Mistango Choir Festival
Chris Rowbury Chris Rowbury

Categories

Archives

Chris Rowbury's Blog Entries

  • Do you care what songs you learn in a workshop?

    Added June 17, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 1161 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I’ve been creating some new singing workshops for next year.   Janis Joplin by Patrick Pearse   Recently I wrote about how to create snappy, attractive titles. But what about the content – does the theme of the workshop a... read more

  • No energy? Sing different, sing better!

    Added June 10, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 1252 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I’ve been under the weather lately with no energy at all. But last night was choir night so I had to pull something out of the bag.   So tired by KcPhotography LA   I decided to use the fact that I had no energy to structure th... read more

  • “Everyone can sing” – what the hell does that mean??!!

    Added June 3, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 1500 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   There is (apparently) a proverb from Zimbabwe  that says: “If you can walk, then you can dance. If you can talk, then you can sing.”   Zulu nation by nualabugeye   Exactly! The whole of my work is based on my belief ... read more

  • How to be a confident singer

    Added May 27, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 1355 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   When I was much younger I used to think that once you knew everything and were vastly experienced, only then would you become confident.   photo by fmgbain   But one day I was in a singing workshop when I realised that this is not tr... read more

  • What’s in a name? Creating good titles for singing workshops

    Added May 20, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 2169 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Like a newspaper headline, or a title for a blog post, a good name for a singing workshop can make all the difference.   Queue for the Banksy Exhibition (Nigel Mykura) / CC BY-SA 2.0)   I’m constantly wrestling with titles for ... read more

  • How to move forward when you’re uninspired

    Added May 13, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 1124 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   I’m having a tough time writing this blog post.   Colleen is bored by scragz   I didn’t sleep well last night, I’ve been over-doing it, I have too much on my plate, and I have no idea what to write about.   A... read more

  • Do you need perfect pitch to lead a choir?

    Added May 6, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 1022 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]     This post is part of a series of occasional Questions and Answers. Just use the contact form if you want to submit a question.   A budding choir director writes:   “Last year I got involved with helping to lead a communit... read more

  • In praise of imperfection in art

    Added April 29, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 915 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Some people just love anything that’s finely honed, all shined up, squeaky clean, highly skilled and perfectly rendered. Not me.     Give me imperfection and humanity any time!   darling, your technique is showing!  ... read more

  • Hearing ALL the harmonies – you sound better than you think

    Added April 22, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 1203 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   At the end of each of my one-day workshops I’ve recently started to record all the songs I’ve taught during the day. It’s nice for people to be able to take something away to remind them of the songs.     But one com... read more

  • Working with a big choir - challenges and solutions

    Added April 15, 2015 by Chris Rowbury - 8077 views - 0 comments
    [A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Size is in the eye of the beholder. How ‘big’ a choir is depends on the context of course, but working with a large group of singers in any circumstances can prove to be difficult.   Photo by -bartimaeus-   I recently sta... read more