choral leaders' workshop/masterclass 2013 - the bach choir

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Choral leaders' workshop/masterclass 2013 The Warehouse 13 Theed Street London SE1 8ST 27th April 2013 David Hill advising one of the music specialists in the choral leaders' workshop/masterclass The 2013 masterclass was designed to develop the skills of teachers in Key Stages 2 and 3 who lead singing activities and choirs in their schools. It was the first such Bach Choir event and was led by our Musical Director, David Hill, with his wealth of experience in choral conducting and training. Most of the music specialists/teachers from The Bach Choir Outreach Project schools attended, as did the conductors and animateurs of the Outreach workshops held in their schools, who are volunteers from The Bach Choir. The Triborough Music Hub funded the costs for the four music specialists from its schools. Other members of The Bach Choir who are interested in working as animateurs or conductors for Outreach in the future also took part. In future we hope to attract more teachers through publicity on the websites of the TriBorough Hub and The Bach Choir.

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Page 1: Choral leaders' workshop/masterclass 2013 - The Bach Choir

 Choral leaders' workshop/masterclass 2013 The Warehouse 13 Theed Street London SE1 8ST 27th April 2013  

David Hill advising one of the music specialists in the choral leaders' workshop/masterclass   The  2013  masterclass  was  designed  to  develop  the  skills  of  teachers  in  Key  Stages  2  and  3  who  lead  singing  activities  and  choirs  in  their  schools.    It  was  the  first  such  Bach  Choir  event  and  was  led  by  our  Musical  Director,  David  Hill,  with  his  wealth  of  experience  in  choral  conducting  and  training.      Most  of  the  music  specialists/teachers  from  The  Bach  Choir  Outreach  Project  schools    attended,  as  did  the  conductors  and  animateurs  of  the  Outreach  workshops  held  in  their  schools,  who  are  volunteers  from  The  Bach  Choir.    The  Tri-­‐borough  Music  Hub  funded  the  costs  for  the  four  music  specialists  from  its  schools.      Other  members  of  The  Bach  Choir  who  are  interested  in  working  as  animateurs  or  conductors  for  Outreach  in  the  future  also  took  part.    In  future  we  hope  to  attract  more  teachers  through  publicity  on  the  websites  of  the  Tri-­‐Borough  Hub  and  The  Bach  Choir.      

Page 2: Choral leaders' workshop/masterclass 2013 - The Bach Choir

     The  morning  sessions,  "How  to  teach  children  to  sing'’,  were  presented  by  Hilary  Jones.  Hilary  is  co-­‐author  of  "Giving  Voice",  a  book  on  choir  training  and  conducting,  and  worked  with  David  Hill  for  more  than  17  years  at  Westminster  and  Winchester  Cathedrals.    Everyone  enjoyed  her  informative  and  active  delivery.    She  covered  the  physiology  of  singing  -­‐  the  role  of  the  larynx  and  tongue,  breathing  and  in  fact  the  whole  body.    The  hand-­‐outs  will  be  useful  for  participants  as  they  return  to  the  classroom  to  try  out  techniques  such  as  animal  noises  and  adjusting  the  head  position  in  line  with  the  dog  in  the  Churchill  ad!    David  then  enlightened  the  participants  on  "Conducting  techniques  and  choir  leadership".  Conducting  is  so  much  more  than  keeping  the  beat.    Using  the  hand,  arm  and  body  in  ‘painting’  the  sound,  as  with  a  paintbrush,  was  new  to  many  of  us  and  not  as  easy  as  you  might  think.    He  encouraged  conductors  to  watch  themselves  in  a  mirror  or  video  to  hone  their  skills.    He  also  gave  useful  tips  on  how  to  balance  praise  and  criticism  to  help  singers  reach  a  high  standard  of  performance.    In  the  afternoon  participants  were  given  the  opportunity  to  conduct  members  of  The  Bach  Choir.    David  gave  advice  and  encouragement,  with  humorous  exchanges  with  those  brave  enough  to  wield  a  baton!    Feedback  was  mostly  very  positive.    The  comments  included:    ‘The  sessions  were  really  helpful  and  interesting.  I  learnt  a  lot  about  how  to  look  after  the  voice,  and  how  hard  a  conductor’s  job  is!’      ‘Hilary’s  talk  on  children’s  voices  was  invaluable.  I  learnt  a  great  deal  from  the  conducting  session.’    ‘No  need  to  restrict  this  to  teachers  of  KS2  &  KS3  and  it  could  be  advertised  nationally  next  time’.