More Than Rehearsal: Inside IMC’s Fall Retreat

Singers in the Indianapolis Men’s Chorus come with different backgrounds, different levels of musical training and different kinds of performance experience.

Our job isn’t simply to teach them the notes.

It’s also to help them grow as musicians, performers and artists.

That’s why professional development has become an important part of the IMC experience, and why, on September 19, we devoted an entire Saturday to learning.

Four Workshops. Four Experts. One Day.

For our 2026 Fall Retreat, IMC singers gathered at our new home at Butler University for something a little different.

Rather than spending the entire day rehearsing repertoire, singers rotated by Haus through four workshops, each focused on a different skill they can bring back to the IMC stage. 

Dr. Jeremy Dittus led singers through Dalcroze Eurhythmics, an approach to musicianship that uses physical movement to deepen the understanding of rhythm and music. Dr. Dittus directs the Dalcroze School of Music and Movement and has presented Dalcroze masterclasses throughout the United States and internationally.

Jennie Kistner, a voice teacher, audition coach and musical director, led How to Prepare for an Audition, helping singers develop skills that can serve them both inside and outside IMC. Jennie’s background includes choral music education, years with the Indianapolis Children’s Choir, and extensive experience performing and working behind the scenes in musical theatre.

Brooklyn Bruner, an Indiana-based choreographer, taught the Basics of Stage Movement. Brooklyn brought experience as a dancer, dance captain and choreographer—and IMC audiences may recognize her from What Happens in Vegas…

And Dr. Laura Storm led Fundamentals of Vocal Technique, giving singers an opportunity to work with an experienced voice teacher, clinician and performer. 

Dr. Storm is a member of Butler University’s voice faculty, where her work as a teacher builds on an extensive career as both a performer and pedagogue. Before coming to Butler, she served as Professor of Voice at Henderson State University, teaching studio voice, lyric diction, vocal pedagogy and voice methods. 

Investing in the People on the Risers

There is an important philosophy behind all of this. IMC wants singers to leave a season better than they entered it.

That can mean becoming a stronger vocalist. It can mean learning how to move more confidently onstage, understanding music in a new way or becoming more comfortable walking into an audition.

And sometimes it simply means discovering that you’re capable of something you haven’t tried before.

Bringing experts into the room gives our singers access to training and experiences they might not otherwise have. It also helps raise the artistic level of the entire organization.

When 100+ individual singers grow, IMC grows with them.

Your Support Makes This Possible

This kind of investment goes beyond what audiences see under the stage lights.

Donor support helps IMC bring teaching artists and experts into the room, provide educational opportunities for our singers, and continue building an organization where people can grow artistically as well as find community.

So when you support the Indianapolis Men’s Chorus, you’re not only helping put concerts onstage.

You’re investing in the people who create them.

And we think that’s something worth singing about.