Inaugural Training Course for Singing Teachers 2009 The last weekend in October 2009 saw the inaugural training course for singing teachers, which took place at the beautiful Dromantine Conference centre near Newry.  Six singing teachers took part in this course, which was designed to encourage, inspire and support singing teachers of various vocal styles and of different levels of teaching experience.  When we arrived for registration on the Friday afternoon, we were met with cups of tea (a welcome feature of the weekend!), and we were introduced to each other and to the course organisers. I think it was fair to say that we were all a wee bit nervous, and we didn’t quite know what to expect, but we were all soon chatting away about singing, teaching and the singing world – it never takes singers all that long to break the ice! Over the weekend, we were treated to many interesting talks and workshops, as well as our one-to-one teaching sessions with our assigned Master Teachers. There was a lot packed into two and a half days, which was inspiring, thought-provoking and exhausting all rolled into one.  Among the various talks scheduled,  I attended a presentation about vocal anatomy by an ENT doctor, ‘This Teaching Business’ by Penny Price Jones from AOTOS, covering the legalities and organising of a teaching studio, ‘Classical –v- Musical Theatre’ from the opera singer turned musical theatre teacher, Elizabeth Hetherington, who is head of vocal studies at Bird College, a sight-singing workshop with Jonathan Rathbone and very interesting sing-through repertoire sessions in both classical grade exam rep and musical theatre rep.  We were also treated to vocal warm-up sessions from TOSINI’s Marie O’Sullivan, Penny-Price Jones and Elizabeth Hetherington and an insightful session by Elizabeth Bicker, on how to prepare students from an accompanists’point of view. During the weekend, each Student Teacher had three sessions with their Master Teacher - either Colette McGahon or Paul Deegan - which, at first seemed daunting, the thought of having a ‘fly on the wall’ during a teaching session. It was very easy at first to find yourself wondering what you normally do on a day-to-day singing lesson! Nerves soon abated though, and the sessions became a two and three-way discussion, where useful pointers and tips were given out, and useful reassurances were also given out that what you normally do is pretty much on track! We also managed to fit in some lovely informal singing sessions, which gave everyone the chance to let their hair down and have a good old sing song. The bar upstairs was also well frequented at the end of the evening, which allowed for more chat, stories and laughter (a memorable Hallowe’en appearance by TOSINI’s Marie O’Sullivan and Turlough Gorman in fancy dress has stuck in my mind!) All in all, the weekend was a great chance to mix with other singers and singing teachers, to learn from other professionals and from each other, and to come away feeling thoroughly inspired, refreshed and exhausted in equal measure!  Debra Stuart.