[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Do you have to be able to read music to sing? Lots of people believe so and are put off joining choirs, or even singing at all, as a result.   &n...

[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...

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

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Hark the herald angels sing. A Festival of Nine Lessons and Carols from King’s College, Cambridge. Slade’s Merry Christmas everybody. White Chr...

[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] Sarcastic remarks from X Factor judges. Teachers telling kids to “stand at the back and just mime”. Being made to stand up and sing solo to get...

[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...