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  • Calm down dear, it's only a song!

    Added January 18, 2012 by Chris Rowbury - 1522 views - 2 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I was running a workshop recently, and somebody grabbed me in the break and said: “I can’t believe how patient you are with us!”.     I have heard this before in various forms, but this time it set me thinking: wh... read more
    2 comments

  • Do you know the name of everyone in your choir?

    Added January 12, 2012 by Chris Rowbury - 1578 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I’m ashamed to say that I don’t know the name of every singer in my choir.     Unless choir members come for a drink after a session or attend one of our social events, then I don’t get the chance to chat to them.... read more

  • No matter how prepared I am, I still get nervous

    Added January 4, 2012 by Chris Rowbury - 1112 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I reckon I’m a fairly experienced teacher and workshop leader. I’ve been teaching in one form or another for almost 35 years.     Photo by nickb_rock   But I still have sleepless nights before a workshop!  ... read more

  • The calm before the concert storm

    Added December 29, 2011 by Chris Rowbury - 3325 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   There’s always a strange sense of calm that descends on the choir before a concert.     People seem unusually relaxed and more people start turning up late for rehearsals. What’s going on here?   I build up to a ... read more

  • A day in the life of a concert

    Added December 22, 2011 by Chris Rowbury - 1787 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   This is a busy concert time for most choirs.     I thought I'd give an account of a typical concert by one of my community choirs. This is a description of one particular spring concert some years ago, but the pattern is very simil... read more

  • Why I don't like "a cappella"

    Added December 8, 2011 by Chris Rowbury - 5442 views - 3 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   A while back I was asked if I would like to conduct an interview on my blog with a well-known singing group who had just released a new CD.     I had to be honest and say that I didn’t actually like their singing! I said: &ld... read more
    3 comments

  • Leaving the back row - stepping out of our comfort zone

    Added December 1, 2011 by Chris Rowbury - 1895 views - 0 comments
      [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   If you’re not a confident singer, your impulse will be to stand at the back and hide.     But this is the worst possible place for you!   life in the back row Unless you’re in a fairly small choir which ... read more

  • There’s nothing interesting to see at concerts, so why go?

    Added November 24, 2011 by Chris Rowbury - 1506 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Not being a regular concert-goer myself, I often wonder why people make the effort to go to concerts.     'A Choral Voyage' concert by dithyrambic.singers   What is it that they look at?   I went to an orchestral conc... read more

  • Songs of the Republic of Georgia and the origins of polyphony

    Added November 17, 2011 by Chris Rowbury - 2273 views - 4 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I love Georgian songs and singing.     Not songs from the Georgian era in British history, not songs from the state of Georgia in the US, the Georgia Sea Islands or even South Georgia in the southern Atlantic Ocean.   I... read more
    4 comments

  • A choir is greater than any individual singer but needs 'em all

    Added November 10, 2011 by Chris Rowbury - 1505 views - 0 comments
    [this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Obvious really, but a choir is a large organism made up of lots of individuals who are working together.     The Tenor by Amyn Kassam   Part of the joy is to be part of something greater than oneself.   all for one an... read more