The King's Singers Focus
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14 / 03 / 2011 - Chris on why education work is important
A phrase we often use on tour when talking with promoters, fans and friends is "education is an extremely important part of what we do in The King's Singers." But what does that mean? At its widest level, it means that when people come to hear us in concert we like to give them a bit of what they know and like (often including close harmony pop arrangements!) but also to present music in styles and from composers about which they may know little or nothing. We always hope that our audiences go away having learned a bit more about music than what they previously knew - and (we hope) feeling inspired to listen to a wider range of styles. We must entertain, first and foremost, but we must also increase knowledge and cultural awareness. This current North American tour programme is a good example of this ideal: the second half gives the audience 45 minutes of pop, folk and spiritual arrangements, whereas the first includes some little-known part-songs and three challenging commissioned pieces by Steve Martland.
On a more concentrated scale, our commitment to education means making the group available to conduct masterclasses, lecture demonstrations and workshops for singers of all ages, all over the world. Again, this North American tour ideally illustrates this. Over the course of its 25 days, we will be working with in excess of 500 young people in Illinois, Indiana, Saskatchewan, Utah, Manitoba and Connecticut, and helping them to enjoy their music-making.
At sessions in Regina, Saskatchewan, we were fortunate to work with twelve local High School choirs and three choirs from local universities (as you'll see from the photos, we had great fun!) and it is clear that the future of choral music in this area is in very good hands. When we go into these masterclasses, we don't seek to impose our own rules onto choirs, or get them to sound just like The King's Singers. Instead, we first recognise the immense amount of hard work that goes into preparing these groups week by week, and try to improve on their performance in subtle ways. We might try to improve their blend, sound, diction or balance. We will look at the way the choir presents itself to the audience, to encourage better communication with the listeners. We will also explore the contrasts available within a piece, suggesting ways in which a choir can retain an audience's attention over an entire performance. Colours, dynamics, tempi, and rhythm can all unite to push a performance from being good to being great. Everything we say comes in the form of gentle suggestions, and the choirs and their directors can take or leave whatever they choose.
So, why is this process important to us? On one obvious level, we are safe-guarding our audiences of the future! We want as many young singers as possible to know about The King's Singers, to enjoy our music, and to work with us in creating wonderful sounds. On a deeper level, we want to ensure that these same people are enthused by music-making, that they allow their lives to be touched by song, feel the emotional experience a really fine performance can bring, and feel proud of themselves and the creative process behind their achievements.
We want to thank all the choral directors who put their choirs forward to work with us, to thank all the members of those choirs who have listened and responded well to our comments, and we hope we can continue to inspire young singers all over the world for many years to come.
