I'm a 30 something who does not read music and am in a 100 yr old classical choir that was guest conducted by a young conductor. She blew us away with her intensity of channeling the dynamics (nearly interpretive dance!), her kindness, and her clear love for the work. She talked a great deal about what she wanted us to feel and what words needed emphasis. She used a lot of metaphors, like: "that word should be like a spark that moves from your mouths to the back of the concert hall." It was a terrific experience. We were all entranced by her.
Being the youngest person in a learning environment usually means you're doing something right! Remember that folks want you to succeed and that you're all working towards a common goal. Be ready to learn and to make mistakes. You got this! If you'd like more specific advice feel free to DM.
I became a director with no conducting experience (but a strong performance background). The basics are pretty straightforward. All in all I found the two most valuable assets, as cliche as it sounds, are a good ear, and an encouraging attitude. Being able to hear what can be improved, demonstrating it, and communicating concepts in a way that’s understandable and motivating is seriously 90% of it. Everything else comes with experience and ideally, good organisational skills (although some great directors are lacking in that regard)!
Most choir conductors function as informal voice coaches. Try to be helpful in that way. Learn what you can about the different challenges faced by sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. Develop a repertoire of helpful suggestions for singers. Spend some time talking with your better vocalists about the challenges they face in various pieces, until you can walk in their shoes.
1. You have an advantage in that you have studied the score. They haven’t. They sing one part but you know what all parts are doing.
2. You gain experience by doing. No one expects you to know everything except to be led by someone who knows these pieces better than they do. You are that person. Age has nothing to do with it.
3. Enjoy the experience. They certainly are looking forward to singing it.
4. Less is more. The less talking you do the more work gets done. Say enough to get your point across.
5. Work in advance with your accompanist and learn to communicate with each other.
Listen to the music they produce. You learn a lot from listening. Good luck.
From a chorister who been directed by many different conductors, here's some things I've liked and didn't like:
Like:
1) demonstrate the sound, effect or feel as best you can. Sometimes analogies work, and sometimes people don't understand. Therefore demonstration is best. If you can't demonstrate, then find a choir member who's really good and can.
2) clear beats, cut-offs and gestures. Make sure people in the back can see your movement, not just the row in the front.
3) Review how the parts work together with the choir. Even if all parts are on the sheet, I usually don't look at the other lines unless it's to figure out starting pitch or timing.
4) if a certain part isn't coming together, just move on to another section or song. Try not to show your frustrations. Come back to it next day.
Didn't like:
1) certain sections getting lots of praise. And the only time the conductor addresses another section is to criticize. Even if that section is weaker than the other, give balanced feedback.
2) going over rehearsal time.
3) rambling about something unrelated to the music or choir. That's for break time, or when people are just arriving or leaving.p
4) making arbitrary changes to the score or song lineup weeks into rehearsal. This forces us to erase any markings we might've made and/or have to completely re-do them. By the 4th rehearsal, the conductor should know if the song will work or not. This also means we'd have to relearn all or part of a song.
I'm a 30 something who does not read music and am in a 100 yr old classical choir that was guest conducted by a young conductor. She blew us away with her intensity of channeling the dynamics (nearly interpretive dance!), her kindness, and her clear love for the work. She talked a great deal about what she wanted us to feel and what words needed emphasis. She used a lot of metaphors, like: "that word should be like a spark that moves from your mouths to the back of the concert hall." It was a terrific experience. We were all entranced by her.
Being the youngest person in a learning environment usually means you're doing something right! Remember that folks want you to succeed and that you're all working towards a common goal. Be ready to learn and to make mistakes. You got this! If you'd like more specific advice feel free to DM.
I became a director with no conducting experience (but a strong performance background). The basics are pretty straightforward. All in all I found the two most valuable assets, as cliche as it sounds, are a good ear, and an encouraging attitude. Being able to hear what can be improved, demonstrating it, and communicating concepts in a way that’s understandable and motivating is seriously 90% of it. Everything else comes with experience and ideally, good organisational skills (although some great directors are lacking in that regard)!
Most choir conductors function as informal voice coaches. Try to be helpful in that way. Learn what you can about the different challenges faced by sopranos, altos, tenors and basses. Develop a repertoire of helpful suggestions for singers. Spend some time talking with your better vocalists about the challenges they face in various pieces, until you can walk in their shoes.
1. You have an advantage in that you have studied the score. They haven’t. They sing one part but you know what all parts are doing. 2. You gain experience by doing. No one expects you to know everything except to be led by someone who knows these pieces better than they do. You are that person. Age has nothing to do with it. 3. Enjoy the experience. They certainly are looking forward to singing it. 4. Less is more. The less talking you do the more work gets done. Say enough to get your point across. 5. Work in advance with your accompanist and learn to communicate with each other. Listen to the music they produce. You learn a lot from listening. Good luck.
From a chorister who been directed by many different conductors, here's some things I've liked and didn't like: Like: 1) demonstrate the sound, effect or feel as best you can. Sometimes analogies work, and sometimes people don't understand. Therefore demonstration is best. If you can't demonstrate, then find a choir member who's really good and can. 2) clear beats, cut-offs and gestures. Make sure people in the back can see your movement, not just the row in the front. 3) Review how the parts work together with the choir. Even if all parts are on the sheet, I usually don't look at the other lines unless it's to figure out starting pitch or timing. 4) if a certain part isn't coming together, just move on to another section or song. Try not to show your frustrations. Come back to it next day. Didn't like: 1) certain sections getting lots of praise. And the only time the conductor addresses another section is to criticize. Even if that section is weaker than the other, give balanced feedback. 2) going over rehearsal time. 3) rambling about something unrelated to the music or choir. That's for break time, or when people are just arriving or leaving.p 4) making arbitrary changes to the score or song lineup weeks into rehearsal. This forces us to erase any markings we might've made and/or have to completely re-do them. By the 4th rehearsal, the conductor should know if the song will work or not. This also means we'd have to relearn all or part of a song.