The Intermediate course is designed for those who have either successfully completed our Initial level of training or those who already have experience in leading a choir. It will develop and extend existing leadership skills, enabling you to prepare your choir with greater confidence. This course is awarded at two levels – Emerging and Progressive.
This course builds on the foundation of skills developed at the Initial level, and focuses on the following five areas of work:
- Score preparation
- The conductor as vocal trainer
- Conducting gesture and technique
- Rehearsal techniques
- Repertoire and programme planning
Course delivery
During each training day, there are technical sessions where conducting skills and leadership techniques are demonstrated by the course tutor, and then practiced in a group context. These are then followed by sessions with individual podium time for each conductor. Plenary sessions exploring topics such as musicianship skills, programme planning, score study and vocal health also form an essential part of the course.
We provide video footage from each session to participants so that they can continue their learning in between training weekends.
Course content
Score preparation
- Phrase analysis
- Diction/Text
- Musicianship analysis and troubleshooting (anticipating vocal errors and how to remedy them)
- Vocal sound/style
The conductor as vocal trainer
- Warm ups for singers
- Developing a unified choral sound and sense of choral belonging
Conducting gesture and technique
- Posture and body language
- Warm ups for conductors
- Accumulating simple conducting patterns (2, 3, 4, 1, 5 (fast & slow) 7 (fast & slow)
- Size, shape, quality of patterns/gestures
- Cueing, starts and stops, pauses, tempo (accel. and rit.)
- Articulation, dynamics, phrasing and expression
- Learning to communicate the above techniques with gesture instead of words
Rehearsal techniques
- How to communicate with your choir and lead efficient and enjoyable rehearsals
- Preparation and succinct “teaching notes” to maintain good rehearsal pace
- Kinaesthetic approaches to learning
- Vocal demonstrations
- Teaching warm up exercises and rounds effectively
- Combining different voice parts to make rehearsing efficient and interesting
- Connection to text on a more thoughtful, emotional level
- Troubleshooting (anticipating problematic issues and how to overcome them)
Repertoire and programme planning
- Guidance on choosing suitable repertoire and where to find it
- Development of programme-planning skills
- What inspires you or might inspire an audience?
What will I achieve?
Conductors who pass at Emerging level will have confidence in beat patterns and independence of hands, as well as the ability to prepare a score and rehearse a choir successfully, and an understanding of how gesture affects choral sound.
Conductors who pass at Progressive level will have solid technical assurance in their gesture, show confidence in rehearsal planning and delivery (including an ability to detect and correct problems), be able to improve the overall quality of the singing, and communicate in a musically engaging and effective way.
How do I apply?
Conductors who wish to apply should submit a short video of themselves leading a choir. Please read our video requirements here and watch our short demonstration application video for the Emerging course here and the Progressive course here.