I was delighted to learn I had been awarded one of the Steve Hall Fund grants to Directors College 2006, and I would like to start with thanking the Harmony Foundation whole heartedly for paying for me to attend this event. Being a student, any help is much appreciated!
I came across barbershop almost four years ago and since have become more and more immersed in it. After an amazing first time at Harmony College in 2005, I couldn't wait to see what Directors' College had to offer.

Friday night began with a meal followed by a speech from Steve Armstrong, the director of Northern Lights. His talk about leadership and management threw into light situations and ways of dealing with them that I have yet to encounter, but no doubt will as I continue in the world of directing. His stories were insightful and showed me that even the big guys in the U.S and Canada have the same ordeals and experiences we have here!

The theme of leadership and management was the key topic of the weekend, as without these skills directing would be extremely difficult. Chris Davidson's presentation on these issues showed what was needed from us to be the leader of a chorus and help us understand how to handle situations diplomatically. This led to the discussion of the book The Naked Leader, which Steve Armstrong also talked about. This book was given to all people who attended the college, and talks of the role of a leader and other issues concerning management of a chorus.

Marlow's Theory of Hierarchy of Needs, a theory that discusses our basic needs (food, warmth etc.) in comparison to our higher-level needs, like achievement and personal growth, was one of the issues raised. It was clear that without the lower, basic needs, the higher ones are impossible for someone to achieve, be that for a director or a chorus as a whole. Attention spans were also covered, as tests show that attention will drop gradually during a rehearsal or talk and rise slightly towards the end.

Learning was also covered, as teaching is a key role for a director. A key point made was: "What matters is not what we think we're teaching, but what our chorus is actually learning." The use of Learning Outcomes was suggested as a way to make sure learning is optimal, to show both director and chorus what needs to be achieved during the rehearsal and whether they met their goal. How people learn was interesting to learn also, talking about: 1.Visual aids, showing people what to do, 2. Kinaesthetic aids, walking through an idea and 3. Aural aids, telling people what to do. These were especially useful in helping my understanding of learning and teaching.

Being in the novice group, I was under the watchful eyes of Barry Clinton, John Conway and Paula Williams. They were brilliant mentors for the weekend, going through the basics of directing in such a way that none of us left feeling we had not achieved something amazing to share with our chorus, along with a whole bunch of tools in our director's bag to call upon if need be. The teaching of beating 4/4, 3/4 and 2/4 time had all of us almost dancing along with the CD, as they each went round every single one of us to ensure we were doing everything correctly. The video session was extremely useful in showing me what I was doing right and wrong, and is a constant reminder of how much I have learnt from the weekend.

The new marking scheme for directors was shown to us as well. This system looks amazing, and was explained to us by Neil Watkins. The scheme allows a director to raise their standards and keep track of their progress. This scheme means that directors will have to have a wide range of skills to move up the grades, thus giving them more tools that will help from for years to come. This also means that choruses looking for a director will be able to see what level they are at and their experience, making sure that a chorus finds the right director for them.

Socially the weekend was just as fulfilling, as I met many people, both novice and non-novice, who I will never forget and look forward to seeing again next year. The range of people was amazing, with all age groups being covered and choruses from all over the U.K being represented. From the way the people talked to each other, from the way quartets sprang up everywhere in the bar each night, it was clear that everyone was as thrilled the event as I was. I was delighted to have attended and look forward to next year with boiling anticipation!

Zac Booles East Midlands Barbershop Harmony Club