[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I occasionally run workshops for members of my choir to help improve their Singing technique. photo by Intel Free Press I realised whilst teaching that al...

[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 years of leading non-auditioned community choirs in the UK, as well as adult Singing workshops. My focus is on teaching by ear using a repertoire of songs from traditions across th...

[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 years of leading non-auditioned community choirs in the UK, as well as adult Singing workshops. My focus is on teaching by ear using a repertoire of songs from traditions across th...

[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 years of leading non-auditioned community choirs in the UK, as well as adult Singing workshops. My focus is on teaching by ear using a repertoire of songs from traditions across th...

The Junges Vokalensemble Hannover was founded in 1981 by its artistic director Prof. Klaus-Jürgen Etzold. The choir consists of about 60 female and male singers. Many of the members are active and former students of the University of Music, Drama and Medi...  moreThe Junges Vokalensemble Hannover was founded in 1981 by its artistic director Prof. Klaus-Jürgen Etzold. The choir consists of about 60 female and male singers. Many of the members are active and former students of the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover, but other professions are represented as well, and all singers are united in their wide choral experience and their joy in Singing challenging works together. The performance of a wide range of a cappella works, some of them quite unknown, forms an important emphasis of the choir. In addition to sacred and secular a cappella music of the 15th century until today, the choir performs cantatas, masses, oratorios, and passions. Many compositions were broadcast for radio stations or published on CD. The choir has recorded ten CDs and performed several world premieres of contemporary compositions, e.g. by Büsing, Dinescu, Fuchs and Wangenheim. In 2010 the choir received the ECHO KLASSIK award for the CD "Glaubenslieder", the hi...    less

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   People sometimes welcome a distraction from watching rows of identically dressed choristers Singing with books in front of their faces.   Photo by...

[this is an updated version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Last week I wrote about whether you need Singing lessons in order to be able to sing. I suggested that people should simply jump in and join a...

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Many people have no idea how a song is learnt by ear. They assume that written music is a must. But don’t forget that people have been Singing (and l...

Vocalica is a group of enthusiastic people who enjoy Singing, thereby providing entertainment for other people and themselves.

A couple of years ago, around this time of year, actually, I was having a particularly awful day. I won’t bore you with the details, but let’s just say I was dealing with some pretty heartbreaking family drama, work was pretty crappy at the ...