Why choirs both sacred and secular matter!

From "Christian Century Magazine", 6/28/11,  
"Joining voices"
Kent Tritle, an organist who conducts professional and amateur choirs in New York, says that choral music is the art form that attracts the greatest amount of participation in the country. About one in every five or six households has someone who participates in a choir of some sort—which adds up to about 22 million Americans. Tritle attributes the popularity of choral singing to the sense of community that members experience and to the pleasure of making music together. "There's nothing more joyous than seeing the thrill on the faces of new amateur singers . . . when they first take part in that sonority," Tritle says (Wall Street Journal, May 25).