Tag: community

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Musings of a Conductor’s Apprentice by Gregory Moor

Leeds Vocal Movement

I have never considered myself to be a singer, but have always enjoyed performing and being involved in music in any way I can. My first instrument is the flute, which I took to grade 8, but I’ve always felt it to be a solo instrument so I then moved to the trumpet. I took this as far as grade 3 and officially stopped lessons as a result of family circumstances, but I loved how loud the trumpet was compared to the flute. It was also my way in to the local concert bands and ignited my passion for community. I studied music at university and there I picked up the French horn. I was always eager to be involved in bands and orchestras, so when the opportunity came to start conducting I couldn’t wait! I became conductor of the Leeds University Union Music Society (LUUMS) Concert Band and studied conducting under the guidance of Eduardo Portal.

After graduating, conducting opportunities came few and far between, so when I saw the advert to conduct Leeds Vocal Movement I got an application in as soon as I could. Looking into them, they appeared to have a great community built around singing in a relaxed environment which really appealed to me. I found out after the audition that I wasn’t going to be leading the choir and that was fine by me, I’ve never considered myself to be a singer after all. Months later, I got a call asking if I wanted to try a new role for LVM as apprentice conductor.

When I first arrived, the role was very much in its infancy. There were ideas for how the role would look, but as I was to be the first to fill the role I got to find out what worked and similarly what didn’t. Since I’d never had much experience with singing, I wasn’t particularly comfortable warming up voices, so I was very glad to have more of a back seat and learn techniques from Caitlin in more of a participatory manner. The Kodaly method Caitlin uses to warm LVM up is perfect as it encourages the singers to learn the fundamentals of music theory practically. The effects of this were really noticeable when taking sectionals since it took much less time to learn new pieces towards the end of the year.

It has been a wonderful experience working with LVM and I feel I’ve really learnt a lot about rehearsing singers and a choir efficiently and effectively, and I’m glad to have learnt this in such an encouraging environment too! I got to conduct a few performances in the last concert, but I would say the most enjoyable and most rewarding part of the role was seeing the choir grow musically – it’s really encouraging as a conductor to see the musicians grow in confidence and musicianship together. It’s really helped my musicianship personally, and most importantly I now consider myself to be a singer. I am sad to be leaving this position, but strongly believe the choir is going from strength to strength.

joining the choir, SATB choir, Uncategorized

My Journey to LVM – Holly Angel

Leeds Vocal Movement

 

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Leeds Vocal Movement hard at work!

I have always loved to sing. When I was in primary school, Friday assemblies where everyone sang together were my favourite thing. I once got moved to the front of the group while rehearsing for a school play because I was singing so enthusiastically. I jumped at the chance to join my high school choir, and at sixteen I fell in love with Glee and Gareth Malone. When I joined university I couldn’t wait to join the choir. I was really surprised to be the only non-music student there. I had joined as an “enthusiastic amateur”, the person who loves something without understanding it. I couldn’t have told you what the musical terms meant (I’m a little better now) and if you asked me to sing you a G sharp I’d have no idea (still don’t!) but it was there that I first fell in love with choral music. It was divine, passionate, emotive, and utterly moving. I loved it.

When I graduated university in 2013 and moved back to my home city, Leeds, I was looking for a new choir. I did some googling of Leeds choirs and was disappointed but not surprised to find so many choirs were either up to the age of 18 or didn’t have a specific age but consisted of people who were in their 50s, 60s, 70s…where was the choir for young adults? Luckily, I happened to find one that fit the bill – Leeds Vocal Movement.
Leeds Vocal Movement would generally be considered a small choir – I think the most we’ve ever boasted is roughly 35 members. But what has never been small is the passion! While my university choir introduced me to the wonders of choral music – Handel, Faure, Britten – this choir has introduced me to a much wider range since then – folk songs, contemporary covers, traditional pieces and modern choral music (Eric Whitacre is a choir staple!). It’s hard to pick one favourite piece because there have been so many great ones, but a standout piece for me is one called “Name That Tune” by Grayston Ives. It’s a mashup of multiple classical pieces – Beethoven, Mozart, Strauss. It took the choir a good six months to perfect it, and there were so many laughs along the way as we fluffed different parts. We really made it our own, and that’s one of the most special things about being in a choir to me – taking a piece, adding unique touches to it and having a lot of fun along the way!
I was asked to manage social media not long after I joined the choir and it was a really fun challenge thinking about different ways to sum up rehearsals with pictures, videos and tweets. It’s no easy feat trying to raise the choir’s profile without the money for a marketing campaign but over the five years I’ve been working on it I think our name is gradually becoming more known through Leeds and hopefully will continue to do so.
During my time in the choir we’ve worked hard to give something special to our audiences, whether that’s creating a Christmassy atmosphere and bringing a smile to passers by as we carol to raise money for different charities, or our own concerts that we strive to fill with a variety of musical styles so that there will be something for everyone to enjoy. As much as we get out of performing for others, we also gain so much ourselves, from learning different musical techniques (such as Kodaly) from our conductor, to understanding more about what we really love to sing as a choir and as individuals. So much of the fun is that you never stop learning and growing!
Leeds Vocal Movement has been a wonderfully unique choir to be part of – relatively new (less than ten years old), young adult, secular and unauditioned – brimming with people of different skill levels and musical experience but all bursting with the same musical passion. I’m proud to have watched it grow and change over the years and I hope it will long continue to provide a place for young people in Leeds who love to sing with somewhere to go and express themselves and share the joy of music with others, both members and an audience.
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LVM is a charity – and here’s why

Leeds Vocal Movement

We are delighted to announce that Leeds Vocal Movement became a registered charity on 26th February 2018. This is wonderful news for the choir, as it opens up a lot of opportunities for its development. We would like to ensure that these opportunities are clearly outlined for our members, local public and anyone who is interested in the status and long-term growth of the choir.

Our Objectives

The Charity Commission recognises the following objectives for the choir:

  1. For the public benefit to advance the musical education (including practical and theoretical musical training) of people aged between 18 and 35 years in and around Leeds.
  2. To advance, improve, develop and maintain public engagement in, and appreciation of, the art and science of music, through choir performances, workshops and rehearsals.

Why have we become a charity?

As a registered charity, LVM has public recognition as an organisation, with social benefits and public needs at the forefront of our aims and developments; we will use these to directly benefit our choir members and the local community, and our charity status guarantees this.

Being a charity also improves our ability to meet these objectives, through increasing our opportunities for funding our core and project-based costs. This keeps our choir affordable, without compromising the development of its members and quality of its events.

What does this mean for members?

Education: LVM provides musical education, guidance and practice at our rehearsals, which are led by our professional Musical Director Caitlin Mayall. Caitlin’s enthusiastic approach, and application of the Kodály method to musical education, allows each member to advance in their musical knowledge and skill at a crucial stage in their vocal development.

Diversity: We pride ourselves on providing a diverse selection on music from a wide range of musical genres to sing each term. Our Musical Director and Librarian work hard to make our repertoire as eclectic as possible. We also encourage our members to suggest pieces for the choir to sing (and what not to sing), as it’s a priority for our members to enjoy what they’re performing.

Development: our long-term project for the choir is to provide more musical education for our members, with the following aims:

  1. To run high-quality choral workshops from visiting conductors and vocal leaders
  2. To develop the Kodály Method music training programme for LVM members and the wider choral community in Leeds
  3. To provide an accompanying pianist, to provide exciting concert opportunities for SATB and piano

Opportunities: Members will have the opportunity to perform in the LVM concerts twice a year, as well as singing in collaborative concerts, festivals and competitions with other choirs in the arts community. In each of our concerts, our members have the chance to sing full choir and small ensemble pieces, both of which allow them to enhance their experience of performing music.

What does this mean for the local community?

Accessibility: We often gain members who haven’t sung in a choir for many years, or at all. For this reason, we do not have the barrier of auditioning or prior experience as a requirement for joining, as it can put people off before they’ve had a chance to sing with us. In addition, we offer subsidised membership fees for students and those on a low income, to make our choir affordable for our target audience.

Engagement: We often host open rehearsals during recruitment periods, to give individuals the opportunity to try out our choir first before joining; potential members and interested friends/colleagues can join us for an evening of singing, and see if LVM is right for them. Our choral workshops are also available for the public to participate, and join our members in developing their vocal knowledge and technique.

Community: All who join LVM are welcomed into a community of singers and music-lovers of varying musical abilities, knowledge and culture. Our members are a mixture of students and working professionals, which span our target age range and a wealth of careers and interests. We maintain this community outside of our weekly rehearsals, whether through social media, blog posts, choir socials, or just a post-rehearsal pint.

Entertainment: The musical education and guidance provided by our Musical Director, and the dedication of the choir, are best showcased in our concerts and performances. Our audience members can expect an evening of diverse and well-rehearsed repertoire, sung by a choir that continually strives for musical excellence.

What does this mean in relation to funding?

LVM’s core costs are always growing and currently being funded by members’ fees only. As a newly registered charity, we are constantly applying for sponsorship and arts funding to help us to cover costs such as our rehearsal venue, paying our Musical Director and hiring/purchasing music to perform.

We are also applying for project funding for the development our choir, the aims of which are outlined above. Our projects include our termly choir workshops, and the employment of an Apprentice Conductor and Piano Accompanist, which give early-career musicians an opportunity to gain paid experience in their field.

Any donations we receive, large or small, will help us provide excellent choral training for the members of our choir. If you are interested in funding, sponsoring or donating to our choir, please contact us via email or donate to our GoFundMe campaign.