The Choir Director Podcast

Ep #17: Susan Cox: The Art of Nurturing Mature Voices

The fastest way to improve a choir is not a new warm-up or a clever baton trick. It is building trust so singers feel safe enough to actually sing. Russell Scott sits down with Susan Cox, director of the Grand Union Community Choir, to explore what community choir leadership looks like when you take confidence, wellbeing, and real life seriously, especially in mixed ability groups. Susan shares what she has learned from decades in music education and choral directing, including how different ages can experience rehearsal in different ways. We talk about why some older singers need more repetition, clearer visual cues, and a little more time, and how anxiety and self-belief can matter as much as raw musical capability. If you lead singers who bring past criticism, learning differences, or performance nerves into the room, you will find practical, compassionate approaches you can use straight away. We also tackle one of the most sensitive topics for choir directors: singing off book. Yes, performing without sheet music can boost audience engagement and presence, but the push to memorise can create stress that stops people singing. Susan explains how to introduce off-book singing gradually, how to use a “safety net” without losing connection, and why there is no one-size-fits-all model across community choirs, SATB ensembles, and more traditional reading groups. Along the way we dig into self-awareness, imposter syndrome, rehearsal planning, and why filming yourself can reveal habits your choir sees instantly. If you want better rehearsals, a healthier choir culture, and a more confident ensemble sound, subscribe, share with a fellow choir leader, and leave us a rating and review. Contact the Studio [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/support] *** Resources: The Choir Director Podcast — helping you build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences. * Website: thechoirdirectorpodcast.com [https://thechoirdirectorpodcast.com] * Mailing List: Join our Newsletter [https://russellscott.live/podcastnewsletter] Follow Russell Scott: * Website: russellscott.org [https://russellscott.org] * Instagram: @russellscottofficial [https://instagram.com/russellscottofficial] * Facebook: facebook.com/russellscottofficial [https://facebook.com/russellscottofficial] * X: @russellscottuk [https://x.com/russellscottuk] (c) Russell Scott 2026.  All rights reserved.

Ep #16: Maria A. Ellis: What If Classical Music Is A Pop Secret?

You can feel when a choir rehearsal has real trust, and you can also feel when singers are holding back. Maria A. Ellis, St Louis-based choral conductor, educator, and founder of Girl Conductor, joins us to get practical about how we create rehearsal rooms where singers take risks, learn faster, and actually enjoy the work. We talk through high-impact rehearsal strategies that start with comfort and connection, then build towards excellence. Maria shares her “favourite auntie” leadership mindset, why children often lean into new ideas more easily than adults, and how we can normalise mistakes without lowering standards. One line lands especially hard: make the mistake loud, because we cannot fix what we cannot hear. If you lead a youth choir, school choir, community choir, or chamber ensemble, these ideas translate straight into better pacing, clearer feedback, and stronger sound. From there, we move into inclusive repertoire and genre crossover with integrity: gospel, classical, pop, and musical theatre. Maria’s Bach And Beyoncé approach shows how to make classical music relevant by revealing its fingerprints in modern music, film scores, and sampling culture. We also dig into teaching music theory and intervals using references students already know, treating style as the character of the music rather than a box labelled “genre”, and helping singers connect to lyrics even when the text sits outside their belief system. If you’re ready to sharpen your choral conducting, expand your repertoire choices, and help young singers find confidence and style, press play. Subscribe, share with a fellow choir director, and leave us a rating and review so more conductors can find the show. *** More about Maria A. Ellis: website: www.girlconductor.com [https://www.girlconductor.com] Facebook: @girlconductor [https://facebook.com/girlconductor] Instagram: @girlconductor [https://instagram.com/girlconductor] Contact the Studio [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/support] *** Resources: The Choir Director Podcast — helping you build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences. * Website: thechoirdirectorpodcast.com [https://thechoirdirectorpodcast.com] * Mailing List: Join our Newsletter [https://russellscott.live/podcastnewsletter] Follow Russell Scott: * Website: russellscott.org [https://russellscott.org] * Instagram: @russellscottofficial [https://instagram.com/russellscottofficial] * Facebook: facebook.com/russellscottofficial [https://facebook.com/russellscottofficial] * X: @russellscottuk [https://x.com/russellscottuk] (c) Russell Scott 2026.  All rights reserved.

Ep #15: Oliver Rudin: What Does It Take to Build a Choir That Genuinely Surprises People?

A choir can sing accurately and still leave an audience cold, so what actually creates a performance that feels alive? We sit down with Oliver Rudin, a Basel-based artistic director who works deeply with youth ensembles and the Basel Boys Choir, to get practical about the decisions that make a choir sound confident, expressive, and genuinely surprising. We talk choral programming across styles, including how to introduce contemporary choral music to singers and listeners who prefer familiar repertoire. Oliver’s answer is not “pick safer pieces” or “market harder”. It is clarity: build a strong artistic idea, create bridges between styles, and choose music you love enough to lead with conviction. That authenticity, he argues, is the quickest way to get singers to commit emotionally, not just intellectually. From there, we go into rehearsal craft. Oliver shares fast ways to unite a large group, including simple listening-based warm-ups like finding a shared pianissimo hum, then expanding towards harmony. We also unpack intonation as a focus and body issue as much as an ear issue, plus why stepping back can help singers listen, breathe together, and self-correct. Finally, we explore choir competitions and the World Choir Games: what adjudicators listen for, how repertoire choice can highlight a choir’s strengths, and why you “cannot fail” if the real aim is growth. Subscribe for more practical choral conducting conversations, share this with a fellow choir director, and if it helps you, please leave a rating and review so more singers and conductors can find the show. *** More about Oliver Rudin: Website: www.oliverrudin.com [https://www.oliverrudin.com] Instagram: @oliver.rudin [https://www.instagram.com/oliver.rudin/] Contact the Studio [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/support] *** Resources: The Choir Director Podcast — helping you build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences. * Website: thechoirdirectorpodcast.com [https://thechoirdirectorpodcast.com] * Mailing List: Join our Newsletter [https://russellscott.live/podcastnewsletter] Follow Russell Scott: * Website: russellscott.org [https://russellscott.org] * Instagram: @russellscottofficial [https://instagram.com/russellscottofficial] * Facebook: facebook.com/russellscottofficial [https://facebook.com/russellscottofficial] * X: @russellscottuk [https://x.com/russellscottuk] (c) Russell Scott 2026.  All rights reserved.

EP #14: Craig Lees: How To Make Pop And Rock Choirs Sound Real

Pop and rock choir can sound electrifying or it can sound like a classical choir wearing a pop costume. We sit down with Craig Lees, Principal Lecturer in Popular Voice at Leeds Conservatoire and a leading figure in contemporary pop choral work, to get specific about what actually makes popular music feel authentic when sung by a choir. We dig into the nuts and bolts that choir directors and vocal leaders wrestle with every week: how to avoid the “pretty by default” trap, how to teach rhythm so syncopation stays alive, and how to shape articulation and vowels so the sound sits closer to speech and style. Craig shares practical rehearsal approaches for mix and belt in a group setting, including the use of primal sounds like calls, sighs and yells, plus how to keep singers healthy while still getting that raw, emotional edge pop music demands. We also explore groove as a whole-body skill, why movement can instantly change ensemble feel, and how consonant placement can create punch and projection without pushing volume at the vocal folds. On the arranging and section-leading side, Craig talks about gospel-influenced voicings, mixed tenor sections (including female tenors), and what “twang” really means as a controllable change in the vocal tract that can boost clarity and carry. If you want a more modern choir sound, stronger performances, and rehearsals that translate directly to the stage, this one is packed with usable ideas. Subscribe so you never miss an episode, leave a rating and review, and share it with a fellow choir director who wants their pop set to finally land. *** More about Craig Lees: Website: www.livingvocally.com [https://www.livingvocally.com] Instagram: @craigantonylees [https://www.instagram.com/craigantonylees/] Facebook: @livingvocally [https://www.facebook.com/livingvocally] Contact the Studio [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/support] *** Resources: The Choir Director Podcast — helping you build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences. * Website: thechoirdirectorpodcast.com [https://thechoirdirectorpodcast.com] * Mailing List: Join our Newsletter [https://russellscott.live/podcastnewsletter] Follow Russell Scott: * Website: russellscott.org [https://russellscott.org] * Instagram: @russellscottofficial [https://instagram.com/russellscottofficial] * Facebook: facebook.com/russellscottofficial [https://facebook.com/russellscottofficial] * X: @russellscottuk [https://x.com/russellscottuk] (c) Russell Scott 2026.  All rights reserved.

Ep #13: Johannes David Wolff: Make Them Laugh Twice - Rehearsals Young Singers Actually Want to Come Back To

A youth choir doesn’t thrive because you pick the perfect repertoire. It thrives because rehearsal feels like a place young singers choose to return to, week after week, even when life gets messy and confidence wobbles. I’m joined by Berlin-based choral director Johannes David Wolff, artistic director of Vokalhelden, the children’s and youth choir programme founded on the initiative of Sir Simon Rattle and Simon Halsey, to talk about what really builds that kind of rehearsal culture. We dig into the small rehearsal habits that create big musical results: starting with human connection before you start “fixing notes”, setting expectations that feel supportive rather than strict, and making the room accessible when backgrounds, experience and self-belief vary. Johannes shares what it took to establish a youth choir over years, how the pandemic and online rehearsals affected young singers differently, and why long term momentum depends on trust more than talent. We also explore how to inspire young people to listen to classical music without forcing it, using points of reference from their lives and helping them practise attention in a world that encourages quick judgment and constant swiping. If you’ve ever faced resistance to a piece, struggled to keep energy high for 90 minutes, or wondered how humour can sharpen focus rather than derail it, you’ll take away strategies you can use at your very next rehearsal. Subscribe so you never miss an episode, share it with a fellow choir director, and if it helps you, please leave a rating and review. What rehearsal habit has made the biggest difference in your choir? *** More about Johannes David Wolff: Volkahelden Website: www.vokalhelden.de [https://www.vokalhelden.de] Instagram: @johannesdavidwolff [https://www.instagram.com/johannesdavidwolff] Contact the Studio [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/fan_mail/new] Support the show [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2598004/support] *** Resources: The Choir Director Podcast — helping you build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences. * Website: thechoirdirectorpodcast.com [https://thechoirdirectorpodcast.com] * Mailing List: Join our Newsletter [https://russellscott.live/podcastnewsletter] Follow Russell Scott: * Website: russellscott.org [https://russellscott.org] * Instagram: @russellscottofficial [https://instagram.com/russellscottofficial] * Facebook: facebook.com/russellscottofficial [https://facebook.com/russellscottofficial] * X: @russellscottuk [https://x.com/russellscottuk] (c) Russell Scott 2026.  All rights reserved.