#15 Chris Rowbury
UK based choir leader and blogger with 30+ years experience
Chris Rowbury is a choir conductor and workshop leader with over 30 years experience. Based in Suffolk, England, Chris runs singing workshops and residential singing weekends, and also writes a weekly choir blog called From The Front Of The Choir.
Chris has a humorous and relaxing style, and can be quite mischievous and contrarian. We used topics from Chris' blog as jumping-off points in this wide-ranging discussion.
Expect to learn:
What is an "eggy moment" and why does Chris love them?
What one skill would Chris magically bestow on all singers, if he could?
What mindset helped Chris to run a workshop when only five people turned up and the space was occupied by huge pillars?
Why does Chris sometimes turn off all the lights in his rehearsal?
Why is it important for choir leaders to put themselves in the singer's shoes?
And much more...
Listen on Spotify
Listen on SoundCloud
Watch on YouTube
It was a lot of fun talking to Chris - though I’ve never personally had the pleasure of attending one of his workshops myself, I am sure they would be joyful experiences! If you’re in the UK, definitely look him up.
Support the show on Patreon!
You can support the show from as little as $3 per episode. That’s not bad for a unique resource you can enjoy again and again.
You can set a monthly limit too, so you’ll never pay more than you intend.
Head to my Patreon page and become a supporter here.
Update on my other projects
The Canberra Chordsmen have a big year ahead of us - this year, Canberra is hosting the annual Barbershop Harmony Australia festival, and we are super excited to show off our city to our fellow barbershoppers from around the country.
Above - the Chordsmen waiting for me to find the pitch to the next Christmas song…
Strange Weather Choir likewise has a busy year ahead. Soon we’ll be starting our recruitment drive and learning some new material. Later in the year we’ll be putting on a big concert!
Above - Strange Weather performing at the Haig Park markets.
Mixtape Chorus had a great end-of-year concert at the White Eagle Polish Club (on a VERY hot day, fortunately the air-con was blasting). The concert video is here for you keen beans.
For a smaller dose of Mixtape, check out the above video of us singing Caught In The Crowd, a beautiful song about bullying and regret from Kate Miller-Heidke.
Arrangements - to showcase my arrangements, I’ve been making scrolling-score videos with full audio demos (voices generated using Synthesizer V). Here’s a rollicking sea-shanty I learned from the Canberra Shanty Club, which I arranged into SATB voicing for Strange Weather Choir. I also put a little nautical ambience in the video…
See you next time SubStackers!