Q & A with Mel Butler and Rachel Mahon: Working with Choirs and Choristers-an Organist’s Perspective

This will be an informal session that explores what choir training is like within Mahon’s experience. Mahon has worked as an organist and choir trainer in the United Kingdom since 2013 at four cathedral institutions, each with slightly different training schemes for choirs. Some have dedicated choir schools, while others take choristers from a variety of schools. They have different schedules and vastly different amounts of time dedicated to singing each week. Mel will ask questions such as what is a typical rehearsal like? How do you recruit boys and girls and what are the arguments for keeping them separate? What provision is there for adults? How do you teach people to sight-read music? There will be the chance for you to ask your own questions too. The focus will be on children’s choirs, but with some overlap into adult choirs.