Choral Conducting Course - Cork International Choral Festival

Tuesday 28th April - Friday 1st May 2026

The Cork International Choral Festival is proud to host the fifth edition of the International Choral Conducting Course as part of the festival.

Join us for a four-day intensive, hands-on course where you will develop your conducting skills under the leadership of our expert international guest tutors, Jennifer Moir (Canada/Finland) and Jani Sivén (Finland), and with the participation of the acclaimed Chamber Choir Ireland for your final ensemble workshop.

The course is designed for anyone with experience in leading choirs of all kinds and is interested in taking their skills to a new level while networking with other conductors.

Jani Sivén (Finland)

Jani Sivén, acclaimed conductor, composer, and pedagogue, has taught choral conducting at the Sibelius Academy since 2015. He has led over 50 choirs and orchestras, including the Finnish Boys’ Choir and Chamber Choir Audite. His compositions include operas and cantatas, earning him prestigious awards for his artistic leadership. Read full bio

Jennifer Moir (Canada/Finland)

Jennifer Moir, Canadian choral artist and educator based in Finland, is a Lecturer in Global Music at Sibelius Academy. With over 20 years’ experience, she specialises in choir leadership, pedagogy, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Her work blends artistry, mentorship, and community engagement, shaping innovative choral practices internationally. Read full bio

Chamber Choir Ireland (Guest Ensemble)

Garnering a strong reputation for its unique approach to creative commissioning, recording and programming, Chamber Choir Ireland is the country’s flagship choral ensemble and national chamber choir under the Artistic Direction of Gabriel Crouch. The Choir’s programmes span from early renaissance to the present day, incorporating established choral classics with cutting-edge commissions, and a style of performance that incorporates versatility, dynamism and often vocal pyrotechnics. Read full bio

Clayton Hotel, Cork City

Tuesday 29th April

Arrival and Registration
Introduction and welcome - Outline of the course and who are we all
Getting Started Day 1 - Warm-ups/Exercises/Singing together
Conducting 1 - Physical gestures
Lunch
Alexander Technique. Staying physically healthy
Tea/coffee break
Conducting 2 - Good listening

Wednesday 30th April

Getting Started Day 2 - Warm-ups/Exercises/Singing together
Conducting 3 - Repertoire details
Coffee & Tea break
Singing lesson 1. Helping yourself and others
Lunch
Conducting 4 - Rehearsal techniques
Tea/coffee break
Repertoire - Picking up new ideas

Thursday 1st May

Getting Started Day 3 - Warm-ups/Exercises/Singing together
Conducting 5 - Managing the ensemble
Tea/coffee break
Singing lesson 2. Vocal Health
Lunch
Conducting 6 - Leadership

Friday 2nd May (half day)

Ensemble Workshop with Chamber Choir Ireland (public event)

A complete list of the repertoire selected by the tutors is published below. If you have other repertoire which you would like to work on, please send a copy to the Choral Festival Office for approval by Monday 9th March 2026. You will be asked to bring to the course multiple legal copies of any repertoire which has been approved in this way.

All delegates should prepare the common piece and at least one other piece for each tutor (four pieces in total) in advance of arriving and be prepared to work on them with the tutors.
The three categories into which the repertoire has been split are intended as a guide only, and delegates can freely choose which music they would prefer to conduct.

*Note: Pieces are categorised in difficulty based on the application of conducting principles that will be worked on throughout the course, not necessarily on the technical difficulty of the work.

Focal Points for Work for the Week:

Main focus on artistry and musicianship, even with ‘simple’ conducting pieces (i.e., almost anyone should be able to beat time to these pieces. The goal will be to work that at a level of musicianship befitting Chamber Choir Ireland)
Emphasis on active/passive conducting principles
Emphasis on weight/resistance within gestural pattern
Emphasis on alternative gesture thoughts through systems like Laban Movement Analysis
Emphasis on literature by modern American composers

Anna Füri	Shane Lynch
Common piece for all levels: Horváth, Márton Levente: O salutaris hostia	Common Piece for all levels: Verse 3 of “The King of Love” arr. Paul J. Christiansen (1914-1997)
Level 1 Bartók, Béla: Ne menj el (female choir) Wilbye, John: Flora Gave Me Fairest Flower Hensel, Fanny: Morgengruss, op. 3 no. 4 Brahms, Johannes: Erlaube mir Bruckner, Anton: Locus iste 4/4	Level 1 “Sleep” by Eric Whitacre (b. 1970) “Earth Song” by Frank Ticheli (b. 1958) “Grace Before Sleep” by Susan LaBarr (b. 1981)
Level 2 Bridge, Frank: Music, when soft voices die Brahms, Johannes: Im Herbst Bárdos, Lajos: Libera me Orbán, György: Ave verum Schumann, Robert: Waldmädchen Szarbó, Barna: Ye heavy states of night	Level 2 “All That Hath Life and Breath Praise Ye the Lord” by René Clausen (b. 1953) “A Dream Within a Dream” by Tesfa Yohannes Wondemagegnehu (b. 1982) “Oratio Fatimae” by Shane Lynch (b. 1975) “Ubi Caritas” by Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Level 3 Wolf, Hugo: Resignation Gjeilo, Ola: Unicornis captivatur Elgar, Edward: My Love Dwelt Poulenc, Francis: Timor et tremor Gyöngyösi, Levente: Te lucis ante terminum Kodály, Zoltán: Norwegian girls	Level 3 “Mother’s Song” by Jocelyn Hagen (b. 1980) “Twelfth Night” by Samuel Barber (1910-1981) “O Nata Lux” from “Lux Aeterna” by Morten Laurisden (b. 1943)

Friday, 6th February 2026

Full price: €295/person (inclusive of tea/coffee breaks)
Conductors of participating choirs: €270/person (inclusive of tea/coffee breaks)
*Complete choir application or proof of payment of choir entry fee required

The registration fee must be paid by bank transfer to the Cork International Choral Festival’s account by the registration closing date.

Bank details
Recipient: Cork International Choral Festival
Bank: Allied Irish Banks plc, Patrick’s Street, Cork, Ireland
IBAN: IE85 AIBK 9341 5105 1954 48
BIC: AIBKIE2D
Account Number: 05195448
Sort Code: 93 41 51
NOTE: Please ensure that your name of choir is noted on bank transfer.

Participants booking tickets for our Gala Concerts can avail of a reduction of 15% on all Gala concerts. A discount code will be sent to all participants after registration.

Getting Here

By Plane

Cork International Airport operates flights to and from a wide range of international destinations.

Shannon International Airport (approximately 120km from Cork) and Dublin Airport (approximately 220km) cater for a wider range of destinations, with internal flights also in operation between Dublin and Cork.

By Train

Irish Rail / Iarnród Éireann provide regular mainline Intercity services to Kent Station, Cork from Belfast Central, Dublin Heuston and Connolly Station, Limerick.

By Bus

Bus Éireann offer a nationwide service to and from Cork, with Expressway/Intercity services. They also offer regional services if you plan to see some of the county and a Cork City service to get around town while here.

Accommodation

Each year the Festival compiles an Accommodation Guide with specially negotiated accommodation rates for attendees and visiting choirs.

Meals & more

In addition, we team up with the city’s best restaurants, bars, tourist sights and transport providers so that choirs are offered the best deals in town. View the Food & Drink Trail.

Broadcasting, recording & photographic rights

It is a condition of participation that participants agree that:

Any performance/session during the Festival may be photographed, broadcast live and/or recorded for subsequent reproduction and/or broadcast on radio/television/internet without payment to the participants.
All broadcasting and photographic rights to any session during the Festival shall belong to the Festival which will be free to dispose of them or utilise them in promotional materials as it sees fit. Members under 18 years of age need to provide proof of informed consent of their parents/carers is this regard.
Any session during the Festival may, without payment, be recorded and the Festival shall be entitled to possession of any such recording and shall further be entitled to reproduce any such recording and to sell, let for hire, offer or exposure for sale or hire, distribute or otherwise dispose of any recording or reproduction of recording of any such performance in any manner as it sees fit.

Visa requirements

The process and cost of Visas are the sole responsibility of the participant. The Festival will support a participant through a letter of support on request.

General rules

The Festival reserves the right to change its dates in the event that a concert, or other public event or any circumstance outside the control of the Festival renders it impracticable to hold the festival on the scheduled dates
Entry fee (minus any bank charges incurred) will be refunded if the course cannot take place on the announced dates.
A participant that withdraws from the course is not entitled to a refund of the participation fee.
The Festival accepts no legal responsibility whatsoever in respect of anything pertaining to the participation in the course.
The Festival accepts no responsibility or liability for accommodation and meal costs incurred by the participant.
The Festival accepts no responsibility for any expense incurred by any individual participating in the course.
Participation in the course implies acceptance of all the regulations.