On Wednesday13th November,conductor andmember of the BritishKodály Academy, EstherHargittai, took theMusic award holdersthrough their pacesin an action packedworkshop on choralconducting. Estheris well known forsetting up one of thebest known and mostsuccessful children’s choirs in Israel, the Efroni Choir, whichshe managed and conducted from1996 to 2005.
Throughout the workshop the award holders were taughtvarious conducting patterns including how to conduct in2, 3 and 4 beats in a bar, how to change meter, and how tostart and end phrases. Key principles were eye contact, andhow to engage with your choir and give clear instructionspurely based on gesture. The workshop also involved a lot ofsinging, and girls were given many chances to conduct thegroup themselves. The award holders said that they thoroughly enjoyed thesession afterwards, and will be looking forward to a followup session later in the year.