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Lionel Richie, a pocketbook and taking the bins out.

Choirs can look like they’re all about polish, perfection, and big moments on stage, but the real story sits underneath the sound. I’m joined by renowned choral director and vocal coach Mark De-Lisser, whose work spans community choirs, children’s choirs, dementia choirs, pro ensembles, and major TV productions like The Masked Singer and The Voice UK. With credits that include royal concert performances and huge public events, Mark has every reason to talk about achievement, yet he keeps steering us back to something more useful: people first, music second.

After You Listen
Check out Mark's work on his website, as well as Singology choir, and the awesome pocketbook co-authored by Mark and Dominic Peckham, Inspire Your Choir: 100 Ways to Raise the Bar.

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“Only shooting stars break the mold,” according to Smash Mouth - and Angela Sharp is absolutely one of those shooting stars!

In this chat, Ange and I get into what happens when we stop trying to squeeze singers into a one-size-fits-all model and start shaping choir around the actual humans standing in front of us. Ange takes us on her wonderfully winding musical journey into community choir directing — and the decades of singing, connection, chaos and impact that have followed. Ang is the perfect cocktail of passion, courage and comedic relief.

At the heart of it all is Ange’s fierce belief that choir should be for everyone. Anyone who needs a place to sing, belong, laugh and maybe find a little bit of themselves along the way.

We wrap things up with a sing-along, a few laughs, and a prison performance story that STILL makes Ange sweat.

If this conversation makes you want to sing or gets you thinking, please subscribe, share it with the person who needs a little more singing in their week, and leave a review so more people can find Midlife Choirsis.

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Is “wellbeing” just fluffy choir talk, or is there more to it?

How healthy is your choir, really? The warning signs might surprise you — and it could be time for a choir health check!

Tune in as I talk accessibility, accommodation and inclusion with Emma Rowland-Elsen, a specialist consultant in choir inclusion and mental health, and the mind behind Sing Out Strong, a model built to help singers feel they genuinely belong while still making great music.

If you lead a community choir, school choir, or even professional choir, or any ensemble that wants both warmth and musical excellence, press play. Subscribe, share this with a friend, and leave a review and tell us one change you'd like to make in your rehearsal room.

To find out more about Emma's work, go to emmarowlandelsen.co.uk and follow @emmarowlandelsen on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn. You can find out more about the Healthy Choir Toolkit here:
https://www.emmarowlandelsen.co.uk/toolkit.html

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