Creating Engaging Choral Rehearsals

Edith Copley

LIVE Zoom Class TUESDAY , February 17th

4pm PST // 6pm CST // 7pm EST

“Creating Engaging Choral Rehearsals”

Join Edith Copley's masterclass as she delves into creating engaging and effective choral rehearsals by integrating body, mind, and voice in the rehearsal process. Through practical strategies and accessible metaphors, we’ll explore how singers can connect deeply with music, text, and each other. You’ll learn techniques for constructing rehearsals that are both positive and productive, with a focus on fostering collaboration and keeping singers engaged. From using movement to enhance expression to incorporating warm-ups that promote critical listening, this session provides valuable tools for conductors looking to elevate their choral rehearsals.

What you’ll learn:

Constructing effective rehearsals: How to create a positive, focused, and engaging environment for singers.
Focus and listening: Warm-ups that immediately capture attention and promote critical listening skills.
Movement and expression: How movement in the air and on the page can lead to more expressive singing.
Collaboration and engagement:
Collaboration and engagement: Strategies for keeping singers involved and invested throughout the rehearsal
Choral concepts: Timeless ideas that singers can apply to all future choral works to enhance their vocal performance.

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Meet Your Professor

Edith A. Copley is a regents’ professor emerita at Northern Arizona University in Flagstaff where she served as director of choral studies from 1993-2021. She conducted the highly acclaimed Shrine of the Ages Choir and taught undergraduate and graduate courses in conducting and graduate choral literature. Under her direction, the Shrine of the Ages Choir performed at state, regional and national conferences, and toured internationally to Western Europe, the Peoples Republic of China, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Bulgaria, Istanbul, Estonia, and Latvia.

Prior to her NAU appointment, Dr. Copley taught secondary choral music for seven years in Iowa and four years overseas at the American International School in Vienna, Austria. While completing her doctoral degree in choral conducting at the College Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, she served as the assistant and interim principal conductor of the May Festival Chorus, one of the oldest symphony choruses in the nation that regularly performs with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and Cincinnati Pops.

Dr. Copley served for 23 years as music director of the Master Chorale of Flagstaff, a 100-voice, auditioned community choir. As chorusmaster for Flagstaff Symphony Orchestra for 27 years, Dr. Copley conducted numerous choral/orchestral works, including Brahms Ein Deutsches Requiem, Haydn Lord Nelson Mass, Orff Carmina Burana, Bach B Minor Mass, Mozart Requiem and Mass in C Minor, Duruflé and Fauré Requiems, and the Britten War Requiem.

Dr. Copley is a life member of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and has served in many leadership roles, including Arizona president and western region president. In March 2025 she chaired the ACDA National Conference in Dallas and currently serves as ACDA National President.

Dr. Copley has contributed chapters in several books and has published articles in national music journals. She is also a choral editor for Santa Barbara Music Publications. Dr. Copley has received numerous honors and awards, including NAU School of Performing Arts Centennial Teacher of the Year, Arizona Music Educator of the Year, Arizona ACDA Outstanding Choral Director Award, and the Weston H. Noble Award from her alma mater Luther College in Decorah, Iowa.

In her retirement, Dr. Copley is still in high demand as a conference clinician, festival adjudicator, and guest conductor in the US and abroad. She has conducted all-state choirs in over 30 states, and special festivals in major US concert halls, including in Carnegie Hall. Dr. Copley is honored to conduct in this historic venue for the tenth time this spring. She has conducted international choral festivals in Germany, the Netherlands, Tasmania, Japan, Luxembourg, Australia, China, Turkey, England, Oman, Ireland, and France, and will return to conduct in Salzburg in June 2026.

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