Community choirs take over the world!

It's never been more popular to sing in a choir. The choral landscape is unrecognisable to what it was only a few years ago. Choirs are springing up in communities all over the place and they look very different to the choirs of old!

We stopped singing

In bygone decades, choral singing was basically the preserve of churches. In the UK, there's also a long tradition of choral societies that were often associated with orchestras, but if you wanted to get involved, you needed to be able to read music.

As home entertainment moved into the television and then the digital age, people stopped making music at home. We sang as children, but then we grew up, left school and most of us never sang again, except in the shower.

We found our voices

This golden age of community choirs that we're enjoying now is something to be wholly celebrated. It marks a big change in attitude that can only do us all good. Community choirs aren't about musical 'excellence' (although many are excellent). They're about community, enjoyment and getting that buzz from making music together.

They deliver real health benefits in helping people to relax, focus and shake off the stresses of their work and responsibilities.

Every choir needs a leader

With a new breed of choirs comes a new breed of choir leader. These people aren't choral purists who've worked their way up the ranks of the traditional musical world. Many have little formal musical training. But they have passion, drive and a desire to build something that has an impact in their communities.

Becoming a choir leader isn't always a deliberate move. We've heard so many stories of singers, pianists and music teachers stepping in to rescue a choir that would otherwise have gone under.

What's missing?

We started Total Choir Resources because we couldn't find the support, training and guidance we wanted when we started out as choir leaders. We worked it out for ourselves, and then we decided to pass on what we'd discovered to others.

But we think there's more to do. Community choirs are growing at an amazing rate, yet the traditional musical training sector offers very little for people, like us, who want to make leading community choirs their career and their business.

We were lucky enough to find some excellent conducting training, but what about all the other stuff - planning, rehearsing, performing, managing people (not easy sometimes!), finances, insurance etc etc? Today's community choir leaders are professionals who want professional support.

Where it's all going

Leading community choirs is an exciting, demanding and incredibly rewarding career. If you want to make it your career, whether full or part time, self-employed or hired gun, for profit or not, we're here to help.