43. International Choir Contest Tolosa, Spain. Certamen Coral de Tolosa.

This post was originally posted to the Embro Thistle Singers blog.  The other day, there was a question about whether or not a choir director should sing while directing.  This is an age old question but as usual I have my own ideas.  ...

The US Males of University School sing a tribute to John Williams (aka "John Williams is the Man")

Lass="view_more">Kantorei, (pronounced kahn-to-rye) whose membership consists of professional and student musicians, is a Missouri non-profit organization in the process of becoming a 501c3. We are dedicated to educating audiences of all ages in music from the Medieval pe...  Lass="view_more_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getNext().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">moreLass="view_more" style="display:none;">Kantorei, (pronounced kahn-to-rye) whose membership consists of professional and student musicians, is a Missouri non-profit organization in the process of becoming a 501c3. We are dedicated to educating audiences of all ages in music from the Medieval period through the 21st century through High quality performances by its professional vocal ensemble, Kantorei Choral Ensemble. Kantorei is largely unconducted which provides a unique connection to the audience, creating an unusually intimate performance and audience experience. Our Concerts are all about the voices and the music. A pure listening delight!  Lass="view_less_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getPrevious().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">less

The Avalonian Free State Choir is an unaccompanied natural voice choir with a repertoire of songs from all around the world, including salsa vocal percussion, the awe-inspiring stillness of sacred songs from Georgia and the heartbreaking melodies from Bulgaria.

Lass="view_more">Vacilando is the newest choir in the Kokopelli Choir Association, created in response to many requests for an adult choir in our organization! The word 'vacilando' is Spanish, and refers to taking enjoyment out of the journey rather than focusing on the ...  Lass="view_more_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getNext().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">moreLass="view_more" style="display:none;">Vacilando is the newest choir in the Kokopelli Choir Association, created in response to many requests for an adult choir in our organization! The word 'vacilando' is Spanish, and refers to taking enjoyment out of the journey rather than focusing on the destination. As such, the choir will take a more casual approach to music-making, with fewer performances throughout the season than Òran, our young adult choir. The group will still place an emphasis on all the things that make Kokopelli's music-making unique, however: Community, multiculturalism, Choral excellence, and multifaceted performances.  Lass="view_less_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getPrevious().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">less

Lass="view_more">Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir was formed in 1998 by the New Zealand Youth Choir Board, with Dr Karen Grylls as its first and only Artistic Director. As a nationally selected choir of the Highest calibre, Voices is a Chamber choir that is flexible in s...  Lass="view_more_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getNext().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">moreLass="view_more" style="display:none;">Voices New Zealand Chamber Choir was formed in 1998 by the New Zealand Youth Choir Board, with Dr Karen Grylls as its first and only Artistic Director. As a nationally selected choir of the Highest calibre, Voices is a Chamber choir that is flexible in size, and capable of performing a wide repertoire. Many of the singers are alumni of the New Zealand Youth Choir.  

Lass="view_more">Formed in 2006 by conductor Michael Zaugg, voces boreales is an elite vocal ensemble, performing to great acclaim in Montreal and its surrounds. Concerts by the group feature a cappella music of Scandinavia and the Baltics, as well as North-American co...  Lass="view_more_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getNext().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">moreLass="view_more" style="display:none;">Formed in 2006 by conductor Michael Zaugg, voces boreales is an elite vocal ensemble, performing to great acclaim in Montreal and its surrounds. Concerts by the group feature a cappella music of Scandinavia and the Baltics, as well as North-American composers. Music by composers such as Mäntyjärvi, Daniel-Lesur, Rautavaara, Martin and Pärt are ideal showcases for the choir’s lush and full sound. Members of the group are dedicated to excellence in rehearsing and performing. With a repertoire consisting of 8 to 16-part music, the twenty singers are mostly performing as soloists. Now in its fifth season, voces boreales has already performed in a number of prestigious Concert series, such as the National Arts Centre eXpres- sion series, Musique Chez Nous at Bishop's University, Mondial Choral Laval and the Montreal International Bach-Academy. The ensemble voces boreales is produced by the Montreal Choral Institute and appears in its various educational events, such as the Montreal Choral MastercLass.  Lass="view_less_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getPrevious().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">less

Lass="view_more">Founded in 2010 by Burak Onur Erdem, Rezonans has become one of the prominent choirs of Turkey within a few seasons. The choir performs regularly in leading Choral festivals of Europe and sings under the baton of world-renowned conductors. The choir w...  Lass="view_more_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getNext().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">moreLass="view_more" style="display:none;">Founded in 2010 by Burak Onur Erdem, Rezonans has become one of the prominent choirs of Turkey within a few seasons. The choir performs regularly in leading Choral festivals of Europe and sings under the baton of world-renowned conductors. The choir worked with Grammy© award winning composer Eric Whitacre, Nigel Short, former member of the famous British a capella band King’s Singers, Jo-Micheal Scheibe, the president of American Choral Directors Association and Volker Hempfling, among the most important living conductors of Germany. Rezonans performed with significant choirs of the world within 6 seasons by hosting them in Istanbul: Yale Schola Cantorum (conducted by Simon Carrington), Salt Lake Vocal Artists (conducted by Brady Allred) and Junges Vokalensemble Hannover (conducted by Klaus-Jürgen Etzold). The choir gave Concerts in prominent music festivals of Turkey like IKSV Music Festival, Bogazici University KoroFest, SANSEV Choral Festival, Çanakkale Choral Festival and Ankara Choral Festival....    Lass="view_less_link" href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="$(this).getParent().getPrevious().style.display='';$(this).getParent().style.display='none';">less

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   If a singing workshop is just a couple of hours long, then singers’ energy and concentration will probably be fine.     But for ...