Promoting, improving and maintaining opportunities for the professional development of everyone leading singing, amateur and professional, in the classroom and the community.
Our vision is of a world where well-led choral singing enriches everyone’s lives and where abcd enables every leader of choral singing in the UK easily to access appropriate support for their development.
Sir John Rutter CBE
Brian Kay
Sue Hollingworth BEM
Bob Chilcott
The Association of British Choral Directors (abcd) is the leading UK organisation devoted entirely to supporting everyone leading choral music. We are committed to promoting, improving and maintaining opportunities for the professional development of all those leading singing of any kind, whether in the classroom or in the community. Our members represent nearly 2000 choral groups and include teachers, composers, singers and students, leading singing of all kinds.
The last forty years… and the future
- We pioneered choral conducting training outside of formal education, starting in 1999, with training from Initial level to Advanced. Our courses are still going strong today – find out more.
- Our weekend convention for all choir leaders takes place every year in locations all round the UK. Workshops, expert tutors, choirs from Britain and abroad, a trade exhibition and the chance to network with other like-minded people make it a unique annual forum. Find out about our 2026 Convention.
- We are an international choral organisation, welcoming choirs from all over the world at Convention, including USA, Russia, South Korea, Finland, Latvia, New Zealand, Norway, Spain and Hungary, and inviting a host of international tutors.
- We were a national Flagship Organisation for Sing Up, the Music Manifesto National Singing Programme, and ran its Leading from the Front projects across the country, combining CPD days, mentoring teachers, and working with the whole school community. Today, our online Leading Singing CPD courses enable teachers of all kinds to lead young singers with confidence.
- We support conductors on their choral journey from the start, with apprenticeship schemes and a young conductors’ programme, and a reduced rate student membership.
- We work with composers and publishers to promote choral music of all kinds, including repertoire and singing days across the country.
- We took a lead campaign role during the Pandemic, making the case for singing, publishing a widely discussed research paper and providing prompt advice to choirs, and producing WellRehearsed, a free app risk management tool for amateur music groups. We continue to advocate for singing at all ages and levels.
- We produce a peer-reviewed academic research journal with the aim of promoting research-informed practice and a scholarly approach to all aspects of collective singing. Explore our journal.
- We provide equity and diversity information and advice – highlighting underrepresented composers, working with trans singers, accessibility in rehearsals, working with LGBTQ choirs and what other choirs can learn from their practice.
- Our events and courses have always been open to everyone, but our membership is our core. Anyone involved in singing can join and our members range from teachers who have reluctantly taken on their school music to household names. Find out more about membership.
Our roots
Our roots go back to July 1986, when a weekend of choral activity was held in Oxford, in response to a demand from leading British choral directors, composers and publishers for an organisation for the individuals leading and composing choral music. That weekend formed our very first Convention and arising out of that event, the Association developed, with key founders including our President Sir John Rutter and Oxford University Press Music department, led by Andrew Potter.
We’re proud to be members of
Our formal aims
abcd is a registered charity and company limited by guarantee and its formal purpose is to promote, improve and maintain the education, training and development of choral directors with a view to improving standards in all sectors of choral activity by:
- the organisation of regional and national training courses and conventions;
- commissioning and publishing regular newsletters and other items of information;
- the encouragement of both the composition of choral music and a closer contact between choral composers and conductors;
- co-operation and liaison with other relevant regional, national and international organisations with aims and objectives complementary to those of the Association.
Support our work
abcd is a busy, active organisation. We exist without any core funding. Most of our revenue comes from our members’ subscriptions, project funding from Trusts and Foundations, and small surpluses made on our courses and events. As we emerge from the pandemic, in order to continue to grow and to fulfil our ambitions, we need your help. Any donation, however large or small, makes a difference.