How can we build choirs that sing with both precision and courage? In this participatory session, attendees become a model choir while exploring how structured play, intentional risk-taking and productive failure can transform rehearsal culture for singers of all ages. Participants will experience immediately transferable exercises, games, and strategies that strengthen focus, listening, ensemble cohesion, and resilience. The session frames joy and psychological safety not as extras but as essential conditions for artistic growth, helping conductors foster choirs in which singers engage fully, take healthy risks, and develop with greater confidence.
Play, Risk, Repeat: Building Courageous Choirs
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Jonas Rasmussen
Jonas Rasmussen is a Danish conductor, composer, and educator known for combining artistic excellence with playfulness and accessibility. He is artistic director of Academic Choir Aarhus and Youth Choir Aarhus U, award-winning ensembles whose international honors include the World Choral Championship in Tokyo, the European Choir Games, and Let the Peoples Sing. He studied at the University of Cambridge and the Royal Academy of Music in Stockholm, and has taught choral conducting at the Royal Academy of Music in Aarhus since 2021. Rasmussen is a mentor with Forge Conducting and the author of The Playful Choir, published by ECS Publishing. In the 2027 season, he will make his Carnegie Hall debut and undertake guest engagements across Europe and Asia. He also shares choral content with a global audience of more than 350,000 followers across digital platforms.
