The Creative Choir: A Holistic Approach to Working with Singers

by James Neilson Graham

Choral singing is enjoying a renaissance, and this timely book contributes to our understanding of what choir work can and should be about. Starting from the idea that education underpins the rehearsal process, James Neilson Graham delves into the theory and practice of working with singers, drawing on the insights of Emile Jaques-Dalcroze in relation to movement and Valborg Werbeck-Svardstrom in relation to the voice. Singing is an aspect of our common humanity and the health of the socio-musical organism finds its reflection in the choral sound. How can the individual flourish in the midst of so many? How can the conductor facilitate the process? In lively fashion (with more than seventy music examples, diagrams and illustrations), James Neilson Graham challenges orthodoxies and opens up new developmental pathways for the choir leader and the choral singer.

186 pages, Paperback

Published August 1, 2015