MH: There has been an amazing renaissance in British choral music recently. What developments have you seen, and why do you think it is?
AB: I think one of the biggest changes was the advent of girl cathedral choristers, which saw a real influx of interest from young girls wanting to sing in churches and cathedrals. Now there are more girls than boys, and we need to make sure that we don't lose the boys, so all young singers have equal access to singing. There are also some female lay clerks, organists and directors of music in cathedrals, so we're starting to see a change in the gender of people accompanying, conducting and directing, which is significant because, historically, this has been a male-oriented institution. We've also seen many more females stepping up to conduct, not only in school choirs where women have played a key role across the years, but now in chamber choirs, choral societies and professional choirs.
Today, there are more opportunities to engage in a variety of summer schools, attracting young people to singing. There are also more Young Artist opportunities, for example through the National Youth Choir's Fellowship, where they encourage not only singers but also conductors and composers. That's really vibrant, important and relevant to emerging musicians. Schemes like Genesis16 and others also encourage young people to get an experience of what it's like to work in a professional musical environment.
There are pockets of choral excellence across the UK, notably Robert Hollingworth's involvement at York University with the Master's Degree in Ensemble Singing. We are fortunate to have a very high level of choral singing in the UK; however, many choirs are struggling to attract and retain tenors and basses. I would say most of the men who audition for my choir are baritones – not quite tenors, and definitely not second basses!
MH: Why do you think it's become more difficult to find male singers?
AB: In a mixed chamber choir, for example, if you only have a few tenors, a new tenor might only have one other two other voices to sing alongside, and that's quite exposing; you need to be able to sight-read well, and to carry that line with absolute confidence. The singers that you really want when they're in their 20s and 30s are perhaps travelling or working long hours or getting married, settling down, having a family, so there are societal dynamics that influence how people commit to choirs.
MH: Do you think there's also a connection with earlier years, when children are at school? If there's less singing at that point, they may not even think about singing later on?
AB: I think a lot of it is to do with the quality and enthusiasm of the music teachers, which plays a big part in galvanising enjoyment and value of music from an early age. If you have access to whole-class instrumental teaching, or have a really dynamic teacher that takes a fabulous school choir; if you can access that kind of formative music-making and positive experience within a motivational school, and that attitude comes from the head, and feeds down across the staff; and if you see your teachers singing and engaging in singing – then you know you're establishing really good habits for the role that music can play in everyone's lives.
Music should be a natural human activity that we all do, just like speaking. It's a vehicle for communication and self-expression, sharing emotion, social cohesion and making friends. If you have that in your formative years, and are lucky enough for that to carry through secondary school and university, then you will cherish and value it. Perhaps there are times in secondary school where a macho element will kick in for the boys – ‘I'm not singing with the girls.’ Some schools implement a diamond of education system: the prep school will be coeducational, then boys and girls divide for KS 2–4, and then they come back together for A Levels. There may be mileage in that division at the awkward ages and stages of development through adolescence.
MH: Is it possible to rate singing in British schools, or is it just too varied and dependent on the teacher?
AB: I think the latter is the case. Though there are some good examples, vast numbers of schools simply don't engage in music because they don't have to. It's not a prerequisite. My daughter had lots of music in her first school (Reception to Year 2) but her junior school had no music at all: no lessons, no singing, no peripatetic teachers, singing assemblies or WCIT. This is not unusual. I would message the school regularly to offer my help, but sadly they were not interested. Then they got a new headteacher who was a musician – fabulous! But it took many years for the school to establish violin lessons and a choir. Long-term it was great news, but these things take time; and this is why we need to have singing in schools as a regular activity, even if it's only 10 minutes at the start of every day – to make it a normal thing that we all sing in assembly, or in our classrooms. It's so simple to sing the register, to sing two or three simple songs, 10–15 minutes every morning. It just needs to be made a normal part of life, so that people are not afraid to sing. If we establish this at grassroots level, then we have this pyramid that takes us up into choral excellence – that's what we need, and that's what we're missing in so many schools. In a private school, you have funding, investment, facilities and high expectations; in state schools it varies wildly from place to place – there may not be sufficient facilities or resources, or highly trained teachers, for example.
MH: It's strange that there haven't been more female conductors when you consider that most of the music-making in primary and junior schools, if they have any at all, is with women.
AB: Many women don't want to put themselves forward at the front; but we have seen a sea change over the last 30 years, slowly beginning to see role models at the top. This has happened in orchestral conducting as well as choral conducting, with people like Sian Edwards, Alice Farnham, Jane Glover and Mirga Gražinytė-Tyla. So many more women are stepping onto the podium to lead both orchestras and choirs in notable venues. I'm thinking of, for example, Rachel Staunton at London Youth Choirs, Hilary Campbell (numerous top-level choirs), Katie Thomas at Gothenburg Symphony Chorus, and Sophie Jeannin with the BBC Singers. It's taking a long time, but it is happening.
We've now got three centres of excellence for training choral conductors: the Royal Academy of Music in London, the Royal Welsh College of Music & Drama, and Royal Birmingham Conservatoire. But that's only three places. Compare that to America, where there are hundreds of places, and a pyramid of learning and progression from school choirs to professional choirs, where places are fiercely fought over. We don't have that structure in the UK, or a consistent music education structure. Some teachers use Kodály, a few will use Dalcroze, some may use Orff. But really, anything goes: there is no single methodology or structure that all music teachers need to follow.
MH: What differences are there in choral singing between the UK and USA?
AB: There is a big difference in how we approach music. In America they have more time to engage with choral music, so the learning is slower but they spend more time together, learning the music, getting to really understand the text and the structure, and what it feels like to perform it off copy – they take their choral music on a journey from the very first time they lay eyes on that score to how they perform it, sometimes with choreography, always off copy, and occasionally collaboratively with other choirs. So that journey, I would say, is slower, but it's much more in-depth, with greater commitment to how they learn and interpret it. In the UK we're expected to be able to sight-read a score perfectly, straight away. So, especially for the top-notch choirs, the expectation is that we'll do it and move on, sing another piece; we'll learn a programme in three rehearsals, and then perform it, but we won't perform it off copy because we're still following the music and sight-reading to a degree. I think there needs to be a happy medium.
MH: Do you think the expectation of sight-reading is partly responsible for people not joining choirs, that they're scared off – which is where the community choirs come into their own?
AB: The abundance and growth of community choirs has been exponential, and I put that down to the Gareth Malone phenomenon, because it was prime-time, BAFTA Award-winning television about singing and bringing people together, using choral singing as a vehicle for community, inclusion, self-expression, networking and all of the fabulous things that we know choral singing brings. I think through the Military Wives Choirs, state school singing projects and creation of workplace choirs, this has transformed the community choral scene in the UK. So now we have Alzheimer's choirs, dementia choirs, singing for lung health, carer choirs, cancer choirs, police choirs, a myriad of workplace choirs, prison choirs, refugee choirs – there has been an explosion of interest in community-accessible choirs of all types. And, of course, these are the sorts of choirs that deliberately attract people who have been told they can't sing or shouldn't sing, or who have a fear of singing or want to explore their voice, perhaps think they have a good voice and want to challenge themselves by simply joining a choir in the first place. There's no audition process, there are no barriers at all to joining. These all-inclusive, accessible choirs are fabulous for equality, diversity and inclusion, all of the things that Arts Council England are so keen on, and rightly so, which is great – there is room for all levels, types and abilities of choirs.
MH: What could we learn from choral singing and conducting in other parts of the world, how it's integrated within a community and within education?
AB: Travelling for choirs and choral directors is so important, because you meet people, network, share good practice and cultural exchange, watch other choirs perform, see what apps are being developed for sight-reading and vocal health, get to know what new resources are out there and what music composers are writing.
When I travel to choral competitions in Europe, I see choirs from all over the world, but very few British choirs. I'd love to get my choir to tour, but the first thing they say is: ‘We can't afford it.’ I've been abroad as a singer myself in other choirs, but I've never taken a choir abroad because they are reluctant to invest. I know some British choirs do travel and compete, but in my experience there isn't the same desire to want to connect culturally with other countries. We're becoming quite insular, I would say, which is very sad. It's also rare to find funds for choirs to travel and tour. If you're professional, like the King's Singers, Voces8, Tenebrae or The Sixteen, people around the world still think: ‘Oh, these British choirs are the best in the world’ – and they are indeed truly wonderful. But in terms of education and holding a deeply personal investment and respect for choral singing, the rest of the world, from what I've witnessed, appears to be streets ahead.
There are so many different types of choral music-making too, including a cappella, barbershop, gospel and so on. And rhythmic conducting is seeing a massive growth, particularly in Denmark, Finland and the Netherlands. It's growing hugely in popularity, but only a handful of UK practitioners know anything about this.
MH: I remember when I visited Estonia being astonished to learn that you had to be a music graduate to teach music in a primary school.
AB: And teachers in Finland need a Master's degree in Music to teach music. America, Scandinavia and the Nordic countries place more value and importance on choral singing; they have a more respectful attitude towards the act of choral singing and what it takes to lead a choir. We don't have that uniformly in the UK, and I think that's because we have been doing it for such a long time, and have perhaps become complacent. We're not looking out at the rest of the world, but are instead falling behind. I believe that comes from government decisions, and a lack of importance placed on the arts in general. We need to reinforce the importance of the arts in our country, and to re-elevate choral singing.
We need government to invest in the arts, to make them compulsory, because it's so crucial that we nurture creative human beings for the future. Young children need to be creative, to be free, to feel joy. Look at how many children are unable to engage in school because it's not the right platform for them. And that's because of this blinkered thinking that we need only do Maths, English, Science, and that these are the only valued subjects that will bring industry into the country, or develop intelligence. Freedom, creativity, respect, teamwork, listening skills, a sense of belonging and community spirit – elements that are abundant in musical settings – bring about emotionally intelligent people. You can teach the whole curriculum through music.
The EBacc has been absolutely disastrous for the creative arts. Music is a spoken language, a thinking language, a feeling language; it connects people deeply. One of the biggest hobbies for adolescents is listening to music, playing music with others, wanting to join a band. So many children are not engaging in secondary schools because they have high anxiety. I believe this comes from Covid and other issues, like the preponderance of phones, social media and so on. But where is the essential provision for the creative arts in secondary schools? Taking music and the creative arts out of schools isn't serving our young people at all. It's just making the problem much, much worse.
MH: What qualities do you think make for a good choral conductor?
AB: First and foremost, you need musical knowledge and skill as a foundational basis, then to be able to convey that through effective gesture to share what you're hoping to get from choirs. You need to be able to inspire singers, which comes through warmth of personality, but also a really deep knowledge of the music and the text and what it means. Communicating excellent leadership qualities comes through personality – respect, humility, empathy, humour – and you need to be a really good listener, both musically and socially. A lot of conductors that I train want to learn how to wave their arms around, but actually what they don't always do is listen. Crucially, you need to respond to what you're getting back, and be able to hear and improve, and correct and address issues in a skilful, positive way. There are always problems, rocky dynamics that will arise during anyone's tenure; you need an open and approachable demeanour so you can have honest discussions between conductor, committee and choir – and these are conversations to have regularly.
As your choir develops, you need to be able to work collaboratively and be on top of the admin, so you know when you need to provide programmes, programme notes, rehearsal schedules, etc. Collaboration is key between you and your choir, orchestras and soloists.
Also, we have come far in our vocal knowledge, so vocal health and an understanding of the voice are important, whether through adolescent change, or menopausal changes; we know so much more now and conductors need to have information, to be apprised of current thinking in terms of looking after singers so that our voices can work well and last into our seventies and eighties. Choral conducting is not about waving your arms; it's about empathy, humility, inspiration, vision and collaboration. You're leading human beings as much as voices – you can't separate the two. This is why it's such a huge responsibility for us as leaders to remember that we're dealing with the human condition, and that's very visceral between a choral conductor and a choir.
You need to be able to make really clear decisions, and you need oodles of patience for those frustrating moments in committee meetings, or with choral ‘pirates’ in rehearsal who think they can lead the choir better than you can!
