Be cool

Bob Chilcott has been involved in choral music for most of his life. He was a chorister and choral scholar at King’s College, Cambridge, and for twelve years was a member of the vocal group The King’s Singers. Since 1997 he has worked as a full-time composer and has written a wide variety of choral music, including a significant amount of music for young choirs. He has over one hundred pieces published by Oxford University Press, and a number of his choral works have been published in German, Swedish, Norwegian, and Slovenian.

As well as being Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers, he has conducted many other leading choirs in their field, including the World Youth Choir, the RIAS Kammerchor, Orphei Drangar from Sweden, Jauna Musika from Lithuania, the Taipei Chamber Singers, and the Tower New Zealand Youth Choir. He has worked in 23 countries on six continents, and at festivals from Festival 500 in Newfoundland to Tallinn, where in 2004, as the first foreign musician to be invited, he conducted a choir of 7000 young singers at the Estonian Song Festival in one of his most popular pieces, “Can you hear me?”.

For more information about Bob Chilcott click here.

Photograph by Vicky Aldaheff.

Oxford University Press

Voiceworks is a magnificent resource for promoting good singing in pre-schools, schools, community choirs, adult choirs and everywhere that people sing. The Voiceworks books (complete with CDs) are packed with songs and ideas which are practical, motivating, and accessible.

Voiceworks 2 is a second inspired collection of 66 fabulous songs including material to stretch more confident groups. Every bit as practical and accessible as Voiceworks 1.

· Lively and simple ideas for key stage 3 (Scottish levels D and E)

· Ideal for youth choirs, school groups, county youth choirs, and choral groups of all ages and experience

· 66 songs, from simple unison to four-part harmony

· Vast range of repertoire and styles from around the world

· Songs for warm ups, rehearsal use, and concert repertoire

· Most songs unaccompanied, or with simple accompaniments for keyboard or guitar

· A complete lesson or rehearsal plan for each song

· Vocal warm ups and general advice included

· Double CD contains performances plus support material

· Photocopiable pages

Audio information
The audio tracks were recorded specially for the Sing Up programme by Finchley Children’s Music Group, mixed and mastered by Nic Rowley at Vandborg Studios. The backing track was created specially for the SIng Up programme by Ned Bennett.

Copyright information
All copyright music in the Sing Up programme is used by permission. The songwriters and/or copyright holders have been remunerated under due licensing arrangements. Find out more about copyright by visiting the UK Music and Sound Rights websites.