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WORKSHOPS
I offer a wide range of workshops on topics related to choral music and music pedagogy. It is important to me, no matter the topic, that the participants feel that we are in it together, and that we have fun while learning something new and meaningful.
REHEARSALS
Guest Conductor
Do you have a rehearsal day or are you preparing for a special event, I can come by and provide you with new input for your warm ups and your choir leader toolbox in general. I can bring a new song that we can learn together or give you feedback on your existing repertoire. The session can last an evening, a day or a whole weekend.
FROM SCORE TO MUSIC
Guest conductor
During the session we will learn an arrangement on the spot and work on the details of the music, so we touch upon rhythm/groove, intonation/pitch, sound/blend, phrasing/interpretation and performance. Together we will transform the dots of sheet music that we read on the paper into real music that we can hear and feel. The session can last from 2-6 hours
BIG CHOIR
Guest Conductor
In Denmark we have a tradition of bringing hundreds of people together to join voices in big project choirs that work together for 1 day, a weekend or maybe a whole week during Summer. At the end of the rehearsal there will be a presentation concert where the music students sing for the rest of the school or where the choristers can invite their friends and families. Sometimes we give the concert a title like “Epic Pop” og “Sing It Out Loud”, “Dis-Connect/Connect” “We’re In This Together” “Singing in the Dark” or “Scandinavian Skies”. The repertoire is very often SATB + band/piano, but it can also be a cappella depending on the target group and experience of the singers. The session can last from 1 day to a whole week. We can learn all the music on the spot or the participants can prepare in advance.
ICEBREAKERS
A Playful Approach to Group Dynamics
Together with my colleague Kristoffer Fynbo Thorning, I offer a number of workshop about Icebreakers. We have written two handbooks about how icebreakers can be used to break the ice between people of all ages and create a stronger connection and understanding between people while also creating a safe learning environment based on trust and respect. The element of play is key and we use music, movement, singing and teamwork as a frame to start the fun and get everybody into the flow. The workshops can last from 1 hour to 3 days and the target group can be a group of people that needs icebreakers themselves with us as facilitators or a group of teachers, conductors, teambuilders or similar that need new inspiration for their pedagogical/leadership work.
We can customize the workshops so they fit your target group and interest and the session can last from 1 hour to 3 full days
Our "Introduction to Icebreakers" last 90-120 min and it is also available as a webinar.
WARMING UP
A greenhouse for community and personal growth and a safe learning space for musical and vocal development
I will take you through my favourite vocal warm up exercises from the new warm up book “Warming Up – A handbook on choral warm up, vocal technique and singing together” that I wrote together with Kristoffer Fynbo Thorning. You will learn and sing a lot of exercises from the book and we will talk about how you can get your singers in the flow by building your own warm up programs with elements from the 5 main chapters: Break The Ice, Body, Breath & Support, Waking and Training the Voice, Singergy, Focus. Vocal warm ups can be a space for arriving physically, mentally, socially and vocally. It is a social space and a learning space, where you can take the next steps as a singer and as an ensemble.
POP SINGING FOR CHORISTERS
Vocal Technique
The Nordic pop choir Sound is characterized by a bright and light sound ideal. There can be huge dynamic variations and it is possible to use a wide range of sound colours and vocal effects from airy jazz ballad to insisting radio pop to epic gospel and screaming rock. In this workshop you will be introduced to Complete Vocal Technique (CVT) developed by Cathrine Sadolin (DK) and used by professionals and amateur singers and voice teachers all over the world for more than 30 years. I have studied CVT as part of my education as a voice teacher at The Royal Academy of Music in Denmark and I consider it my basic vocal technique for when I go on stage and sing myself. I have used the techniques with my almost 1000 individual solo voice students that I taught as a vocal teachers for the past 20 years as well as with choirs like Vocal Line, Lyt and Syng Selected. During this workshop we will sing a new 3-4 part arrangements of catchy pop tune and learn how to use CVT while singing it. The arrangement will have a modern and full-bodied sound – and it will be fun to sing. The main focus is to explore HOW we sing it using CVT to get the right support and vocal mode, so we can get the expression that we want.
The rehearsal will be a combination of theory and practice.
VOCAL ARRANGEMENT
Methods and techniques for writing vocal arrangements
How do you arrange for a cappella choir? How do you give your arrangements a modern and an original sound and feeling? And how do you arrange for beginners or youth choirs? How do you make arrangements that are fun and easy to sing and sound great at the same time? hat kind of ’tricks’ can you use as an arranger? The nordic pop choir arrangement focus on the lyrics and on choir parts, which are based on the sounds of the voice itself. It differs from other traditions within the pop choir and contemporary a cappella choir genre, which often imitates instruments and use ostinatos. You may have more questions – and hopefully you will find the answers in these workshops. We will look at a selection of Nordic pop arrangement examples and explore different methods, ’rules’ and arrangement techniques within modern vocal music.
I offer three different presentations about arranging:
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Building Blocks – Basic Arranging – Arrange Inside the Box
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Emotional Landscapes – Storytelling - Arrange Outside the Box
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Wrap it up nicely - Beginnings, Transitions and Endings
I am also available for individual sessions where we can discuss and co-write specifically on your arrangement.
ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Toolbox & 1-on-1
In the "Entrepreneurship Toolbox" - presentation, I will introduce you to some of the tools that I work with in the 3 companys I run and in the organizations that I work with. How do you book concerts for vocal groups and choirs like Postyr and Lyt? How do you make decisions in a group? How do you organize yourself? How can you get new ideas and how can you follow through so they actually become real?
I have experience from many areas of the music business: As an artist, as an employed and self-employed music teacher, as a publisher, as a board member on different organizations like Vocal Line and the concert venue Radar and CASA’s advisory board and as a chairman and project leader of Aarhus Vocal Festival
Do you have specific challenges that you think I can help you with in your own group or project. I am happy to meet you for a session where we apply some of the tools from my toolbox to your specific needs.
