Philosophy

Can anything original really be added to the many volumes already in print containing all manner of earnest thoughts about choral rehearsal technique? Plunging into choral conducting and the teaching thereof after thirty years as a performer, I dutifully purchased various carefully selected tomes about crafting the choral rehearsal, vocal warm-ups, and the like, but soon came to the conclusion that our own ears and ideals were a more important resource.

I was fortunate to work with fine mentors and contemporaries such as Sir David Willcocks and Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and these experiences undoubtedly helped me decide my own priorities, but I am confident that there is no substitute for a steady diet of listening to the sounds and styles of choirs of all shapes and sizes while watching and evaluating their conductors. All this will help you develop your own personal palette of colors and sounds that communicate and enrich the ears, eyes, hearts, and lives of choirs, ensembles, and listeners alike.

It is an unfortunate fact that singers are generally less expert at counting and pitching than their instrumentalist colleagues. A choral conductor's duty is to instill in the singers a sense of personal responsibility and an appreciation that they can improve their ensemble skills themselves through concentration and self-discipline. Conductors should treat their singers like players, expect them to move as fast, to be as alert and fearless as a trumpet player, to count time and be as independent as a percussionist, and to pitch intervals with as good intonation as a fine string player.