This was originally published on the Embro Thistle Singers' Blog.  I was reading an article posted to Facebook the other day.  Esa-Pekka Salonen became a conductor when he filled in for an absent colleague.     In the following sh...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   It’s that time of year again. Summer is over and choir starts back. We choir leaders will be thinking about which songs to teach for the next s...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]It’s that time of year again when you still have time to to pop to the local garage for last-minute presents. What on earth can you get for the choral...

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   In 2010 artist Susan Philipsz won the Turner Prize  for "a sound piece consisting of her own frail beautiful voice Singing a Scottish lament over the ...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   When I’m booked to run a Singing workshop for someone, I always make sure that I get there early. I usually arrive to find people milling aroun...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   In 2014 a Britney Spears recording escaped into the wild which demonstrates that without Auto-Tune her Singing can be less than perfect (Experience t...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir] I always teach songs by ear. Despite my strong belief in the oral/ aural tradition, there is an increaSing number of handheld recording devices appearing i...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]   There are times in most choirs when a soloist or a small ensemble is required. These roles can be allocated by the MD but in many cases Singers are a...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my Blog From the Front of the Choir]Sometimes I bring a great song to choir and for some reason the Singers really struggle with it. photo by Clear Path International How do you decide whethe...

[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...