Born in 1931 in Kent, England, choral conductor John Bertalot, won Organ scholarships to the Royal College of Music, London, and to Oxford and Cambridge. After his studies, John Bertalot first appointment was Director of Music for 6 years of St. Matthew's Church, Northampton, UK (a successor of Alec Wyton), the church for which Britten wrote Rejoice in the Lamb. He then became director of music at Blackburn Cathedral (for 18 years) where he founded the Blackburn Bach Choir and was Associate Professor (Senior Lecturer) at the Royal Northern College of Music, Manchester.
In moving to the USA, John Bertalot has been Director of Music for 16 years of Trinity Church, Princeton, NJ. succeeding Dr James Litton. He led for sixteen years one of the most ambitious Episcopal Church music programmes in the USA, where he founded the acclaimed Princeton Singers. He was also Adjunct Associate Professor, Westminster Choir College, Rider University. In over forty years of professional music-making he has led choral workshops all over the world. He has directed courses for the RSCM in UK, USA, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
In 1998 John Bertalot ‘retired’ to the UK where his time has been filled with leading choral workshops, adjudicating at music festivals and composing. He is also organist of a village church in the middle of the Lancashire countryside, where he still puts into practice all his choir-training techniques. John Bertalot has published four best-selling books on choir training: Five Wheels to Successful Sight-Singing (Augsburg Fortress), Immediately Practical Tips For Choral Directors (Augsburg Fortress), How to be a Successful Choir Director (Kevin Mayhew), Teaching Adults to Sight Sing (Kevin Mayhew). His compositions are well-known in Great Britain and the USA. His many compositions are widely published.
"Dr John Bertalot has made a significant and distinctive contribution to church music in Britain and America. After a period at St Matthew’s Northampton, he shaped the music of Blackburn Cathedral in the 1960s and 1970s, and of Trinity Church, Princeton, in the 1980s and 1990s. Both churches have honoured him with emeritus appointments. But more widely he has inspired and instructed. He is particularly renowned for his training of children. Watching him in action is both inspiring and enormously entertaining. He is gently firm, wittily direct, totally engaging, and yet absolutely focused on his objectives. His books on Sight Reading and Choir Training skills are both winners. They are full of practical sense, and enable even the most modest to progress with confidence. His energy, vivacity, and sheer love of the church and its music are a great example. He’s also been a splendid ambassador for the RSCM. Council is delighted to appoint John Bertalot as a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music." - text read by the Director General, Professor John Harper, at the presentation of honorary awards at the RSCM Celebration Day
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What Sight-singing Is And Is Not The Essence Of Teaching Sight Singing How To Start Pulse Musical Notation A Short History Of Notation Useful Time Names Writing Sample Rhythms Clapping Simple Rhythms Clapping And Counting Putting Theory Into Practice Four-beat Notes, Bar Lines and Time Signatures Looking At Words And Music Rests Learning New Music By Clapping Rhythm Looking At The Pitch Of Notes Pitching Notes Using Warm-ups Clapping Eighth-notes Warm-ups using Eighth-notes Key Signatures Slurs Ties and Dotted Quarter Notes Half Note Beats Syncopation Starting Off The Beat |
You wish your adult singers could read music. So do they! This new book by internationally honored choir director, John Bertalot, explains in short easy-to-follow steps how you can fulfill their wish and yours! The book is a most valuable tool for many who face the more extreme difficulty of teaching reluctant adults things that children learn very readily. While the reader may wish to temper some of John s experiences to suite individual situations, they serve as superb resources for ideas, reminders and discipline for all who work with adult singers. Colin Mawby, former Director of Music of London's Westminster Cathedral, writes: 'This book is essential reading for choirmasters and singers. It's superbly structured, beautifully written, down to earth and amusing, and it's destined to become a classic.'
| 6302 BOOK $19.95 |
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Encourage Punctuality Begin Rehearsals Efficiently Cure Irregular Attendence Raise Musical Standards Make Demands On Your Choir Conduct More Creatively Train Your Choir To Listen To You Teach Them how To Breathe Sing As Well On Sunday As At Rehearsal An Inspiring Experience Keep Your Singers In Order Watch Out For The Second Law Of Thermodynamics Ten Basic Points For Musical Rehearsal Create A Positive Atmosphere More Tips About Singing In Tune Playing Right Notes Confidently And Musically Random Hints For Choir Practice Rehearsal Hints For Church Choir Practice Rehearsal Techniques At A Glance Searching Questions Which Demand Action Five Key Words |
Dr. John Bertalot has drawn on more than forty years' experience as a renowned choir director and organist to share his knowledge and expertise with those who, like himself, are dedicated to the highest standards of choral training and musical expression. His practical guidance is clear and detailed, illumined by his use of apt analogy, personal anecdote and lively humor, and informed throughout by his psychological and spiritual insights and Christian convictions. This is more than a book of instructions; it is a book of passion and inspiration which can be summed up in one word--love: love for music, love for his singers and love for God. It might well have been called 'Love in Practice,' but you need to read the book before you can fully appreciate how fitting that title would be.
| 6303 BOOK $32.95 |
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Encourage Punctuality Begin Rehearsals Efficiently Cure Irregular Attendence Raise Musical Standards Make Demands On Your Choir Conduct More Creatively Train Your Choir To Listen To You Teach Them how To Breathe Sing As Well On Sunday As At Rehearsal An Inspiring Experience Keep Your Singers In Order Watch Out For The Second Law Of Thermodynamics Ten Basic Points For Musical Rehearsal Create A Positive Atmosphere More Tips About Singing In Tune Playing Right Notes Confidently And Musically Random Hints For Choir Practice Rehearsal Hints For Church Choir Practice Rehearsal Techniques At A Glance Searching Questions Which Demand Action Five Key Words |
In this book you'll learn such things as secrets to help fill your choir stalls, advanced choir training techniques, the "ten commandments" for leading successful rehearsals, pastoral concerns, contract information, and much more!.
| 6438 BOOK $17.95 |
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