We're delighted to join with the British Voice Association again for a mini-conference day of sessions on the voice and leading voices from a wide cross-section of presenters. The day takes place in the lovely setting of the Gresham Centre, in the Wren church of St Anne and St Agnes, in the heart of the City of London, and lunch is included, giving a great opportunity for networking and visiting exhibition stands.
10:00 - 10:30
Registration and exhibition time
10:30 - 10:35
Welcome
10:35 - 12:00
Dominic Ellis-Peckham
Bar-raising ideas for your choir
Join Dominic for a special session focusing on the development of your own leadership skills, whatever your background and previous training. This specially crafted session will allow you to focus on the development your own vocal delivery, developing your existing ensembles, creating new ones, refining your leading and conducting skills and exploring new and inspirational repertoire to engage and ignite the prospects for your young singers.
Dominic is regarded as one of the UK's finest dynamic orchestral and choral conductors of his generation. He has been praised at home and abroad for his 'freshness and vitality' directing both orchestras and choirs. A conductor of immense energy and focus delivering 'gutsy, raw and exciting performances', Dominic is renowned for his dedication to the Renaissance and Baroque era, whilst also passionate about the delivery of new works and inspirational collaborations. Dominic holds an array of conducting posts, including Assistant Music Director of The National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Guest Conductor for Aldeburgh Music, Music Director of London Oriana Choir, Chief Conductor of The Chamber Choir of London, Artistic Director of The Fourth Choir, and Visiting Lecturer at the University of Oxford.
12:00 - 13:00
Jo McNally
Warmups, sight singing and repertoire, making your rehearsal time count!
Most choirs do not have the luxury of abundant rehearsal time, so what you choose to do has to be effective, concise, musically sound, vocally responsible, and fun. We'll explore warm ups, repertoire and materials that can be can be varied and extended to develop your singers and their skills, all of which can be used in performance!
Jo is a music educator from the USA who has been living in the UK since 1980 working as an animateur, conductor, and singer. As a conductor she specialises in young and developing choirs. Her current choirs include Farnham Girls Training Choir and Wokingham Choral Academy. Her publications include Her published works include Young Voiceworks (Oxford University Press) and Junior Choral Club (Music Sales).
13:00 - 13:45
Lunch and exhibition time
13:45 - 14.45
Professor David Howard
The acoustics of the singer; the performing space and the choir
David will discuss the acoustic output from an individual singer and how it works in the performing/rehearsal space and how it contributes to the overall sound of a choir. The talk will be illustrated both by audio demonstrations and live exercises to reinforce ideas presented. Great choral singing is a function not only of the singing abilities of individual members of the choir but also of the layout of the choir and the acoustics of the spaces in which the choir sings. Whilst acoustics itself is not visible, there are principles that can be adhered to which help improve the overall experience for performers and audience alike.
As an accomplished musician and singer, Professor David Howard understands the ability of music and voice to inspire and engage. And as an engineer, he is fascinated by the mechanics of the processes that enable that to happen. Recognised as one of the world's leading experts on the voice, David has combined a lifelong love of music with a background in electrical and electronic engineering to explore the subtleties of the human voice from speech to the acoustic properties of singing.
14.45 - 15.45
Amy Bebbington
An approach to teaching choral conducting
Many of us have had numerous experiences learning the art of choral conducting through training, workshops, masterclasses and personal observations from within the choir. But how many of us have had tuition in how to teach choral conducting? Amy shares her own insights and personal experiences of teaching choral conducting.
abcd's Director of Training, Amy is a passionate advocate for choral singing and choral conductor training. She is sought-after for her dynamic and engaging teaching style, and her wealth of choral pedagogical experience. She is in great demand as a choral clinician, mentor and teacher, and is currently Musical Director for Dorking Camerata, Holmbury Choral Society and Nota Bene.
15.45 - 16. 15
Tea and exhibition time
16:15 - 17:00
Karen Gibson
It's Good News, It's Groovy, It's Gospel!
Urban/contemporary gospel derives primarily from traditional black gospel music, and has had an influence on many forms of secular pop music. Working within this genre Karen will focus on creating a real gospel sound - working on rhythm, tone, articulation, blend, energy and movement. Karen teaches amazingly quickly while still managing to focus on the most minute details of the music. Karen's classes tend to be very energetic so bring lots of energy, give it your all and this workshop will not only be truly inspiring and educational but will be a lot of fun!
Karen is a full time choir conductor and workshop leader with extensive experience: she has been involved with vocal groups and choirs for over 25 years, conducting gospel workshops all over the UK and Europe as well as Nigeria, Japan, Zimbabwe, Rwanda and the USA. She has been instrumental in drawing together and conducting some of the most prestigious large-scale choirs for a variety of gospel and community initiatives.
BVA / abcd Members: £100
Students: £65
Non Members: £130
The price includes refreshments and lunch.
Click here to book online now!