Welcome And The Case For Travel

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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, hello and welcome back to episode 20 of the Choir Director Podcast with me, Russell Scott. It's great to have you with me today. And today we are going to be talking about something that I believe can be genuinely transformational for choirs. And that is taking your choir beyond the rehearsal room. Now, as you know, we don't sell anything on this show. There is nothing to promote, there is nothing to try and sell you or convince you to buy or anything of the like. This is a show that cares about choir directors and cares about choirs. And creating amazing opportunities, sometimes life-changing opportunities, can really make a massive difference to your choir. And whether you're thinking about going on a local day trip or singing in the next town or city, or it could mean a weekend away somewhere else nearby in the same country, but it could mean a tour abroad, or for some choirs it could mean travelling much further afield, singing in another culture, another country, uh, another musical environment, and just about giving your singers an experience they may remember for the rest of their lives. Now, I know what people all already be thinking, and that is well, isn't choir travel a bit of a luxury? Isn't it expensive? We could never afford that. Isn't it a logistical nightmare? I've never done anything like it before. How am I gonna do that? Oh no, let's play it safe, let's just do the local stuff, and that's good enough for us. Well, you know, you can do these things and you can ask for help, you can get personal guidance from people, mentors, you can go to companies that arrange travel for you, you can go to event organizers that will organize everything for you. There are options out there for anyone and everyone. So my honest answer is, you know, is it really worth all the planning, all the risk assessments, the consent forms, the transport, the accommodation, the safeguarding, the costs, the endless emails? Is it really worth it? Yes, it really is worth it. And yes, it can be complicated, but it can also be absolutely worth it because choir trips are not just about travel. They're about confidence, they're about community, musical growth, they're about broadening horizons and sharing things together, motivation, ambition, they help retention, they help recruitment, and giving singers a bigger sense of what they are part of. And when we think about taking part, for example, in competitions, it's it's not about the winning, it's not about all the learning, it's not even about being at the competition, it's about sharing that experience and everything else you can get from it by the people you meet, by the environments that you're in. And when a choir travels together, it often changes together. And when it's done well, a trip can literally shift the whole culture of the choir. It can take a group from simply attending rehearsals to feeling like that they truly belong to something. So in this episode, I want to explore the real benefits of choir trips and choir tours, whether local, national, international, or further afield. And I'll also share practical tips on how to plan them, how to make them inclusive, how to manage the barriers and the challenges, and how to make sure the experience serves the music, the singers, and the long-term development of the choir. And I've done this, and I've done it many, many times now, and I remember the very first time, the first time I took my own choir, it was uh an event about two hours away from our home base. And I remember that we we set up a weekend to do this, it was part of a festival, and no matter how much the festival was beneficial, it was about those friendships that were made. And I remember we sang a cappella music for the very first time, and we sang alongside other choirs, and it was extraordinary, and we still talk about it to this day.

How Trips Change Relationships

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So let's start with the biggest point. Choir travel changes relationships. And in a normal rehearsal, people arrive, they sing, they chat briefly, and then they go home. And that is valuable, of course. Rehearsals are the heartbeat of any choir, but a trip gives people something different. It gives people time. It gives them time on a coach or a bus. It creates time when they're walking together, somewhere together, they're time they're waiting backstage, time they're having lunch together, time getting slightly lost perhaps walking around a town that they don't know, time laughing at things that would never normally happen in a rehearsal. Uh time seeing each other as people, not just as your sopranos and oh, she's an alto, and oh that there's that bass over there, and section leaders or committee members. We see each other more as people, and that really, really matters because choirs are built on trust. You cannot make music, you cannot make great music with people you feel disconnected from. And there's only so much you can do in a rehearsal room. You can sing the right notes, you can follow your conductor, you can perform perfectly adequately, but the deeper stuff, the blend, the emotional commitment, the generosity, the vulnerability, and the courage that comes from trust. And travel accelerates trust. I'm sounding a bit preachy now, but I really feel very passionate because I know how it's transformed my own choirs. And just even a day out to sing in a near nearby cathedral or a church, a festival, a care home, bandstand, it could be a garden, it could be I mean it could be anywhere, a little community event can create a new shared memory, and a weekend can do it even more. A retreat, uh, an international tour can be life-changing. But the principle is the same. When singers share experiences outside their normal routine, the choir becomes more than a weekly activity, it becomes a community. And you'll all know that from the social things that you do outside of choir, just those at home, just that are local to you. But it's that community that it feeds directly back into the singing, and people listen differently, they support each other even more, they take more risks, they feel more invested, they turn up with a deeper sense of commitment because they're not just attending a rehearsal, they're part of a story. And that is one of the great powers of croc of choir travel. It's creating story, and choirs need

Start Local And Build Confidence

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stories. Now, before we talk about big tours and international adventures, I want to say something important. Don't underestimate the value of local trips either. Sometimes we we think a trip only counts if there's a passport involved, but that's that's nonsense. Some of the most meaningful choir experiences can happen 30 minutes down the road. A local trip could be singing in a church or cathedral, visiting another choir, performing at a community festival, singing in a school, you know, taking part in a charity event or doing a workshop with another choir director, recording, recording in a different venue, singing outdoors, performing in care settings, or joining with other local groups for a masked event. Now, a lot of choirs may be doing all this sort of stuff anyway, but some choirs aren't. Some choirs just do, you know, two or three performances in the same setting every year, and that suits them. And there's nothing wrong with that. I'm not saying there's anything wrong with that. What I'm saying is that there are opportunities far beyond your hometown, and there are so many possibilities for creating extraordinary moments and opportunities for your choirs. And and all of these experiences are powerful because they are accessible, and the ones local to you are, of course, at a lower cost. They're easier to organise, they're less intimidating for nervous singers, they can be done more regularly, and they're a brilliant first step for choirs that perhaps have never travelled that far before. But if your choir is new to trips, yes, start local. Don't don't begin with a five-day international tour to the other side of the world if the group has never successfully managed a half day performance away from your own home. You know, build the muscles, start with something simple. And here's a practical progression which I hope will help. Firstly, sing something local but different. Then organise a half day trip. Then try a full day event somewhere that involves some social aspects. Then do the overnight or weekend experience, and then consider something national or indeed an international tour. But that progression builds confidence not just for the singers, but for the leadership team as well. Because everyone needs the confidence, and particularly the choir directors, need the leadership skills. And some have more experience than others. So, you know, this is a very basic practical progression, but everyone has to start somewhere. And I'm not talking right now to those people that have never done anything before. This is for everybody. This is the way that we move from step to step to step to step. Now, for my own choir, way back whenever it was 10 years or so ago, we took the step of doing a weekend. We decided to do a weekend trip, and that was great for us, and it took a lot of organizing, but we, you know, we gained a lot of experience in doing so. But that progression that I spoke about builds confidence, not just for the singers, as I said, but the leadership team. The leadership team needs confidence too. And you know, you learn how your choir handles logistics, you learn who needs the extra support, you learn how realistic your timings are, you learn what your communication needs to be like, you learn what people worry about, and you learn how the group behaves when it's outside their normal rehearsal environment. And local trips are not second best, they're often the foundation, and for some choirs they may be exactly what is needed. The question is not how far can we go, but the better question is what experience will genuinely benefit this choir at this stage of its development?

Same Country Tours That Raise Standards

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And the next level of travelling is of course within your own country. And for us here in the UK, that might mean taking a choir to another city, another county, another region or another part of the country entirely. This is sort of a brilliant middle ground and it gives the sense of a proper tour without some of the complexities of international travel. No passports, no border crossings, uh usually simpler insurance, uh easier safeguarding, obviously we don't have the language barriers and less uncertainty, but still enough distance to make it feel significant. And as I said, we did this. This was the first thing we did as a choir, and it was pretty simple and straightforward. And you know, since then we've got on gone on to organising all sorts of trips and tours all over the world. But a same-day event could be amazing, but a same country trip could include weekend residential or a retreat or a concert exchange with another choir. They're always amazing working with other choirs and doing something in their city and then they come to you. Singing in a major venue somewhere else, taking part in a national festival, visiting a city with strong musical heritage where you can add some history into the mix, or combining a workshop concert and a social experience, you know, or or even singing in multiple venues across a weekend. This kind of trip can lift a choir's ambition where they then want to do more and more and more. And it says, you know, we are not just a group that rehearses locally, we are a choir that go places. Well, that that has a psychological effect. People start to carry themselves differently, they prepare differently, they talk about the choir differently. It becomes something with momentum because you're always thinking back to those amazing experiences. And from a musical point of view, same country trips can be hugely beneficial. Well, why? Because different venues expose different things. You know, a choir that only ever rehearses in the same room learns the acoustics of that room. They know how it feels, they know how much they can hear, they know where the sound goes, but take them somewhere else and suddenly everything changes. A dry acoustic reveals tuning issues, a resonant acoustic, you know, it it rewards those sustained vowels and clean releases. A large space tests projection and blend. An outdoor performance tests energy and focus, and it also tests a number of other factors, as as many will will know, because without a true acoustic, it's very hard for a choir to perform. And I know everybody hates those outdoor performances that are not on a stage and that are not uh you know, might there are no PA available, there's no microphone available, and there's no there's no help with sound production. We all hate those, of course, but we still have to do them from time to time. But an outdoor performance somewhere else, you know, a formal concert venue will test more discipline, a community venue will test communication, and these are all really valuable. Singers learn that performance is not just about knowing the music, it's about adapting, it's about listening, it's about responding, being present, understanding the space, and these are all really, really, really useful and fundamental attributes. And this is what makes better musicians. Now that weekend trip that we spoke about, the weekend trip where I took my choir away for a weekend, was amazing in in many, many different ways. And I'll never forget the evening meal we had where everyone came together and was socializing together. Again, it's something we still talk about. It's not just the musical aspect. We talk about when, you know, you'd walk around the town and you'd suddenly spot some other people from the choir and you'd, you know, discuss what you'd been doing or where you'd what you'd seen or what you'd purchased or you know, where you'd eaten. You know, it's all of that stuff. It's the social side, it's the interaction that you just can't get at home. So going away is great from that perspective. And also, you know, we all know you have a lot of fun on a bus. You know, there's always, always singing involved and jokes and a bit of rowdy behaviour, of course. Uh as the evening goes on, if you uh if you take a late night bus, you know, it's all it's going to end up quite rowdy, but it's a lot of fun. And again, some of the greatest moments of banter with the choir happen, those magical moments that we all love that create those fantastic memories. And I I I just think they're quite extraordinary. And I I remember doing another uh weekend trip. We we actually collaborated with a choir up in Liverpool. Uh, it was just after uh pandemic, and um it was it was an extraordinary experience because we hadn't been together for very long, you know, we hadn't been back from uh singing properly for very long, and we all got on the bus and and we headed to the the the city and we met the other choir and we did a rehearsal and we created more memories and new musical experiences working with a different choir director and bonding with another choir, sharing music together. We had a wonderful concert, uh, and it was it was it was truly wonderful. Um, and then of course you over the time you you build up all these wonderful experiences and these memories and these and these moments of laughter. No one feels excluded either. Everyone feels part of the same thing. And then you you know, you you go to the pub in the evening, or you go for a meal in the evening, uh, and then you do something again the next day, and you will go out on a trip, or you have a lot wander around the town or do a sightseeing trip or something, and then you meet for lunch, you know, you get back on the bus, and you know, you've created some really extraordinary memories that will stay with you for a very long time, and it makes you stronger as a choir. And choir directors are are wanting moments like this as often as possible because they it really helps to bond people together, it helps with retention and it helps with marketing the choir as well, because you've got something to tell, you've got stories to tell. We spoke about stories a few minutes ago, but you've got stories to tell about these wonderful experiences.

International Tours And Real Exchange

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Now, it doesn't have to be local, it doesn't have to be in the same city, it could be in another country, and you know that let's move on, let's move on and talk about international tours because there's something incredibly powerful about taking a choir to another country. It's it's not just because it's glamorous, it's not just because it looks impressive on social media, but because it broadens people, it takes singers out of what they know and it puts them in contact with different places, different languages, different traditions, different audiences, and sometimes completely different expectations around music making. And that's where the growth happens. You know, for young singers especially, international travel can be transformative. You know, we there are so many people, myself included, that absolutely love travel. And I've had the I suppose I've had the the privilege um of being fortunate enough to do a lot of travel um in my years, uh both to work and and personally with my family. And I love travel. I love culture, I love seeing and meeting different people and understanding cultures and religion and societies and communities. And when you add the music into the mix as well, you know, that's that's really powerful stuff. And it and that's what we want to try and provide for our singers as well. You know, it it's it's where as I said, it's where that growth happens. And it's not only young singers who benefit, of course, adults need broadening experiences too. We all need it. It doesn't matter how much travel we've done, it doesn't matter how much travel I've done, I still love traveling and I love traveling with my choir, and I love making music together in different places, you know, whether it be uh, you know, a beautiful church or uh uh an amazing concert hall, you know, or it could just be a you know a spontaneous pop-up somewhere. It doesn't matter what it is, it's it's really about providing those experiences. We all need them. And an international choir trip can help singers understand that music is not just confined to their local context. It shows them that singing is global, it shows them that choral music connects people across language, across culture, age, background, and geography. And there's something deeply moving about standing in another country and singing with people who do not speak your language, but who understand the emotional truth of the music. That is really powerful. It's human, and that is the point. And that really is the point because you can of course travel to countries with the same spoken language, and that is a lot easier. I I mean, let's face it, it's much easier you know, going somewhere that speaks the same language as you do. And that's that's all wonderful, and you still get you know massive, massive amount of experience and understanding of other communities, obviously just another country or or place that speak the same language as you do. But there is there's something also very wonderful in going somewhere that that does not speak the same language. Um, and there can be a lot more challenges, of course. So, you know, you you decide what's right for your choir. But you know, i international trips themselves, they they can include so many options uh from concert exchanges and workshops with local musicians to performances in churches, cathedrals, schools, uh festivals and civic spaces, you know, organizing joint concerts with local choirs, that's a wonderful thing to do. We've done it many, many times, but also the cultural visits, the informal singing moments, community outreach, um, even festival participations as you well know. I I I produce the World Voices Festival, it's a wonderful experience. Um, and friendship projects, just just pl opportunities to integrate with other communities. And the best international tours are not just musical tourism, but musical exchange. And there is a difference. Musical tourism says we have come here to perform at you, but musical exchange says we have come here to meet you, learn from you, share with you, and build something together. And that mindset really matters. If you're planning an international tour, don't just ask where we can you know where we can perform, ask who can we connect with? What can we learn? What local musical traditions can we expect and learn from? How how can we program our our repertoire accordingly? How how can our singers understand the place, not just visit it? And how can the trip Deepen their awareness of music as a shared human language. This is where enlightenment comes in. This is where a tour becomes more of a trip. It becomes education, it becomes cultural development, it becomes personal growth. And that all sounds very, you know, intellectual, but actually that's what makes us feel what we feel and come away with that experience.

Big Trips Need Purpose And Value

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And, you know, now, you know, thinking about trips even further afield, long haul travel, you know, major international festivals or competitions, um, tours outside of your own continent, you know, big cultural exchanges, these can be extraordinary, whether it's a competition, whether it's a festival, whether it's a concert program, whether in its exchange, but they all need to be handled carefully. And the the bigger the trip, the clearer the purpose needs to be, because with greater distance comes greater cost, complexities, risks, and responsibilities. So if you're considering a major tour, you need to be able to answer this question very clearly. Why this trip? Why this trip for this choir? Why this trip for this choir at this time? Why this trip for this choir at this time? And it's not just, oh, it would be because it would be amazing, wouldn't it be wonderful if we did this or we did that? But why is it right? Is it because the the choir is ready for a major artistic challenge? Is it is it because there's a meaningful cultural connection or a festival that aligns with your values? Is it is it because there's a there's a partner choir organization who want to build a relationship with you or you with them? You know, i is it because there is an educational opportunity that cannot be replicated closer to home or or perhaps that the trip represents a milestone in the choir's development? Maybe it's an anniversary, tenth anniversary, 20, 30, 40, maybe even just a one-year anniversary. You know, the bigger the trip, the more intentional you need to be. And let's be honest, these trips can be very expensive. You have to think of the financial aspect too. Are you going to be trying to raise money, fundraising, sponsorship? Are you going to be trying to get a grant from a government organization or country? You know, are you going to ask for choir members to subsidize or contribute or pay entirely for their trip? You know, what are the options available to you? And all countries and all regions in all countries have a different approach to this. So there are certain things that you would or wouldn't be able to do. Here in the UK, there's very little help and there's a lot of competition of choirs. So, you know, choirs have to think strongly about that. They have to think that they're going to be asking their members to pay for their trips. And you have to have to be able to create a trip that people can afford, give them options for payment, whether they're paying over time or instalments, whether they're going to get discounts because of certain aspects, whether it be age, whether it could be sharing a room with someone else, or maybe even a triple room with three three people sharing. I mean, you have to consider all of these aspects because you have to think about what will be the cost implications and how you're going to be able to roll this out, this idea, this vision you have as a choir director. How do you get buy-in? How can you create an opportunity so extraordinary, so outstanding, that it will be of great appeal for people to that that will need to spend their hard-earned money contributing to because they believe that this is something that cannot be missed. But these opportunities can be created, and I've created them myself many times. My choir has performed all over Europe, all over uh the US, we're heading to Asia next year. We've we've done a lot of things, and I've created opportunities that are bucket list opportunities. And you have to think when you're creating a tour, not just about the musical element, but the social element, the the sightseeing element, the engagement, the things that you could do, the bucket list things that you would want to do if you went to those locations. And so the value has to be real, and not just Instagram value. No, you you you've got to just look at you know real value, musical value, cultural value, personal value, community value, and long-term value. You want people to be talking about this year on year on year on year, and a further trip afield can be unforgettable. It can inspire singers for years, it can create lifelong memories, it can change how people see the world, not just from within the choir, but as people, but only if it's rooted in purpose. So my advice is simple: don't plan the biggest trip you can imagine, plan the most meaningful trip your choir can responsibly deliver. And that is the sweet spot. Create an extraordinary opportunity and one that they will remember and get significant benefit from, whether musical, culturally, or socially.

Retention Recruitment And Choir Identity

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So let's get a little bit more practical. Uh, what are the actual benefits of the choir trips? Well, first of all, retention. People stay in choirs where they feel valued, connected, and excited about what's coming next. Trips create anticipation, they give singers something to work towards, they create emotional investment. Second, recruitment. A choir with interesting experiences is easier to talk about. It gives members something exciting to share, or we're going on tour, or we sang in this amazing venue, or we're doing a weekend exchange, we've been invited to perform at a festival, we're going to a competition. That creates energy. Thirdly, musical focus. A trip creates a deadline. And deadlines are useful when singers know they are performing somewhere special, the preparation often sharpens. Attendance improves, the practice improves, the concentration improves, but the music gains urgency. And that all makes singers better singers. And fourthly, confidence. Singers grow when they successfully do something that once felt intimidating. Travel provides that. Performing in an unfamiliar place stretches people. And once they've done it, their sense of what is possible expands. And now we move on to acquire an identity. Trips help acquire, understand itself. What kind of a group are we? How do we behave? What do we value? How do we represent ourselves? How do we support each other? And that shared identity can be one of the most valuable outcomes of all. Next is leadership growth because it's not just about the members themselves, it develops leaders, whether it's sectional leaders within your choirs, committee members, volunteers, chaperones, administrators, even you know, younger leaders, or you know, everyone learns here. And a choir trip is a leadership laboratory. I mean you find out who is calm under pressure, who communicates well, who notices the person standing on their own, who solves the problem, who who brings humour at exactly the right moment, and that is incredibly useful for the long-term health of your choir.

Cost Inclusion Safeguarding Logistics

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Now, we have to be honest in all of this because choir trips are not automatically wonderful. Badly planned trips can be stressful, exclusionary, chaotic, um, very expensive and damaging. So the planning really matters. Here are the real big barriers. Of cost, this is the obvious one. If a trip is too expensive, it can exclude people. So you have to think carefully. And, you know, as I said, can you offer payment plans? Can you fundraise, subsidize? Uh, you know, there's there's options for for trying to consolidate uh the accommodation or the transport together. You know, give people enough notice, book these well in advance, give them nine months, a year, you know, book book them ahead of time and really get enough planning in place so that people can plan themselves for coming on the trip. And of course, try and make it as inclusive as you possibly can. It has to be part of the planning right from the beginning. Now, if you're working with young people or vulnerable adults, this is uh non-negotiable. Obviously, safeguarding is really important, and you need proper policies, supervision ratios, uh, emergency contacts, medical information, uh, risk assessments, and clear boundaries with trained adults. Don't try and wing it. Um, passion is not a safeguarding policy, and you can have great intentions, but they're not good enough. You have to have the policies and procedures in place. And you you really need to do this with uh with adults uh generally uh or young people, not just those that uh are perhaps more vulnerable, but with everybody. You have to have everything in place just in case something happens, uh, and you have to have all the processes in place. Now, this isn't uh and doesn't need to be overcomplicated. Uh, it can be very simple indeed. You've just got to have clear structure and clear boundaries. Now, also you need to think about mobility and health needs and people's perhaps anxiety of travelling, uh, dietary requirements, financial pressures. I mean, there's there's lots of challenges as we've spoken about, but it's just really about planning, being sensitive, finding out things early on so that you can adapt and make everything inclusive and accessible for everyone. Just don't don't assume everyone experiences travel in the same way. A lot of people are much more experienced at travel than others, some will be more nervous than others. Even even, you know, travelers that that that do things all the time can get nervous or anxious about things like flying or or being in a train, uh, for example. You've just got to be uh sensitive to the situations. And of course, there are logistical things to consider in terms of the transport and accommodation and meals, rehearsal spaces, performance venues, schedules. Uh, you need to think about insurance, documents, emergency plans, and how you're going to communicate. And this sounds all very boring and it's very procedural and very administrative. But actually, if you get these in place, once you've done it once, you know, you can roll this out ten times over. You know, it's it's very, very straightforward once you have your systems, once you have your processes in place. But if the logistics are poor, people won't relax and the leaders won't relax. And that's what it's all about. You know, you've got to be able to just go on tour or go on a trip or go on an event, knowing that everything's in place and you know where to find things, know where to look for things, making sure you've got all the paperwork necessary and you've covered all bases.

Repertoire Rest And Avoiding Burnout

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And also, if you're traveling, of course, to make sure that everyone has the correct visas, everyone has travel insurance, and there are no issues in terms of passports, making sure that they are valid and they have enough time left on them. Now, when it comes to the music, obviously the music has to be ready. There's no point taking rep on tour that the choir cannot deliver confidently. A tour is not the place to discover that half the program is under-rehearsed. Choose music that travels well. Choose music where you think about your venue, your audience, your acoustic, the length, the stamina, and the emotional impact. And of course, it's always great to have some extra songs just in case you have an extended set, or perhaps you want to burst into songs somewhere or do a flash mob or you know, sing at a restaurant or a pub or with another group that you come across. Just have some backup just in case you need to sing at the last minute and you think, oh, wouldn't it be lovely if we could do that? Just make sure everybody is absolutely ready. And very important with any trip is to build in plenty of rest. Choir leaders are often guilty of overprogramming, myself included. And I have an ongoing joke with my choirs where where we have leisure time, uh which is the free time, but that gets seems to get shorter and shorter and it becomes an ongoing joke. But it really is important that people get rest, and especially if they're doing long-haul travel, of course, to get over jet lag and tiredness. But we're, as I said, we're very guilty of overprogramming, but we want to get the very most out of the opportunity. So you want to cram in as many rehearsals and performances and sightseeing and meals and workshops and you know, introductory things and receptions and social events. You want to make it as packed as possible because you want to deliver the very best experience. But then if everyone comes away completely exhausted, that's not great either. And tired singers are not going to sing well, tired adults are not going to lead well, and tired young people just don't regulate well. You need to have plenty of space. So I would always recommend a day or two when you arrive, if you're on a longer tour, to just give some time for everybody to settle and acclimatize, then do something together and build it up as you go along and leave an extra day at the very end just for everybody to chill out before they head home. And if you're doing an event, you know, on a one day, for example, just you know, add in some extra hours, some extra breaks, and make sure people have got enough time so they don't feel stressed and they don't feel pressured, but they are having the time of their life, and that's what that's what it's all about. You know, space is not wasted time, space is where people process everything, and that's really, really important.

Principles For Transformational Trips

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So, how do we make these trips genuinely transformational? Well, here are my key principles. First and foremost, understand the purpose. Before anything else, define the purpose. Is this about musical excellence? Is it about community building, cultural exchange? Is it is it to try and recruit new members, build confidence? Is it a celebration? Are we dealing with just education and learning? I say just, but that's obviously super important, but are we dealing with that rather than actual performance? Is it a milestone? What is the purpose? Because the purpose shapes the plan. And number two is choose the right scale. Bigger isn't always better. A beautifully planned local trip can be more powerful than a poorly, poorly planned international tour. So match the trip to the choir's readiness. And number three, prepare the singers emotionally, not just musically. Talk about what the trip is for. Talk about how you want the choir to show up, talk about respect and etiquette and curiosity and professionalism and kindness and openness. And I always do this with my choir in time. I build over a period of weeks of rehearsal before we're going heading out on a on a tour, whether it be a local tour or an international tour, and we always talk about the logistics together so that everybody can feel calm and I get everybody psychologically ready. I believe that is paramount importance. I really do believe it's very important that people understand and understand the boundaries of what we are doing, understand who's going, understand about looking after each other and supporting each other, and having a great time in the process. And obviously, being prepared for performance because it's no good going out the night before and having a really late night and getting drunk, and then being really off your game when it's time to get ready for rehearsals and time to get ready for a performance. You've got to be on your on your game, you've got to be rested, you've got to look after your voices, and you've got to be ready to perform. And number four is about creating moments of reflection because this is often missed. And after a performance, you need to be asking, what did we learn from this experience? What surprised us? What felt different? What did we notice about ourselves? And what will we take back into rehearsal? Because reflection turns experience into growth. Now, number five on my list is to make it inclusive. A trip that only works for the confident, wealthy, mobile, socially secure singers is not good enough. Design it so more people can belong. Make sure it has absolute inclusivity for as many people as possible. You will never please 100% of the people a hundred percent of the time, and you will never be able to include everybody in everything. It's just not possible. Whether it's to do with accessibility, whether it's to do with financial reasons or family reasons or work reasons, you just won't manage it. But you do have to design it so that people can feel that they belong. And that's really, really important that they had a chance or they will be having the opportunity to take part in it. And number six is about building connection with others. Because especially when traveling further away, create genuine exchange. Meet local musicians, sing with another choir, meet educators and choir directors, share food, ask questions, share food, ask questions, listen, ask for. You know, you you it's all about it's all about the engagement as well, socially as well as singing. And listen, don't don't just perform and leave. Don't just have the experience, oh that was wonderful for us. Don't make it just about you. Make it about everybody and make it about what we've learnt from others and the experience of being in their environment. And bring the experience home. The trip should not end when the bus arrives back. Just use it, talk about it, share stories with all the other choir members that are at home that didn't go on the trip, invite new members, reflect in rehearsal, listen to any recordings or video that you took, and let it shape the next chapter of your choir.

Bringing The Experience Back Home

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A good trip should echo. So if you are listening to this and thinking, should we travel more? Should we go on tour? Should we go to an event? Should our choir break the boundaries that they've only ever known and do something different, but you're unsure what to do, my answer is still yes. Because you start where you are. You don't need to begin with something huge. You need to start somewhere with the next meaningful step. Take your choir somewhere different, do something different, give them a new acoustic, give them a new audience, a new experience, a new challenge, a new reason to connect. Because choir travel at its best is not about miles, it's about expansion, it's about expanding confidence, expanding community, expanding musicianship, expanding ambition, and expanding how singers see themselves and what they believe they are capable of. And that is what great choir leadership is all about. It's not just teaching notes, it's not just preparing concerts, but creating experiences that change people, push the boundaries, challenge yourself, challenge your choir and do something different. And so take the trip seriously, no matter how big or how small it is, whether it's a one-day event, a local event, a city event, a country event, an international event, take it seriously, plan it well, make it inclusive and make it meaningful. And never underestimate what can happen when a choir steps beyond the rehearsal room together.

Help, Reviews, And Staying Connected

SPEAKER_00 41:53

And finally, if I can help in any way, if you have any questions at all, if you would like some advice, if you would like some tips, or you just want to share about what you're doing, please get in touch. You can get in touch with me via the link in the studio notes, and of course, there are wonderful companies around that can help you with travel too. Thank you so much for listening to the choir director podcast. It's been wonderful having you here today. And if you found today's conversation valuable, please take a moment to leave us a rating and review. It genuinely helps us reach more choir directors and grow this community together. And don't forget to subscribe so you never miss an episode. And if you know a fellow director who'd benefit from today's conversation or any of the amazing guests we've had on the show, please share it with them. It means the world to us and it could make a huge difference to them. To stay connected between episodes so you never miss a thing and receive exclusive content, do join our mailing list. Link is in the show notes. And if you have a question about today's topic or any of the topics that we're covering, perhaps a question to our guest or something you'd love us to explore on a future episode, you can email the studio or leave us a voicemail. Both links are waiting for you in the show notes. Well, thanks again for being part of the Comma Director Podcast. I'm Russell Scott, and until next time, goodbye.