As a person who has worked on a professional level with opera companies, concert organizations and symphony orchestras, it is very difficult to work on any other level. I've tried singing with purely amateur organizations and the experience is generally just too frustrating to be productive. I've found that in most cases I either have to change my way of working or I have to alter the basic sound that I make, to more closely match the less trained voices of my colleagues and inevitably cause strain on my instrument.

It's not that I have anything against amateurs either. I've very supportive of amateur groups. If it weren't for opportunities in amateur organizations I would not have developed the love and ability that I have. I also think that it is an important part of all musical life to have a volunteer component and to foster volunteerism.

But there is a distinct difference between the amateur and professional musician. One area that I feel increasingly pushed to defend is the amateur vs. the professional chorus. There is a distinct difference and I think it is very important that professional choruses remain part of the musical fabric of our cities and churches. I've heard some very good amateur choirs but with very few exceptions, juxtaposed with an all-pro choir, the deficiencies show up clearly. The differences are not only vocal, although that is an important component. It also shows in the basic musicianship and ability of the voices to learn the music, respond to a conductor and to phrase music in anything more than the most basic manner.

When I once felt overworked and complained about trying to balance my full-time day job and my choir job, the person I was talking to wondered why. "Church choir singing is just a sing-a-long." After a withering stare, I calmly tried to explain that singing in a professional choir required strong musicianship skills, ability to sight-read difficult music and to work as part of a ensemble to balance voice colors and volumes. It has taken many years of study and experience to get to the point where I am now and I consider that I'm still learning (I'm 10x better a musician than I was 10 years ago). To achieve that level of ability and consistency takes more than a "sing-along".

Am I professional musician? Yes and very proud of it.