From your Musical Director:
It is a wonderful privilege leading you in learning about singing, making music as an ensemble, discovering new repertoire, and creating the buzz of performance.
What you may not realise is that, as a conductor, my mind is constantly full of thoughts about the process of making this all happen. This means that sometimes I have to consider the things I know we can do versus the things I think we might not be able to get to, which puts limitations on our performance standard. However, there are things you can do to help keep standards high and create a more thrilling choral sound. These are some of the things that are really your responsibility rather than mine, and I would love it if you could take them on board!
Be on time. It’s really distracting when people arrive late. I will always start and finish rehearsals on time.
Attend every rehearsal. Yes, I know that sometimes family commitments and work commitments need to take priority, but every rehearsal is important and when you miss a rehearsal you miss out on hearing the “fine tuning” that we do to create a top-class performance. If you are unwell but not contagious, come along if you are able but wear a mask and sit separately from the others, observe, listen, and mark your music.
Mark your music. Always bring a 2B pencil to every rehearsal. There is nothing more frustrating for a conductor than to give instructions as to how something is to be sung only for this to be completely ignored or forgotten at the next rehearsal. If you make a mistake or find a particular musical phrase difficult, mark your music so that you can practice it at home. It also reminds you to pay careful attention next time you are singing that phrase. If you find a particular entrance difficult, mark your music as to how you can find the right note – it is often in another part or in the accompaniment just before your entry. This is also why attending every rehearsal is important.
Be attentive. Aim to be the smartest, quickest, most enthusiastic and positive chorister in the choir! When you are alert and focused, it helps the conductor to stay that way too.
Practice at home. Use the rehearsal tracks. Sing along to a recording. Go over tricky pieces with a piano if you are able. Most of the “note learning” should take place at home, not in the rehearsal. Organise and attend sectionals. I put in so much more effort if I know choir members are putting in additional effort themselves.
Watch me. Hold your music up even when you are sight-reading so you can see me with peripheral vision. You will be amazed as to how much you can take in with peripheral vision. Let me shape the phrase by watching the gestures in front of you. There will be limited opportunity for “making music” until you can do this.
Sing the music. Observe the dynamics, articulation, tempo changes. 80-90% of the things the conductor works on in rehearsal are already written on the page (but frequently ignored by the singers).
Sing the text. It is quite often amazing poetry. If it’s in another language, it’s important that you know what you are singing about and can convey the emotion of the text to the audience.
Learn to read music. It’s not that hard to know the basics – at least note duration. We can spend a lot more time making music if we can spend less time learning notes.
Learn choral technique. It’s the basic stuff – knowing when to place the consonant at the end of the word, when to “clear” a phrase, how to sing a long vowel, how to pronounce words in another language. Learning to listen to the other parts and knowing how your part fits in with others. Knowing how to blend your voice with the rest of the choir.
Learn to count! You will be amazed at how often mistakes are made because of counting rests incorrectly. Mark your music with the beats if you think you might make a mistake.
Be independent. Don’t rely on the person next to you. Take responsibility for knowing the music well enough that you could sing it by yourself if you had to.
Attend concerts and workshops. Attending other choirs’ concerts and attending workshops e.g. those run by the NZCF are a worthwhile way of improving your own understanding of what it means to make music.
Be sociable. We make the best music when we feel a sense of belonging to the group. Wear your name tag, talk to people from other sections during the tea break.
Finally, thank you for the sacrifices you make to help the whole group achieve something special on the concert platform. I know that many of you give up a lot to be involved in this rewarding activity, and I am grateful that you want to develop a great choir as much as I do.
I will do my best to create an environment where we get the right balance between working hard and having fun and will always do my best to create the best possible performance.