[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Last time I wrote about whether it’s better to be over-rehearsed or under-prepared. I talked about people who like to spend a long time working on on...

[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...

[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...

[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...

[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...

[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...

[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...

[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...

Wernigerode Choir festival-Germany Silver medal.

"I Had a Paint Box" by Z. Randall Stroope. Text based on "the Paint Box" by Tali Shurel (age 13), from the book "My Shalom, My Peace: Paintings and Poems by Jewish and Arab Children". Recorded live on Friday, May 16, 2014, at the Broward Center in the ...  more"I Had a Paint Box" by Z. Randall Stroope. Text based on "the Paint Box" by Tali Shurel (age 13), from the book "My Shalom, My Peace: Paintings and Poems by Jewish and Arab Children". Recorded live on Friday, May 16, 2014, at the Broward Center in the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Performed by the Lyric Choir ensemble of the Girl Choir of South Florida. Artistic Director: Wallis Peterson, Accompanist: Susan Dodd. I had a paint box. Each color glowing with delight. I had a paint box with colors warm, With colors cool and bright. I had no red for wounds and red for blood. I had no black for an orphaned child. I had no white for the face of the dead. I had no yellow for burning sands. But I had a paint box. Each color glowing with delight. I had a paint box with colors warm, With colors cool and bright. I had orange for joy and life. I had green for buds and bloom. I had blue for clear, bright skies. I had pink for dreams and rest. I had a paint box. Each color g...    less