The abcd Choral Leaders' Festival and Conducting Courses

Wednesday 21st August 2019

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire

34th Annual Convention, 22-25 August 2019

Festival Conducting Courses 21-22 August 2019
(Leading from the Front & Advanced Choral Leadership)

Young Conductors' Course 22-25 August 2019

Online booking is now shut; if you'd like to join us as a delegate, please get in touch with Tricia Rees-Jones by email.

Join us for a very special abcd festival!

Presented in association with the European Choral Association, this year's Convention will be an extended weekend of festival events at the new Royal Birmingham Conservatoire, with special emphasis on our European connections and on community.

Click here for our main Festival pages and find out more. Click here to see all the delegate rate options.

Book your delegate place online by clicking below. If you need any help, or want to make a phone booking, get in touch with our Festival Administrator, Tricia Rees-Jones, or phone her on 07497 895664.

Do you need accommodation? Online booking for accommodation is now closed but to access the same rates at the same hotels, simply contact the city's Convention Bureau team directly either by email or by phone on 0844 888 3052. Please mention that you are attending the abcd Festival and you'll receive the same rates and list of hotels as on the website.

Alternatively, choose your own accommodation from the numerous city centre hotels available online.

Using our online booking system

If you are an abcd member, log into your member account on the website first to bring up the member rates (to join as a member, click here)
Click on the link below to start your booking
Please fill in your contact details (members logged in can click on the 'Import Membership details' autofill button to do this)
Click Next. This will take you to 'Services', where the various course and fee options will be displayed. Click on the option(s) you require, including any dietary requirements.
If you are a member of ECA, BKA or Nordic Choral Directors (FONOKO), choose the 'Choral Orgs' options to get your special rate
Click Next to proceed to payment via PayPal. You should receive email confirmation of your payment from PayPal once your booking is complete. If this does not arrive within 12 hours, please contact us.

Your data
Your personal data from this booking will be stored securely by abcd and used by our staff and tutors for the administration of this course only. If you are not a member of abcd, the data will be destroyed after one year unless you tell us you would like us to keep you informed about future courses and events. We will ask you about this separately. We will not pass your details onto any third party. For more details about our privacy policy, click here.

Upcoming events view all

Choral Conducting: An Introductory Guide: Tutor: Amy Bebbington (find out more about Amy here). This day-long online course is for all those who want to learn about the foundations of choral leadership, and would suit those new to leading choirs, teachers, community musicians and young choral leaders. It will cover key topics such as how to deliver useful, effective and fun warm; Sat 18th Jan 2025>
Vocal Health Toolkit: Twilight, online training sessions for anyone working with singers, either in the community or in the classroom Each session includes 75 minutes of training, plus 15 minutes for discussion. Session are held on Zoom, from 5 to 6.30pm, with a link sent out to participants the day before. All sessions are recorded, so you can attend the ses; Thu 23rd Jan 2025 - Wed 26th Feb 2025>
Get them singing, keep them singing: leading singing in primary schools: Twilight training sessions online for anyone working with young voices in primary schools This brand new flexible course is designed to develop confidence, knowledge and skills for all teachers who lead young singers in primary schools, whether in a choir, in a classroom, or the whole school, whatever their experience level. Each se; Fri 24th Jan 2025 - Mon 1st Dec 2025>