Thank You B.A.B.S.

I was overwhelmed at the generosity of BABS in awarding me a Harmony Foundation Scholarship to attend Directors College, and accepted it as a feeling of esteem towards the Big County Chorus- one of the oldest clubs in BABS I believe. It seemed to me there was no doubt the chorus was heading for closure, so I was glad to be approached and asked to consider becoming their MD, (at the last gasp, so to speak). My first impression of the chorus was "what a nice bunch of fellas who so obviously wanted to sing, wanted to do well and were willing to work in order to improve", so the responsibility of helping to do this weighed heavily on my shoulders.

The idea of attending Directors College was bit frightening as I expected to be 'judged and found wanting', especially as I don't read music very well. However my fears were overturned very quickly as I began to realise there was more to this directing lark than reading music. I am sure it is a tremendous help if you can, but it is by no means the 'be all and end all'.

To start with, Colin Touchin helped by setting the scene in a manner that was easy to understand, yet informative and educational. This was continued by the other faculty members as we progressed through the weekend.

The rationale as set out in the prospectus explained to some degree what is required of a director to enable chorus members to clearly communicate with audiences, thus generating similar emotions in the minds of the listeners. The content of individual sessions helped to more clearly demonstrate how this could be achieved. If I have any reservations at all, I personally, would have appreciated a bit more emphasis on unification of voices, expressions and emotions, but in just one weekend I can understand the decision would have to be taken on what was felt to be most beneficial in creating and encouraging good directors. The rest of it is probably covered to large degree at Harmony College and individual coaching sessions with BABS educators who stressed their willingness to help choruses if asked to do so.

I encountered friendliness, acceptance, relaxed atmosphere, a boost to self-esteem, and a feeling of belonging. The course content was easy to understand with bags of encouragement to join in. In all, well worth the time and effort. I am full of admiration for the professionalism of the faculty, especially for the way Sunday went so smoothly after the events of Saturday night when a lot of the equipment was stolen.

Once again, many thanks for allowing me the opportunity to participate in such a worthwhile endeavour. I now feel to have a much better understanding of what is required of me, and look forward to other similar events in the future.

Hazel Jiggins

Leeds and Bradford BHC.
The Big County Chorus