Choir coaching
“With a lot of enthusiasm and patience Annika managed to transform a group of amateur singers into a choir that is proud of themselves.” – Arine de Jong, popkoor Hé Buuf
At the moment, I work with three groups in Amsterdam, Haarlem and Hilversum. These groups differ in size, repertoire and level. I write customized arrangements for all three groups, and although they are very different from each other, they all share the same goal: getting better together and having a really good time doing so.
Are you interested in me working with your group? Use the contact form below to get in touch.
Conducting with ‘direction’ and ‘non-doing’
Already during my studies of the Alexander Technique I discovered the advantages of applying the technique while leading and conducting a group of singers. I am convinced that by observing the movement and communication of a conductor you can predict the sound of a choir: You can, for example, tell from a conductor who moves very tense, and who is very demanding towards the singers, that his/her posture and attitude has a negative effect on the choir-sound, for it will be restricted through tension, and it will result in bad intonation. The choir singers will sing with exaggeration and too much tension, and they are directly (verbally), and indirectly (through observing the conductor’s movements) asked to ‘do their best.’ Because of that, there is no real flow amongst them.
“The greatest thing about Annika is that she manages to lead a choir with humor and respect in a way that she gets the result that she is aiming for with a lot of musical ambition. In that way singing stays a relaxing activity and there is a lot of fun involved in the process. Annika manages to support each individual to become a strong singer and performer and therefore gives everybody an important and independent role in the group so that the choir can really grow as a whole: One Up!”
“It’s almost unbelievable how Annika is managing a group of eight alpha males, bringing them together in music. The combination of being very well prepared and very clear but especially not taking herself to seriously resulted in a much higher level of singing, especially in the field of group sound and blending, within one year of working with DasBand. Through her years of experience as a singer and her education as an Alexander Technique teacher Annika developed a unique method for group singing that resulted in a much higher quality of sound within the group as well as for each individual singer.”