Leading Singing in Secondary Schools: Get them singing, keep them singing

Thursday 9th May 2024

Twilight training sessions online for anyone working with singers of secondary school age

Each session includes 60 minutes of training plus 15 minutes for discussion.

Session are held on Zoom, from 5 to 6.15pm, with a link sent out to participants the day before. All sessions are recorded, so you can attend the session live or catch up with the recording later at a time to suit you!

Individual Sessions: £15/session, (£10/session abcd members)

Full series: buy all seven sessions for £85, (£55 abcd members).

Find out more about joining abcd here.

Session 1 - 26 September: Building a whole-school singing culture with Don Gillthorpe

Having spent a career building highly successful singing programmes in two state comprehensive secondary schools, Don brings a wealth of experience to support and encourage you to do the same. Amongst a whole host of contributing factors to the choral ecosystem in a school, this session explores the essential interplay between curricular and co-curricular music, adolescent vocal development, and how to work with school leadership teams to provide the best experiences for pupils.

Session 2 - 15 November: Adolescent Boys: You've got them singing, but how do you keep them singing? with Ian Crawford & Martin Ashley

In this session Martin and Ian spell out the things you need to do, why you need to do them, and how.

Session 3 - 17 January: Harmonise and inspire: empowering Year 6 and 7 singers with Suzzie Vango

Suzzie introduces some of her vocal techniques and repertoire to encourage and foster a love of singing for Y6 and Y7 children. Learn fun singing games, warm ups and pop-inspired songs written and arranged for this age group to arm you with an array of material to inspire and enhance your students' vocal skills and passion for singing.

Session 4 - 22 February: Exploring the voice change for females with Joanna Tomlinson

Discover the physiological changes that happen in the female teenage voice and how we can help our singers by having a good understanding of the challenges they may face. We will explore warm-up ideas and approaches to rehearsing that can help nurture and develop the female changing voice as well as tips on choosing repertoire for this age group!

Session 5 - 2nd July: Singing's most endangered species - Teenagers with Rachel Staunton

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session has had to be postponed until summer. Join Rachel, Artistic Director and Co Founder of The London Youth Choirs as she shares her learning of engaging and retaining diverse teenagers. With advice on repertoire selection, a steer on warm ups that build skills, stamina and engagement across the adolescents, and insight on embracing new trends and ways of working, Rachel shares her experience from setting up 10 youth choirs in the capital city. Driven by Rachel's vision to see the wider choral industry diversify over a generation, this session is set to inspire you in your journey working with young voices.

Session 6 - 9 May: Conducting and musical leadership skills with Amy Bebbington

For teachers who want to learn more about useful choral leadership strategies. Amy will cover how to lead useful and effective vocal exercises, the basics of conducting technique (including starting, stopping and pauses) and simple beat patterns, and how to encourage, motivate and inspire your singers by being a confident musical role model.

Session 7 - June (date tbc): Repertoire, repertoire, repertoire! With Don Gillthorpe

Leading Singing in Secondary Schools: Get them singing, keep them singing
Twilight training sessions online for anyone working with singers of secondary school age Each session includes 60 minutes of training plus 15 minutes for discussion. Session are held on Zoom, from 5 to 6.15pm, with a link sent out to participants the day before. All sessions are recorded, so you can attend the session live or catch
Thu 9th May 2024 - Wed 31st Jul 2024>
Initial conducting course
15th June 2024 10am - 5pm, The Dickens Room, The Birmingham and Midlands Institute, 9 Margaret Street, Birmingham, B3 3BS. Led by Lucy Hollins and Mark Jordan A one-day course designed for those who are either new to choral conducting, or have conducted for a while and want to back up their experience with training. Full details
Sat 15th Jun 2024>