[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   The choirs and workshops that I lead are run on the principle that music should be accessible to all. This means that I don’t use written music to te...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   We’re in the middle of learning a Song. People are struggling a bit. Then someone asks: “What note is that?”   Photo by ph...

The stage lights fall, the crowd goes quiet, and four harmonious voices rise up and fill the air. The melodies unfurl into something both familiar and fresh. What comes next may be a classic Song by Joni Mitchell or Louis Prima. It may be an old bebop st...  moreThe stage lights fall, the crowd goes quiet, and four harmonious voices rise up and fill the air. The melodies unfurl into something both familiar and fresh. What comes next may be a classic Song by Joni Mitchell or Louis Prima. It may be an old bebop standard or cheeky arrangement of a 1980s hit. But these are arrangements like you’ve never heard them before—containing all the richness of a full band, but performed using just four voices. This is Cadence, Canada’s premiere vocal group. Based in Toronto, this a cappella ensemble has been wowing audiences across the country and around the world for nearly 15 years. Whether performing at sold-out jazz clubs and concert halls, at music festivals, for educational outreach, or for corporate functions, the members of Cadence bring an infectious energy and uncanny verve to every Song they sing. The group’s four critically acclaimed studio albums, Cool Yule (2011), Speak Easy (2010), Twenty for One (2005), and Frost Free (2000) have won or been nominated for nume...    less

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Some people are put off when they come across a Song with foreign words. They prefer to sing Songs in English. photo by Chell Hill Not only are they missin...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   A while back I taught a Song wrongly. Not for the first time!     Even though I corrected myself quickly, the original version stuck in peo...

Say No ! is an international project for choirs and small musical ensembles. Together we sing ‘No to War’. Our Song is a tribute to deserters and war objectors. This hymn is also a call to FleeTheFrenzy: say 'No' to the madness of weaponry and war.

Camelot: The Shining City The Albion Choir (VERY appropriately named, no?) were magnificent in singing some of the Song arrangements for the show. They’re a fairly new choir based (handily) in Sheffield, a small but mighty bunch of ridiculous...

Every Choir in Cornwall will have its own personal arrangement of this Song. It is an iconic piece of music . You sing it at weddings ,funerals,pubs ,clubs.Too your loved ones who are with you now and those who have departed. Thanks to MIke Bryant for the video

At the piano: Dmitry Semenovsky. The lyrics of the Song is a translation from Goethe's "Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt."

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Some people really struggle when it comes to learning a Song by ear. Often it’s singers who are used to using sheet music, but not always. &nb...