The choir leader’s guide to catching a cold

• Posted by Chris Rowbury December 17, 2025 - Filed in Choir Post - 532 views

  [The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from almost 30 years of leading non-auditioned community choirs in the UK, as well as adult singing workshops. My focus is on teaching by ear using a repertoire of songs from traditions across the globe. Your experiences may differ from mine, so do feel free to leave a comment and let's begin a conversation! A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir]

   

  Here in the northern hemisphere it’s the season of coughs and sneezes.

   

  

  photo by Allan Foster

   

  In case you’ve not managed to catch your first cold of the season at choir, here’s a handy guide to get you started.
  
  I know some of you choir and singing workshop leaders out there haven't managed your first cold of the season yet. Shame on you!
  
  Here is a handy guide to get you started:

   

  1. Gather a bunch of people from different areas (to make sure you get plenty of different types of cold virus) and put them in a warm room with not much ventilation.
  2. Get them to breathe deeply and send those lovely virus particles out into the room so everyone else can breathe them in. Encourage the singing of sustained notes to help this process along.
  3. Make sure to promote lots of intermingling, close conversations and handshakes. That should work.
  4. But if that doesn't do the trick, make sure that your rehearsals are unmissable so choir members are so keen to attend that they drag themselves off their death beds and turn up to share all those lovely germs.
  5. Repeat as necessary.

  
  Good luck! Let me know how it goes.
  
  PS choir members might like to read Keep it to yourself! – why colds, singing and choirs don’t mix.

   

   

   

   

   

  … found this helpful?

  I provide this content free of charge, because I like to be helpful. If you have found it useful, you may like to

    to say thank you.

   

  To get more posts like this delivered straight to your inbox,
  click to subscribe by email.

   

  Chris Rowbury

  website: chrisrowbury.com
  blog: blog.chrisrowbury.com
  Facebook: Facebook.com/ChrisRowbury
  Bluesky ChrisRowbury.bsky.social
  Monthly Music Round-up: ChrisRowbury.substack.com
  YouTube: YouTube.com/ChrisRowbury