Hej fra mig!

The rumour was true. So greetings from a chorus master's music stand. Og paa engelsk. Well, I am English and have been working in Copenhagen for two and a half years now and although I have been learning Danish and try my best to rehearse in Danish, when it comes to writing, English is best - for all concerned.

When I look back over the blogs since November, one might ask what does a chorus master do during the day time. Or more precisely, what does he do, question mark?

Does he teach the chorus to sing? In short, no. As you can see from Ole's and Anne Julie's last entries, all that is sorted out well before any job is offered.

What does he do that the conductor doesn't do? Again, the job just isn't the same. And so in the next few weeks, I will endeavour to explain what the chorus master's role is within the Opera and with the 60-strong professional singers that make up the Kongelige Operakor. From korskoler to sceniske prøver, from korkonkurrence to sang- og orkesterprøver, from the weekly planning meetings to seasons way in the future, vikarer, future directors, current conductors, and lastly my colleague, for there are two chorus masters at Det Kongelige Teater.

All this AND more .... watch this space! Philip White