Choral Conducting and the Construction of Meaning: Gesture, Voice, Identity

It is a truism in teaching choral conducting that the director should look like s/he wishes the choir to sound. But how can these forms of physical communication be explained? Do they belong to a pre-cultural realm of primate social bonding, or do they rely on the context and conventions of a particular choral culture? Is body language an inherent part of musical performance styles, or does it come afterwards, in response to music? This book explores these questions at both theoretical and practical levels. Its findings will be of interest both to those engaged in the study of music as a cultural practice, and to practitioners involved in a choral conducting context that increasingly demands fluency in a variety of styles.

Dr Liz Garnett is a musicologist and choral clinician whose research and praxis both explore the theme of music and its social meanings. She has held academic posts at Colchester Institute and Birmingham Conservatoire, and is in demand internationally as a performance coach and arranger. Her first book, The British Barbershopper: A Study in Socio-Musical Values, is also published by Ashgate.