Wow 40 years! Where did the time go? I've always been one of the oldest members of the Stairwell Carollers - if not the OLDEST - at our choir's 20th anniversary in 1997 I was 41, but still didn't look a day over 30. Pierre had HAIR - and I sh...

[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!”. &n...

Hello!  I am a newly appointed conductor of my church congregational choir.  I primarily come from an orchestral background but am very excited to join in voice and song with many of you around the world in your respective communities.  I a...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I teach a song by ear in less than an hour at a workshop. Everyone picks it up really quickly and then they sing it brilliantly. We’ve been working ...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]Just because a song is in a foreign language, you still need to respect its origins. Sami family by Morten Oddvik there is a huge amount of misinformation ...

[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...

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   To make singing as accessible as possible, I don’t use sheet music when I teach. This often freaks out people who are used to having a score in their...

[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...

  Life works in mysterious ways. Sometimes, without meaning to, you can get a song or a jingle stuck in your head and end up singing or humming it for hours - or even days. On the other hand, when you are actively trying to learn a poem, lyric, or a...