Your choir doesn’t need to be “naturally creative” to improvise, it needs a safe structure and a reason to listen. I’m joined by Australian composer, conductor, and educator Stephen Leek, whose choral music is sung worldwide and whose workshop approach helps ensembles find confidence fast. We talk about improvisation for choirs that think they can’t improvise, using simple cues, layers, and shared attention to build real ensemble listening that feeds straight back into better tuning, blend, and musical line in scored repertoire.

We also zoom out into the bigger question of musical identity: what makes an “Australian choral sound”? Stephen shares how language, dialect, and accent shape choral colour, and why Indigenous place names and local texts can unlock crisp consonants, vivid vowels, and a sense of landscape in the voice. Along the way we touch on the Australian Voices, commissioning culture, and how developing singers from school age can create a whole new repertoire ecosystem.

Then we tackle a challenge every choir director is feeling right now: a world where AI can generate music quickly, and where choral programming can slip into safe, same-sounding choices. Stephen makes the case for risk taking, for choosing music that actually says something, and for stretching singers beyond what they already know, because that’s how choirs stay artistically alive.

If you enjoy practical rehearsal ideas, thoughtful choral conducting talk, and big-picture questions about culture and composition, subscribe, share this with a fellow director, and leave a rating and review so more conductors can find the show.

***

More about Steven Leek:

Website: www.stephenleek.com/

Contact the Studio

Support the show

***

Resources:

The Choir Director Podcast — helping you build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences.

• Website: thechoirdirectorpodcast.com
• Mailing List: Join our Newsletter

Follow Russell Scott:

• Website: russellscott.org
• Instagram: @russellscottofficial
• Facebook: facebook.com/russellscottofficial
• X: @russellscottuk

(c) Russell Scott 2026. All rights reserved.