Convention starts at 10.30am on Saturday, with three strands of sessions running through to 6pm.
Our Education strand sessions are marked with an *, but you can choose freely between strands.
Saturday
From 09.30: registration, coffee and networking.
- Welcome! Grab a coffee, meet colleagues and have a first look at the exhibition
10:30: welcome and opening session.
- Join our opening plenary and get set up for the weekend. Good vocal health throughout life with Charlotte Mobbs, vocal coach for the NYCGB and Genesis Sixteen, a member of The Sixteen and a certified Vocal Habilitation Specialist. Practical tips on how to get the best from your singers, from the youngest to the oldest. How do voices change? How do we need to adapt our leadership skills?
11:45. Choose from:
- Creating compelling concert programmes, with Christopher Kiver. We’re delighted to welcome Chris to Convention. Originally from the UK, Chris is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Pennsylvania State University, where he conducts several choirs and oversees the graduate choral conducting programme. With greater inclusion of underrepresented composers, the choral canon continues to expand. With so much music to choose from, this session will consider the function, goals and structure of concerts, philosophical priorities, and benefits of inter and multi-disciplinary performances. Ideas for themes, concert presentation and sourcing music will be shared highlighting less familiar music by American composers and arrangers.
- Singing for our minds. Singing For Our Minds is a ground-breaking new training programme for choral leaders that blends practical tips with current research, leadership training, and learning resources to support people who lead singing in any form, to build an inclusive, welcoming atmosphere which positively impacts mental health. The session include some highlights of the full training and will empower you to maximise wellbeing outcomes in your leadership approach whilst still getting great results with your choir, as well as managing your own wellbeing. We will be workshopping common leadership challenges, as well as exploring a selection of topics from: managing group dynamics, embedding the NHS Five ways to Mental Wellbeing into your warm ups, creating authentic safer spaces, mindfulness in rehearsals, performance anxiety, creating inclusive environments and managing the impact of stress. The session will be led by the founder, and one of the facilitators of the training, abcd Council member Jeremy Haneman.
- *Repertoire discovery session I – music for young voices. With a diverse range of new repertoire from our member publishers and composers, these brilliant sessions introduce you to new music for all kinds of voice combinations. In this first repertoire discovery session, discover lots of new music for your school or youth choir, including changing voices. abcd Vice-President and Creative Director of Scunthorpe Co-operative Junior Choir Susan Hollingworth will lead you through highlights, and you can explore the full range on our website.
12:45. Lunch and exhibition time.
During lunch: one to one conducting consultation and teaching sessions with Sarah Tenant-Flowers. Each session is 30 minutes long; we’ve a limited number of these available, for conductors of any experience. For more information contact Elisabeth Brierley.
14:15. Choose from:
- Groove is in the heart – discovering your inner drummer, with Liz Swain. Ever thought there was more to rhythm than just counting beats? What is it about rhythmic music that makes you want to move your feet? This is a workshop to help you develop your personal sense of rhythm and improve your internal metronome through exercises and games which can be applied in many contexts and formats — the “inner drummer”.
- Repertoire discovery session II – SAB/SATB sacred music. With a diverse range of new repertoire from our member publishers and composers, these brilliant sessions introduce you to new music for all kinds of voice combinations. In the second of our repertoire discovery sessions, discover new, mainly sacred music for adult choirs singing in three or more parts. Director of the Diocese of Leeds Schools Singing Programme and Musical Director of Bradford Festival Choral Society Tom Leech will lead you through highlights and you can explore the full range on our website.
- *Nurturing musically engaged singers in primary school, with Elisabeth Brierley and Elena Camblor. Opera North believes opera and music is for everyone, and champions diversity in artists, repertoire and audiences. This session will explore how musicianship and creative performance skills can be taught as integrated practices within choral delivery, with a focus on primary school-age singers. We will look into the pedagogical approach taken by the In Harmony Opera North team in their weekly musicianship and choral sessions in schools and will share some of their favourite resources for you to use with your own groups!
15:15 Tea, networking and exhibition time.
15:45. Choose from:
- Discover ABRSM’s new Music Directing Diplomas. Join Andrew Dibb, Chief Examiner for ABRSM, for an introduction to their new Music Directing Diplomas. These innovative qualifications provide a pathway for anyone involved in music directing, reflecting the realities of the role across a wide range of contexts – from leading choirs and vocal groups to directing community ensembles. In this session, Andrew will outline the three diploma levels and their Units of study, explain what is required for each, show how the Units fit together, and guide you through the entry process.
- Composer forum. A unique gathering of composers, each with their own distinctive sound. Find out their different working methods which bring about their success and chat with them about their current projects. This year’s panel session is a not-to-be-missed birthday special! Our composers include Bob Chilcott and Douglas Coombes, both celebrating a big birthday this year, and our panel is chaired by abcd Trustee Leslie East.
- *Creating a vibrant learning community, with Mat Wright. Mat is Artistic Director and founder of the international award-winning Barnsley Youth Choir, an organisation founded in 2009 which has around 700 members aged 0 – 24 years old from an area of significant deprivation. He will explore the pillars that underpin exciting and vibrant choir communities, considering values, ethos and vision and how to harness the collective power of a community in a positive way. What does your organisation stand for and what is your ‘brand’? Great organisations are unashamedly ambitious, have a thirst to learn, connect and collaborate. They are also focused on providing exceptional experiences and, in doing so, make a huge difference to the lives of those that they serve. Mat discusses the importance of inclusivity and accessibility and looks at whether this is possible without lowering standards or expectations.
16:45 mini-break.
17:00. Choose from:
- Bridging the gap: expanding the age-range in choirs, with Tom Leech. Many amateur classical choirs might worry about ageing membership, but how do we address this, particularly with current challenges in music education? Where do all those enthusiastic teenage singers go? This session, with plenty of opportunity for discussion, explores working with multi-generational choirs and how groups might sustainably expand the age-range of their membership.
- Repertoire discovery session III. SAB/SATB secular music. In the third of our repertoire discovery sessions, discover new, mainly secular music for adult choirs singing in three or more parts. Conductor, performer and educator Sarah Tenant-Flowers will lead you through highlights and you can explore the full range on our website.
- *Health and wellbeing: taking care of yourself as a musical director, with Naomi Norton. In this workshop we will focus on how to promote and protect your health and wellbeing as ensemble directors, with a particular focus on hearing health and psychological wellbeing. Come along ready to sing and get involved!
18:00 Exhibition time and drinks
19:00 Performance: enjoy an early evening performance from the international award-winning Barnsley Youth Choir. BYC was established in 2009 by Mat Wright MBE and Keith Norton and is currently the highest ranked choir from Great Britain in the Interkultur World Rankings. BYC is highly inclusive and the choir’s 10 sections consist of around 700 singers aged 0-24 years old. The choir also helped to establish a community adult choir, Barnsley Singers, that now has around 150 members. The choir maintains a wide and diverse repertoire including Popular, Gospel, Spiritual, Folk, World and more Classical genres. It has developed a significant international reputation and has represented Great Britain in 9 major competitions including the European Choir Games and World Choir Games, winning 8 of them, including 3 Grand Prix titles.
20:15 informal two-course supper in the dining room, followed by all-important bar time! The bar in the dining room will be open until 10.30pm.
Sunday
Convention starts at 9.30am on Sunday, with three strands of sessions running through to lunch at 1.15pm.
09:00. Exhibition opens.
09:30. Choose from:
- Conducting masterclass. Delegates are invited as participating conductors, singers, and observers to a masterclass session led by renowned performer and teacher, Sarah Tenant-Flowers. During the course of the session up to 3 conductors will direct fellow delegates and receive practical feedback and suggestions for developing singer-friendly gestures which get the best out of your choirs, as well as enhancing technique, clarity, relevance and communication skills. If you would like to take part as one of the three volunteer conductors, please register your interest by contacting Elisabeth Brierley by 30th September. The masterclass is aimed at Intermediate/Advanced level, so please provide a very brief summary of your experience to date and any issues with which you would like particular help if chosen to conduct. Conductors will be asked to select a piece to work on from a shortlist, which will be provided at least two weeks prior to Convention.
- Repertoire discovery session IV. Music for community choirs. In the last of our repertoire discovery sessions, discover new sacred and secular music for adult community choirs singing mainly in one or two parts. Co-Director of Together Productions and musical director across a wide range of community projects Jeremy Haneman leads you through highlights and you can explore the full range on our website.
- *Inspiring teenage singers: warm ups, repertoire and resoures to energise KS3, 4 and 5, with Shivani Rattan. Shivani leads a session on engaging repertoire for teenagers so that they can leave their inhibitions at the door and feel confident and empowered on the way out. This session will include warm ups, stacking songs and a diverse range of cultural representation to get your singers engaged with the world through music.
10:30 Coffee, networking and exhibition time.
11:00. Choose from:
- Working with words: connecting music and meaning, with Christopher Kiver. Whether soloist or choir member, clear and thoughtful delivery of text is crucial to an aesthetically satisfying performance. This session will address issues such as how to establish vowel uniformity, clarify consonants, offer a brief introduction to the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) and the importance of syllabic stress. Attendees will work through a piece of music and be presented with practical strategies and techniques that can immediately be applied at the next rehearsal.
- Good business for choirs. Whether you’re part of a traditional choir set-up with a voluntary committee, or running choirs as a sole-trader, good business practice is essential if your choir is to thrive. Chief Executive of the UK’s membership organisation for leisure-time music Making Music Barbara Eifler has invaluable advice for streamlining your administration, and running a thriving choir.
- *Leading young singers: the teacher as musical leader, with Tom Leech. What do you need to lead singing successfully in the classroom? This wide-ranging practical session is for anyone leading children’s singing, whether in school or with choirs, exploring the skills and preparation needed in conducting, pedagogy, and vocal technique and resources for repertoire and musicianship.
12:00 mini-break.
12:15 Final session:
- The Big Sing! Finish your weekend in rousing style with a sing led by composer and conductor Bob Chilcott. A founder member of abcd, Bob has enjoyed a lifelong association with choral music, as a chorister and choral scholar in the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and as a member of the King’s Singers, before becoming a full-time composer and conductor in 1997. One of Bob’s most celebrated and popular choral works to date, A Little Jazz Mass was first performed in 2004 by a choir of 400 young singers and jazz trio in St Louis Cathedral in New Orleans. Since then it has received countless performances and editions have been published for SSA, SAB and SATB, making it an accessible work for all types of choir.
