I should preface this account by saying that I am not part of the Barbershop organisation, am largely unfamiliar with Barbershop repertoire, working primarily with world music repertoire. I am also self-taught, coming to Directors' College without even an hour's instruction on how to lead a group of singers. Frighteningly, I make a living working with 5 choirs in the East Midlands.

In 2002 I was lucky enough to receive a training award from East Midlands Arts Board to undertake advanced vocal training, gaining skills I could bring to my choirs. Some of that, notably with Gillyanne Kayes, has been wonderful, and of some of it the best you could say would be 'thanks for the pencil'.

Kevan Liebling from Grand Central Chorus told me about DCIII. We had met at the Peterborough round of the Sainsbury's Choir of the Year. Through Kevan I had ordered the 'Directing a Barbershop Chorus' handbook he recommended and had been delighted to find that there are people out there who talk the same language - here were the experiences I knew about from doing myself, taken forward, brilliantly explained. Reading that book convinced me that I needed to attend DCIII if it was at all possible.

I really appreciated being made to feel genuinely welcome at the college, and it didn't seem to be an issue that I come from outside Barbershop. The most important thing is that we are all equally involved with the music. I loved that about it: being with people who will attend a lecture at 8.15 a.m., work in classes until 10.30 at night and then sing until dawn. That's rare and special. On the first day my group sang the same 4 songs for 14 hours, putting in just as much each time they sang.

The quality of the training was exceptionally high. I can't think that there can be another area of the singing world where you could gather together such talented Directors prepared to give up 3 days and work so hard because they care about the long-term life and quality of singing in their movement. In level 2 the coaches complimented each other with their contrasting coaching styles: one full of humour and the other with a gentler approach. I was impressed that there seemed to be no edge of competitiveness between them, and this was reflected in the generosity the group showed to each other. All the people in my group put themselves on the line in order to learn. They were very brave, working well outside their comfort zones and making huge gains because of that. The coaches were able to offer support, insights and targets just right for each individual, so that people could make real progress without feeling over-faced and 'stuck'- and that's a sign of great coaching.

Apart from some well-paced lectures for the whole College from Mark Hale, all the training was practical and experiential. I learnt so much from watching the different styles of conducting of everyone in my group, feeling what it's like to respond as a singer when they did this or that. I didn't feel that I had to accept anything at face value, or that anything I was shown was empty or 'formal' posturing. All of the technique was demonstrated and proved to me, and this is why I have learnt so much from the College.

It was extra special to have input from Mark Hale. All of the information he shared with us seemed like pearls of wisdom. He was down-to-earth and funny and a great communicator, making quite complex points sound straightforward. He didn't seem to set himself 'above' everyone else, though I'm sure he has grounds to if he chose. The best people always make you feel you can go home and do it all better, and that's what I count as inspiring.

On the final day we were able to watch the level 3 people working with their coach and the Thames Valley Chorus. This was fascinating and gave me a sense of what I could be working towards.

I think I presented unusual challenges to the College organisers in coming from outside Barbershop, AND being self-taught with no idea how to even beat 4 in a bar. On the first day there was some confusion for me as I had been sent out level 3 material and so didn't have a clue about the level 2 songs. I didn't have the nerve to face the video for the first time, trying to conduct properly for the first time, a group of people I'd never met before, on one of 4 songs I'd never heard in my life, not understanding the genre very well. And I felt awkward NOT doing it because it was letting the group down and they might have assumed that I was just 'chicken'. I refused to be cajoled into conducting 'Happy Birthday' because there's a stubborn bit of me that says I do this because of my love of the music and I can't ACT being musically involved when I'm not! To be honest I was still learning a huge amount by observing everyone else being coached. I did have a go at conducting on the following day (my birthday!) when I knew the songs better. It was definitely worth taking the risk. Studying yourself on video is a very effective way of improving, but probably only when the coaching is of such a high standard.

Directors' College was organised more smoothly than any other event I have attended. I guess there must have been crises happening somewhere but if there were most of us were blissfully unaware of it. From my point of view it ran like a well-oiled machine, and that must have taken some doing.

Directors' College will definitely change the quality of my work. It helped me that it was priced so that I could afford it. That everyone seemed so enthusiastic and commited to great singing, and that they were just lovely people, made the whole experience very special. I would really welcome the opportunity to attend any other training BABS is planning.

Sally Brown