The Junges Vokalensemble Hannover was founded in 1981 by its artistic director Prof. Klaus-Jürgen Etzold. The choir consists of about 60 female and male singers. Many of the members are active and former students of the University of Music, Drama and Medi...  moreThe Junges Vokalensemble Hannover was founded in 1981 by its artistic director Prof. Klaus-Jürgen Etzold. The choir consists of about 60 female and male singers. Many of the members are active and former students of the University of Music, Drama and Media Hannover, but other professions are represented as well, and all singers are united in their wide choral experience and their joy in Singing challenging works together. The performance of a wide range of a cappella works, some of them quite unknown, forms an important emphasis of the choir. In addition to sacred and secular a cappella music of the 15th century until today, the choir performs cantatas, masses, oratorios, and passions. Many compositions were broadcast for radio stations or published on CD. The choir has recorded ten CDs and performed several world premieres of contemporary compositions, e.g. by Büsing, Dinescu, Fuchs and Wangenheim. In 2010 the choir received the ECHO KLASSIK award for the CD "Glaubenslieder", the hi...    less

[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 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 th...

The Beaufort Singers is a chamber choir formed at the University of Cambridge in 2016 under the direction of Joseph Wicks. Named after Lady Margaret Beaufort who founded St John’s College, Cambridge, the choir cultivated a powerful and expressive sound co...  moreThe Beaufort Singers is a chamber choir formed at the University of Cambridge in 2016 under the direction of Joseph Wicks. Named after Lady Margaret Beaufort who founded St John’s College, Cambridge, the choir cultivated a powerful and expressive sound combined with a clear, committed delivery of text. The membership comprises singers from across the UK embarking upon the early stages of their careers. Amongst its seminal projects were performances of James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words From The Cross and Rachmaninov’s All-Night Vigil. It is also hugely passionate about investing in the future of choral music and has regularly commissioned new works from young composers such as Piers Kennedy (April & Nunc Dimittis) and Owain Park (For The Fallen). In 2018, The Beaufort Singers and Joseph Wicks founded the Boxgrove Choral Festival which gave the choir its new home. After its enforced cancellation last year, 2021 saw the Festival’s return and its presentation online for the first time.  less

One of my favorite choir tricks was to telling my singers to ‘aim for the top side of the pitch.’  This was, of course, because they were Singing flat, and I thought the imagery would give my singers a way of thinking about an abstract co...

[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I occasionally run workshops for members of my choir to help improve their Singing technique. photo by Intel Free Press I realised whilst teaching that al...

[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 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 th...

[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 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 th...

[The views expressed in this blog are from my personal experiences from 25 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 th...

[this is a version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   People sometimes welcome a distraction from watching rows of identically dressed choristers Singing with books in front of their faces.   Photo by...

[this is an updated version of a post which first appeared on my blog From the Front of the Choir]   Last week I wrote about whether you need Singing lessons in order to be able to sing. I suggested that people should simply jump in and join a...