Connection Transformation And Standards

Travel And Culture As Choir Fuel

Food Friendship And The Real Bond

Lead With Passion And Belief

Energy Trust And The Hard Days

Keep Creating And Listener Messages

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to the Choir Director Podcast, the essential resource for choir directors, conductors, and vocal leaders who want to build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences. Well, today's my birthday, and I wanted to do something a little bit different. No guest, no interview, just me. And I wanted to take a step back and talk about why I do what I do and what actually drives all of this: the choirs, the festivals, the podcasts, the mentoring, the performances, because on the surface it probably looks like it's just music. But the truth is, it's not really about music. Music is the vehicle. And whilst I feel music is in my soul, and I do what I do because I kinda don't know how to do anything else. This is me. This this creativity, this love, this passion, this excitement. This is me, this is who I am, and I I'm sure that many other choir directors feel the same way. I'm I'm sure that deep inside we just can't imagine ever doing anything else. It's not about the training and what we chose to do, it's what's really built inside of us and makes us tick. Now for those of you who don't know me, well I'm Russell, I'm a musical director, conductor, producer, vocal coach. I run Next Stage Choir, an amazing choir of 120 singers, and I'm founder of the World Voices Festival. And yes, a lot of my life is centered around choirs, around conducting, around working with musicians, performances, events. But that's not really the full picture, because I didn't set out thinking I want to run choirs, I want to conduct orchestras, I want to be a musical director, I want to sing. What I've always been driven by is something much bigger than that. And I'm I'm driven by people, I'm driven by energy. And yes, I'm of course driven by the music, but what happens in a room when everything just clicks is is really exciting. And I'm not really in the business of running choirs. Of course I do run choirs, uh, but I'm in the business of creating experiences that people remember for the rest of their lives. That's what excites me. I love creating those bucket list opportunities. I love creating those moments of just euphoria, those moments of feeling when you're performing that this is just something I just never want to end. I just love creating those experiences. And of course, music, as I said, is the vehicle behind all that. And when I'm thinking about a production, or I'm thinking about a concert, or I'm thinking about a tour or a project, a recording, I think about the music. Of course, that's what sort of excites me inside, but I'm driven by the thought of creating this amazing experience for people. And of course, I do have other interests outside of music and choir, and they they kind of all fit in together. And what I love about what I do is I'm able to create experiences that combine all the things that I love. And that's what drives me even more because I'm doing what I love to do, and I am also experiencing the same things that everyone else's, and feeling part of that. It's it's just that feeling of being whole, isn't it? And I love travelling, I love music, I love food, I love theatre. And when you combine all those things together, that's what creates happiness. And it creates happiness for me, but it creates happiness for other people as well, everyone that's in the room. That's really exciting, and it's also really powerful. Now I think we're all creators, we're all creating experiences, and whether you're creating something online, as I'm doing right now, creating content, I'm creating a podcast, or whether you're composing and writing arrangements, or whether you're creating an experience by producing a concert or an event or a festival or a tour or a recording or whatever you're creating, you're creating something. And that creatic that creating experience is amazing for both us as leaders and our choir members. And combined we are creating dare I say that word again, happiness, because it's what people are going to remember. It's that experience that people are going to remember. And I think there are sort of three big things that drive me to create as I do and to feel what I feel when I do it. I suppose that first one is connection, something incredibly powerful about bringing a group of people together, and most of which don't know each other, and then sort of watching what happens over time. You know, people walk into a rehearsal as individuals, and over days, over weeks, over months, something shifts and they become part of something, and that's not accidental, that's designed, that's how it works. We connect as people, we share experiences together, we share the ups and downs, we share the excitement of what we're doing, we share the challenges of what we're doing, and then we perform together and we create that memory together. That's a connection. The second thing is transformation. And I suppose that's the bit that I love most of all, watching someone who perhaps lacks confidence or doesn't think of themselves as a singer suddenly stand on a stage and perform. And they don't just perform, they feel it, they believe it, and that change in someone is huge. That self-confidence that you gain from doing this, and it it happens all the time. You know, you you see the people emerge that were once very introvert, very quiet, very scared, we're very self-conscious, and they suddenly find themselves, and they suddenly gain this confidence that, well, yeah, it's just amazing to watch, isn't it? And sometimes people really, really, really surprise you. You could have somebody walk into the room that perhaps they can't even sing, perhaps they can't even pitch very well, and then suddenly over time they gain that confidence and they realize they can do something, they have that new self-belief. And when they have belief, it drives them to want to do it even more. And perhaps they take up lessons, perhaps they get some coaching, perhaps they take part in something more, perhaps they take in something that they they do something more outside of choir. And all these things add to their experience of what happens in the room with us. And when we then drive them forward and challenge them more, they believe they can do more than they ever thought was possible. And you then see this transformation, this amazing transformation. And it's not just individual, is it? I suppose it's when when we have groups together, ensembles, we have choirs together, together when they're experiencing those things together, and they rise to those challenges. Those transformations really happen as a group as well. And the third thing is standards. I don't believe in lowering the bar. I believe in raising people up to meet it. That sounds really corny, I suppose, but people are capable of far more than they think. But they need the right environment, they need the right leadership, and they need the right expectation. People rise to the level you expect of them, and most leaders, I think, massively underestimate that. People are very, very capable, and often they don't believe they're capable, and often you think to yourself, I want them to be able to do it. I want them to be able to do these things that perhaps I think they can't do, but I really want them to be able to do it. How do I make that happen? Surely I can push them further and they'll make it. Well, actually, sometimes you can do that, and if you have the belief that as a unit the group can achieve what you're wanting to achieve, you can push people a little bit harder than they're capable of because it does get them to the next level, whatever that may be for that individual. And in turn, that will help them to have more confidence and more belief, and then gradually in time they can achieve what you really want them to be able to achieve. And I'm a great believer in this. I'm a great believer in pushing people beyond their capabilities to see what they can do, what they can achieve, and how far they can get. Because I think that anything is possible. I really do. I think that you can really, really inspire people to do more than they believe they're capable of doing. And I think us as leaders are there to try and inspire them to do that. I really do. I think we're there to to challenge them. I think we're there to to push them, to drive them, to help them. But we are there to challenge them. And I think we get so much joy, so much joy out of seeing people achieve so much more than they even thought was possible. Now alongside all of that, I've I've got very strong personal passions, and travel is a big one for me. Um it's not just being on holiday, it's just travel, travel as a whole, and I I remember I remember my first time away from home. Uh I was working, I was seventeen, I did my first summer season in uh England in a northwest town called Blackpool, and I did a summer season there for six months playing keyboards and singing and presenting, and I had an amazing time. I I mean I really, really remember it well, and it was it was lonely, yes, and it was hugely exciting mixing with all these amazing celebrities and doing these great shows that I were doing. But it it really it really made me feel free, and I'm sure a lot of people can relate to that, and I think it's a lot of a reason why people go backpacking, for example, when they're much younger in between you know they're studying and so on. But my first my first proper holiday, my pro proper holiday was uh to the US, and uh I was 18 and I took a month out. I suppose that was my way of doing my sort of travel. I didn't go backpacking, I stayed in nice hotels, but that's very typical of me as well. Um but I I I did take some time out, and I took a month going out with a friend uh to the US and we travelled most of the East Coast, actually. Of course, we went to Disney, we went to New York City, we went to Washington, DC, and we had the most amazing time. And I think it was that trip that sort of gave me the bug for travel. And it's not, as I said, it's not just about holidays, it's not just about vacations, it's about seeing places, experiencing places, seeing cultures, seeing amazing sites, experiencing different foods, and feeling a different sense of purpose in many ways. I think I I remember the the trip I did to South Africa back in 2007, I think it was. And I remember feeling really it was an amazing trip because I felt I felt a might like the minority. And I'm what I mean by that is that we went on safari and I I remember feeling like I was I I almost had imposter syndrome, I think. I think I didn't feel like this was my place, this was the place for the animals, and I was just visiting, and that was uh an amazing, amazing thing for me to feel. I'd never felt that way before about anywhere I'd traveled before. And South Africa was an incredible experience uh in so many ways. It was a most beautiful place, and uh I had a wonderful time there. Um but uh but it was the experience of feeling like this wasn't where I belonged, this was where other animals belonged, but I was watching from from the outside, I was looking into their world, and that was that was something really very, very special, and in in some ways it was quite life-changing. Um and I I I've I'd love I've done a lot of travel over the years, and I've done a lot of travel on the west, I suppose. Uh, this year I'll be uh travelling to the Far East and to Australia for the first time, which uh myself and my family are very, very excited about doing, and I'm looking forward to seeing again some other cultures and a different kind of world that I've never seen before. So I'm really, really, really excited about that. But I think we can do so much with our choirs as well to perform in different places, to collaborate with different choirs, to work with different groups, work with different choral leaders, and experience what they experience from their own worlds, their own countries, their old their own lands, their own societies, their environments, their own cultures. We can learn so much, not just about music and about performing, but we can learn so much about people. And that that I suppose that humility is a real bonus to everything we do at home. That understanding of other languages, that that understanding of other people and the way that they, you know, they the way that they run their lives, the way that they sing, the way that they share with their peers, with their families, with their choral leaders. We can learn so much. I believe there is so much to learn from watching others, from sharing experiencing with others. And it's something I've done with my own choir since 2016. We took a trip to Austria to collaborate with another choir out there, and that was a really wonderful, wonderful experience, and we learnt so much from it. Um, and we learnt we learned so much about other people's surroundings and the way that they sing and the way that they're appreciated by their audiences. It is different, and we we I think take for granted that everything is just as it is and this is how it is and this is how it will be, but actually we can learn so much from working with others and sharing experiences with others outside of our own towns, our own cities, our own countries, our own cultures. And whether you're going to you know into Europe or whether you're going to the Far East or whether you're going to Australasia, it doesn't matter which side of the world you're on, you can still travel and you can still experience wonderful things. And it's not about just the travel, of course, it's about food. I love food. I'm sure I'm not the only one here. But uh, you know, people often overlook this, but sharing meals, going to great restaurants, those moments outside of rehearsal, outside of singing, outside of being in a choir, that's where those bonds happen. That's where those friendships are formed. It's not just inside the rehearsal room or on that stage. It's the social stuff we do as well. And I've always I've always loved food, I've always loved restaurants, and it doesn't need to be the most, you know, expensive food or the most grand restaurants. It's about sharing the experiences with your friends, your family, your peers, your colleagues. And of course, that's where that's where the friendships happen. That's where they they they are forged and and that's where they they help your experience in choir. Because you go back into the into the rehearsal room, and of course, you've got all these other things that you've shared together, those friendships that can last a lifetime. And I think that they're really, really important. And I always make sure whenever I take my choir on tour or we go away somewhere for a weekend or wherever we may go, even if we're doing a day trip, you know, if we're doing a day out and we're doing a performance or we're doing working with another choir, I always make sure that there is some social time, that there is some time for food, for drink, and for doing something else other than singing or working or listening. We share some time together, doing something we all have to do, which is eat, of course, but things that we love as well, sharing those moments together, learning about each other. It's all part of the experience. And of course, then there's music. And again, it's not just about the notes on the page, it's about the energy, it's about the storytelling, it's about creating something that people feel, not just here. And one of the biggest things I've learned in all of this is I don't separate my passions from my work. They're completely integrated. I build things that I am genuinely excited about. I'm not just excited about a location, a venue, an event. It doesn't happen. Because if you're not excited about it, why would anyone else be? So instead of trying to second guess what people want, I create things that I would want to be part of. So if I'm organizing a meal, I will go and fix a place that I would like. Not just that I think that the choir would like or other people would like. If we're gonna travel somewhere, I don't just find an event or create an event or collaborate on an event in a place because it will just work and it's somewhere to go. Oh, wouldn't it be nice to go to X? I create it because I want to go there. I have a passion and I want to share it too. And if I can create something that I love, I can inspire other people to love it too. Just as you would if you were creating a project, a recording, a performance on stage. You can't create it and create passion unless you're passionate about it yourself. If you're drawn into it, others will be drawn into it too, and you will inspire people to perform at their very best. And it's not that I'm trying to sound selfish in any way, I don't mean to sound like this is all about me. But what I'm suggesting is is that if you as a choir leader, if I as a choir leader am passionate about something that I would love to do, that I want to do, that I'm proud to be part of, then you're going to be able to inspire others to do the same. And it's not manipulation, it's just that there's no point doing something that you don't truly believe in yourself. You have to lead by example. You have to be passionate about what you're doing. And if you can't do that, if you don't have complete belief in it yourself, you can't truly and honestly inspire others. And it's so it's not it's not selfishness, and it's and and even if it were selfishness, selfishness is always seen as as a as a something very negative, but actually sometimes it's a very positive, it's a positive attribute in some scenarios, and I think this is one of them because you're not doing this for yourself, you're doing this to help others and to inspire others. And I keep saying that over and over again about inspiring others, but I cannot, I cannot enforce more strongly how much I believe in inspiring people and helping them to love what they do as much as I do, and to help them believe more in themselves and believe more in what they are not only capable of capable of now, but what they could be capable of if they were driven and led by the right person in the right direction. Now I'm starting to sound like a politician now, so I'll sort of back off a bit, I think, at this point. But now that that's the sort of positive side, there are there are definitely challenges, and this kind of work takes a huge amount of energy on all of us. And I'm sure, you know, like myself, we all have days where we're feeling a little bit low, a little bit down, a little bit exhausted when you're constantly thinking, planning, solving problems, suffering from a bit of overwhelm. And I mentor quite a number of great choir leaders who suffer from these things, as I have done from time to time, and still do. We all get our down days, we all get our overwhelm. And it takes a lot of responsibility to do what we do in a very, very positive way and at a very high level. And not everyone sees the vision straight away. You know, you're asking people to trust something that they can't fully see yet. When you're when you're trying to engage people, whether it be in a in a new piece of music perhaps that they don't know or they think is really tricky, or whether you're gonna try and entice them into a new project, or you're going to build a tour, or take them on an adventure of some kind, or collaborate with another organization, or put them on stage in a way that they've never done before. You're asking people to trust something that they can't fully see. You're asking them to trust you because you believe in it. And the reality is people try and picture the end game. They try and picture what it's going to be like, but they often don't know that at that point. Point, and they don't see the hundreds of decisions that you're having to make to make these things happen and to try and coordinate it and try and design it and create it in the way that you have decided in your mind that you want it to be, this vision that you have, you have to gain people's trust, and that that sort of comes down to leadership style. And if I think about what makes it all work, uh yes, a lot of it does come down to energy. Energy, clarity, standards, and yes, charisma. Charisma, personality, they all play a part. You have to bring people with you. But under s underneath that, there has to be a genuine care. You have to see people, you have to notice them, you have to create an environment where they feel like they belong, and you have to understand that they all have separate lives, they all have different lives. They're not necessarily doing the things that you're doing. It's not, you know, not necessarily the case that they have the same passion, the same desire, the same motivation of you as you. And you have you have to think about that because you have to see the people, you've got to understand them, you've got to try and notice them as just people, as friends, as colleagues, as family. You've got to to understand that they all have lives outside of choir. And just because you may or may or may not be professional at what you do, but you may be doing this, whether you're doing it for a living or not, you're still doing this and you're you're creating this amazing thing, but you it's very difficult sometimes to get everybody on board that you want to, and it's also very difficult not to show disappointment when perhaps somebody doesn't sign up for something, or they're not as excited about a piece of music as you are, or they're not as excited about a project as you are, or perhaps they're not able to take part in a project for whatever reason, whether it be physical, mental, financial, family, work. I mean, it c you know, there's so many factors to all of this, but ultimately people don't just follow the music, they follow the energy, they follow your energy, they follow the leader, and the leader's job is to inspire and to energize. So today, on my birthday, it just felt like a good moment to reflect on all of that. Why do I do it? Why do we do it? What actually sits underneath it all? And the truth is I still love it. I love every minute of what I do. I still get excited, it gets me out of bed every single day. I don't feel like I'm going to work, I'm going to a job. I feel like I'm doing what I'm doing because I love to do it. And I genuinely mean that. The vision is bigger now than it's ever been. Because every time we achieve something, there is always something more you can achieve. You should never accept that today is your brightest moment. There's always another bright moment, and there are some very dark moments too, but it's your passion, your energy, your vision that drives us forward to create more and more for our choirs, and more and more for the people that we work with on a daily basis. And if you're part of this journey in any way, you're part of something really, really special. So keep doing what you're doing, keep loving what you're doing, and think about what you love doing as part of this amazing work that we do. What is it that floats your boat? What is it that you love? What is it that you don't love? What are the challenges for you? Just think about those things and concentrate on the positives and concentrate on making great experiences and creating great opportunities for these wonderful people in our choirs because they're the people that appreciate it and they're the lives you're changing. You're not just changing the lives of people that are watching you, your audience, you're changing the people that you work with week after week after week to create these incredible, memorable, and sometimes life-changing experiences. So I'm gonna leave now thinking about food, because I need to eat something, and uh thinking about going out with my family this evening, thinking about the wonderful family times I have, and the amazing projects that I have created and am continuing to create for my choirs and at my festivals, and working with other amazing choir directors to help them do exactly the same. Whether you're conducting, whether you're performing, whether you're singing, whether you're MDing, whether you're creating something, do it at your very best and always do it at your very best. And try and be true to yourself, honest with yourself, and transparent with your choirs. Thank you once again for your continued support of this podcast. I'm so glad you're enjoying it, and thank you so much for sharing it and liking it and subscribing. We're getting tons and tons and tons, hundreds and hundreds of listeners worldwide, and we have a way of contacting the studio here. You can leave a message, you can leave a voicemail, isn't that exciting? That's technology for you. That's another one of my passions. I love technology, as many people who know me will know. I love my gadgets. But you can get in touch with the studio here if you have a question or you'd like a question answered, perhaps by one of our guests, or if I can help in any way, I'd love to hear from you. I'd love to hear what you're doing, I'd love to hear the sort of projects that you get involved in, I'd love to hear where you're based, and just to uh to get some some more interaction with with lots more choirs. I've got getting lots of messages every week. Um, and uh it's a wonderful thing, and it's just lovely hearing from people that I've never met before uh in this wonderful community of ours that we call choir. So thank you again, and uh don't forget to leave that review, please. I really appreciate it. See you next time.