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From the Renaissance to barbershop, from French-language songs to body percussion, Mission Voix Occitanie is launching its 2026–2027 training season: six workshops and masterclasses, and a series of free webinars organised in partnership with the Missions Voix network.
I have designed this season with the conviction that a choir progresses when it is exposed to different repertoires, different techniques and different perspectives. The guest speakers come from here as well as from the United Kingdom, Quebec and Sweden. They share the same high standards, whether they are working with professionals or amateurs. Because an amateur is someone who loves singing, and they deserve the same quality of teaching.
Perrine Malgouyres, Director of Mission Voix Occitanie
Putting together a training programme begins with asking those on the ground: what do choir directors and singers need today to take their practice to the next level? This year, our answer boils down to one guiding principle: diversity of expression. Six speakers, six artistic approaches, and a single common goal: to ensure participants leave with practical tools they can put to use from their very next rehearsal.
Among those taking part are a baritone who spent fourteen years with the King’s Singers, a choir director and composer from the University of Sherbrooke in Quebec, a specialist in the Modern Singer’s Technique, and a world barbershop champion.
17 and 18 October 2026: masterclass with Christopher Bruerton
The season opens with two young ensembles from the region coming together under the guidance of Christopher Bruerton, a baritone with the King’s Singers for fourteen years, whose career with the British ensemble comes to an end this year: the Elysium Choir (Toulouse), which performs contemporary music, and the Ensemble L’Hydre (Montpellier), specialising in Renaissance music. Two days dedicated to working on ensemble sound, a cappella intonation, style, listening skills and stage presence.
The masterclass is open to members of the public. In practical terms, you can attend each workshop session and observe how a singer of this calibre helps an ensemble to progress. It concludes with a recital at the church in Escalquens (31), marking the end of the Voix Croisées festival, a partner of the project.
27, 28 and 29 October 2026: choral conducting masterclass with Robert Ingari
A tenured professor at the University of Sherbrooke, where he heads the Master’s programme in choral conducting, and artistic director of the Chœur de chambre du Québec, Robert Ingari is the author of *La répétition efficace* (Effective Rehearsal), a practical guide for choral conductors. Three days to put the theory to the test: in the afternoons, classroom-based work (repertoire, gestures, rehearsal techniques); in the evenings, practical application with the singers of the Nota Bene demonstration choir. The programme features pieces chosen for the diversity of their musical languages, ranging from Lauridsen to Miškinis, including a Kyrie by Robert Ingari himself.
7 and 8 November 2026: The Modern Singer’s Technique with Caroline Calvo
Trained by Allan Wright, the method’s creator, Caroline Calvo teaches vocal technique and choral singing at the Maîtrise Populaire de l’Opéra-Comique. The TCM approach is based on the physiology and acoustics of the voice, helping participants to better understand their instrument, prevent vocal fatigue and switch between different styles (opera, pop, musical theatre). No prior experience required: the workshop is open to anyone who uses their voice, whether on stage, in the classroom or elsewhere.
16 and 17 January 2027: conducting French-language songs in polyphony with Brice Baillon
Gainsbourg, Barbara, Souchon, Stromae, Clara Luciani, Ben Mazué… Francophone songs performed in polyphony raise questions that the classical repertoire rarely addresses: groove, flow, and physical engagement. How do you convey an intention without saying everything? How do you allow each chorister to express something without losing the group’s cohesion? Brice Baillon answers these questions through movement, using minimalist conducting techniques and fostering a horizontal relationship with the choir.
20 and 21 March 2027: the mixed-voice barbershop repertoire with Victor Nilsson
A Swedish singer and 2025 barbershop world champion with the Lemon Squeezy quartet, Victor Nilsson brings twenty years’ experience of a cappella singing to this workshop. The aim is to understand what makes barbershop music sound the way it does (its jazz chords, its resonance-based intonation, the balance between lead, alto, tenor and bass) and to sing it properly, using specially arranged pieces. All you need to do to sign up is to be involved in choral singing.
24 and 25 April 2027: body percussion with Perrine Camus
Clap, snap, stomp: the season draws to a close with a focus on the body as an instrument. Three workshops – technical, choreographic and vocal – to build your own repertoire of body sounds, work on polyrhythms and precision, and use rhythmic movement to enhance singing, culminating in improvisation through circle songs.
From October to March: a series of webinars with the Missions Voix network
Alongside the workshops, there will be six free online sessions covering very practical aspects of choir life: digital tools to support choristers’ work between rehearsals (the session organised by Mission Voix Occitanie, with Marie-Aline Bayon), hiring artists, tax regulations for voluntary organisations, inclusion, volunteering and the legal use of sheet music. These sessions are organised by the network’s member organisations: Cepravoix, Cadence, Mesh, INECC, the Cité de la voix and the CDAC.
A workshop is also a place where you meet other conductors, other singers and discover different approaches. Amateurs and professionals work side by side, with the same high standards, and it is often here that future projects take shape.
PROGRAMME
17 and 18 October 2026: Christopher Bruerton masterclass, Escalquens
27, 28 and 29 October 2026: Robert Ingari’s conducting masterclass, Toulouse
7 and 8 November 2026: Techniques for the Modern Singer, Caroline Calvo, Toulouse
16 and 17 January 2027: Francophone polyphonic song, Brice Baillon, Toulouse
20 and 21 March 2027: mixed-voice barbershop, Victor Nilsson, Toulouse
24 and 25 April 2027: body percussion, Perrine Camus, Toulouse
Webinars: 5 October, 9 November, 10 December 2026; 28 January, 16 February, 15 March 2027
Click here to join: https://www.helloasso.com/associations/les-elements
Click here for more information: https://les-elements-missionvoix.fr/
