Choral Conducting Toolkit

From 5:00pm on Thursday 16 October 2025
to 6:30pm on Thursday 14 May 2026

Venue: Online - Zoom

Eight monthly online sessions taking place from September through to May.

Our online conducting toolkit course covers everything a choral conductor might need to consider – beat patterns in simple and compound time, pauses, rehearsal planning, independence of hands, score preparation, gesture and programme planning.

Led by experts in their field, it’s essential watching for everyone who conducts, whatever their experience. With its flexible booking options, the toolkit course is ideal for those who are new to conducting, whilst being equally suitable for someone with more experience who’s looking for a refresher on particular topics.

Each session will be held live on Zoom between 5 – 6.30pm. As with all our toolkit courses, each session is recorded, so participants can attend live or catch up with the recording later at a time to suit them. A Zoom link will be sent out to all participants on the week of the session. Each session includes approximately 75 minutes of training, plus 15 minutes discussion.

Tickets:

• Individual Sessions: £15 per session or £11.25 per session abcd members
• Bundle price (5 sessions for the price of 4): £60 or £45 abcd members
• Full series (ALL 8 sessions for the price of 6.5!): £97.50 or £73.12 abcd members

Session 1: The basics of choral leadership – making sound happen! Thursday 25^th September – Amy Bebbington

This session will cover the essential elements of what it takes to be a convincing choral leader, focusing on body language, hands, the magic ingredients that combine to make sound happen, starting and stopping sound, and how to conduct music in simple 2, 3 and 4 meters.  

Session 2: It’s all about the beat (patterns)! Thursday 16^th October – Esther Jones

This session will cover simple and compound beats in 2, 3 & 4 patterns, looking at musical examples.  You will also learn how conduct in 1, 5, 6 and 7, including how subdivisions work and how to apply them in managing effective ritardandi. 

Session 3: It’s all about that pace! Wednesday 19th November – Joanna Tomlinson

Learn useful, relevant and dynamic techniques to enliven your rehearsals, keeping everyone stimulated, motivated and on task. Expect lots of practical skills to create efficiency in rehearsal, and to get the best level of engagement, investment and vocal quality from your choirs. 

Session 4: Independence Day – the non-beating arm! Thursday 8th January – Andrea Brown

Perfect for those who want to develop greater effectiveness and variety in their non-beating arm gestures. Focusing on useful exercises and referencing musical examples, this session will reinforce starting and stopping sound, articulation and phrasing (relating specifically to singers/text), and gradation of dynamic/tone through line, speed of movement and resistance.  

Session 5: Pauses, Tuesday 24^th February – Sarah Tenant-Flowers

There are so many different types of pause in music. Within the framework of simple beat patterns, this session will focus on the fundamentals of managing a variety of pauses, referencing musical examples, and how negotiating these effectively can enhance the clarity of your choral leadership. 

Session 6: It’s a minefield – how to beat what, when! Wednesday 11th March – Mark Jordan

This session will delve into more advanced choral music and help participants to negotiate more complex scores. This session will illuminate how composers intend conductors to interpret what they’ve written in terms of time signatures, beamed notes, dashed lines and editorial details.  

Session 7: Put the score in your head (not your head in the score) Thursday 23rd April – David Lawrence

This session will cover strategic and efficient planning concepts that all choral leaders can usefully apply before hitting the rehearsal room. Whether you’re preparing a community pop song workshop, a choral orchestral work, an Evensong, or Musical Theatre medley, here are some helpful tips for success in preparing ‘the score’. 

Session 8: Sourcing programmes Thursday 14th May – James Davey 

Possibly the most time consuming activity for all choral leaders – how to source and choose your programmes! Hints and tips for constructing appealing, appropriate and well-considered choral programmes will be covered in this session, useful for all types of choir and choral leader. 

---