Creating Trauma-Informed Safe Rehearsal Spaces 

What Does Trauma-Informed Practice Actually Mean? 

In rehearsal spaces, trauma-informed practice means being aware of those around you and taking care to offer a safe and supportive environment. Not everyone who experiences hardship develops lasting trauma symptoms. However, leaders can never fully know what experiences singers carry with them, or how those experiences may live in their nervous systems. 

 Trauma-informed practice doesn’t require conductors to uncover personal histories. Instead, it asks leaders to take practical, common-sense steps to reduce potential harm, foster agency, and create environments that do not require singers to self-advocate in order to feel safe.    

 “It’s an approach that recognizes the impact of trauma and fosters healing,” says Erum Nadeem, an associate professor at the Rutgers University Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and an expert in school-based interventions for trauma. 

 Choral conductors regularly balance musical goals with the human realities singers bring into the rehearsal room. “Trauma-informed choral spaces ensure physical, emotional, and psychological safety for everyone in the rehearsal space,” Nadeem explains. “Conductors build trust with their singers, and collaboration often takes place. This supportive environment empowers all participants.”  

  Nadeem sees the impact of this approach in her own family. Her daughter is part of a chorus at her high school in New York City.  “The chorus directors have done a great job making the students and their families feel part of the community,” she says. “While expectations are high, the atmosphere is welcoming.”  

 Understanding the concept is only the first step. In rehearsal spaces, symptoms of trauma do not always appear in obvious ways, and conductors may encounter them through everyday interactions with singers. 

Repertoire Considerations

We all know songs have the power to evoke a broad range of emotions, from happiness and joy to sorrow and heartbreak. Scientific studies have found that music deeply impacts one’s emotions, and because singers bring different lived experiences into the rehearsal room, they can react to repertoire in deeply personal ways. 

 “As choral conductors, we are literally putting words in our singers’ mouths,” says Alyssa Cossey, interim director of choral activities at Wellesley College. “We ask them to sing them over and over. It matters what text we choose.” 

 An example of a song that seems perfectly innocent is “Jingle Bells.” For some, it brings to mind snow, sleigh bells, and cheerfulness. Yet the piece, originally titled “One Horse Open Sleigh,” premiered in a minstrel show—an entertainment tradition in which white performers in blackface mocked and caricatured enslaved and free African Americans.  

 This history illustrates how repertoire can carry cultural and historical weight that may affect singers and audiences. “Our goal is to do no harm to our singers and to the audience,” says Cossey. “If the repertoire is harmful, it needs to be removed.”  

 But repertoire considerations are not limited to historical harm. Conductors must also approach music that addresses intense or sensitive subject matter with care.  

 “Music that covers sensitive and possibly triggering topics must be handled thoughtfully,” Cossey explains. “As more and more singers battle with mental health issues, conductors may be tempted to address such things with repertoire.”  

 She points to the popular choral work “Please Stay” by Jake Runestad, which addresses suicide. Rather than avoiding such music, Cossey emphasizes the importance of intentional preparation and self-reflection before programming it. 

 When considering repertoire that deals with heavy themes, she encourages conductors to ask themselves a series of questions: 

1. Why are you programming this piece? 
2. Who are you programming it for? 
3. What research have you done on the piece: topic, composer, background, style, performance practice? 
4. What elements of this piece may negatively impact those you are trying to uplift? 
5. What research/training do you have related to equity-centered trauma-informed education? 
6. What resources and tools do you have prepared to assist you in presenting this information to singers and community members? 
7. What repertoire have you done before this to help prepare singers for this type of piece?  
8. What systems or processes do you have set up for singers to share their concerns about this piece? 

 According to Cossey, this kind of repertoire requires scaffolding. 

 “We wouldn’t program the Brahms Requiem without first introducing singers to a German part-song,” she says. “Learning any music requires scaffolding, and this repertoire requires the same approach.”  

 Preparation must extend beyond music technique. Conductors should thoughtfully prepare both singers and audiences for the emotional and contextual realities of the work, creating an environment in which difficult material can be approached carefully and systematically. 

 “I’m not saying you can’t perform this repertoire,” Cossey explains. “But you should ask yourself those questions to determine whether you are the right person or chorus to present it—and whether you have the tools and support systems in place to support not only your performers, but your audience in understanding this piece.”  

Tools and Frameworks in Trauma-Informed Practice 

Increasingly, trauma-informed approaches in music education draw from established mental health frameworks designed for schools and community programs. One example is Cognitive Behavioral Intervention in Schools (CBITS), a school-based mental health program developed over 20 years ago.  

   “Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools helps students manage trauma,” Nadeem explains. “The goal behind the program is to recognize the pervasiveness of trauma exposure among young people.”   

 CBITS helps conductors understand and manage the impact of their students’ experiences. It teaches coping skills, relaxation techniques, and social problem solving. The program also offers parents and teachers a long-term and holistic approach to support children in managing symptoms of trauma. 

 Nadeem sees the benefits of these approaches firsthand in her daughter’s choral community. “These spaces provide students with a voice and a choice where they can collaborate and create,” she says. “These spaces empower students.” 

 Nadeem continues, “She or other kids might have a rough time outside of school. They can bring that stress to the rehearsal space, and that stress can show up in a variety of ways. Some students don’t want to share those feelings. It’s important to be aware of your students. As a conductor, you should provide the kind of environment where everyone feels comfortable.”  

 Programs like Harmony Project also embed trauma-informed support directly into their organizational structure. A core component of the organization's work is its Community and Relational Engagement (CARE) department.  

 “CARE staff are trained to recognize trauma-related behavioral indicators, provide one-on-one student support, and connect families to external mental health and social service resources,” Davidson says. “This integrated model allows Harmony Project to pair high-quality, culturally rooted music instruction with a built-in system of relational and emotional support.”   

   These teaching techniques may include journaling, interdisciplinary art workshops, music production, or songwriting that allow students agency, voice, and narrative control, allowing leaders to choose cultural repertoire that reflects students’ lived experiences.   

 While frameworks like CBITS offer structured guidance, trauma-informed practice ultimately takes shape in the culture of the rehearsal room itself.  

Choosing Listening Over Fixing 

Choral conductors without access to formal programs can still incorporate trauma-informed principles into their leadership. 

 The CARE model emphasizes community, competence, meaning, and identity. It encourages singers to contribute to the overall harmony in the room by engaging in decision-making and discussing links between music-making and well-being. 

 Megan Durham, who serves on the voice faculty at the University of Louisville and works as a singing voice specialist, believes trauma-informed care is akin to universal design. “There are no exceptions made for a few,” she says. “It’s an ethic extended to all. It centers on dignity, agency, and consent, and makes room for difference. It acknowledges the inherent messiness of being human without demanding disclosure.”  

 Durham emphasizes that trauma-informed leadership does not require knowing every singer’s personal background. 

  “We do not need to know someone’s story to incorporate these principles in our practice,” she says. “Being trauma-informed is not what we are doing to others; it’s how we are being with ourselves, noticing our bias, divesting from oppressive systems, and having physical and emotional resources to cope with discomfort so that we can notice when we are speaking from pain with a desire to fix rather than listen.”  

  Often, she adds, conductors may have a strong urge to fix problems. But simply listening makes a major impact.  

 Listening builds trust. When singers share difficult experiences, here's a listening-first framework to try:  
 

1. Give the person your undivided attention by fully listening and maintaining eye contact. 
2. Don’t interrupt. Allow the speaker to share their thoughts.  
3. Ask the speaker to elaborate and explain if you are unsure of what’s bothering them. 
4. Sometimes the person might not seek a solution. Recognize that sometimes people simply need space to be heard.  

  Durham also points to principles of cultural and gender equity, safety, and empowered collaboration. “These are not add-ons,” she says. “They shape every aspect of rehearsal culture. Conductors must remain in ongoing dialogue with their own assumptions and with how historical and present-day systems of oppression show up in music education.”  

  She notes that frameworks such as Kenneth Jones and Tema Okun’s White Supremacy Culture illuminate how traits often normalized in choral spaces—such as perfectionism, urgency, power hoarding, either/or thinking, and reverence for the written score—can unintentionally marginalize singers. 

  Making rehearsals safe for all is the goal, and it begins with questioning assumptions that rehearsal spaces feel safe to all singers. “What feels neutral or motivating to one person may feel threatening to another,” Durham says.   

  She suggests beginning by inviting singers to share what helps them feel grounded in rehearsal, offering flexibility in standing or sitting, checking lighting and temperature, and being mindful of proximity to exits, water, or restrooms. “These small logistical choices communicate care, agency, and respect for diverse nervous systems without lowering musical expectations,” she says.  

Final Thoughts 

Trauma-informed practice asks conductors to expand their awareness of the human experiences singers bring into the rehearsal room. 

 From thoughtful repertoire selection to collaborative rehearsal cultures and intentional listening, trauma-informed approaches help ensure that choral spaces remain places of connection, expression, and care.  

 When singers feel safe, respected, and supported, the music itself can flourish.  

Michele C. Hollow writes about health, mental health, animals, and climate. Her byline has appeared in the New York Times, Today.com, Symphony Magazine, and other print and online publications