Sight-singing in professional children's choirs: three conductor's perspectives on teaching audiation

The purpose of this study was to examine the perspectives of three conductors regarding sight-singing in their professional children's choirs as it relates to audiation. Research questions addressed were: (a) "How do experienced educators teach choral students to sight-sing with an audiation-centric approach?", and (b) "How do different choral directors' perspectives on sight-singing influence student's sight-singing ability?" The primary means of data collection were interviews, rehearsal observations and performance analysis. Observations were systematically recorded with a self-made observational checklist and the performances were scored using CMEA's Bay Section Choral Performance Rubric. The results indicated that students grow in audiating and sight-singing when directors avoid some specific common misunderstandings, promote self-efficacy and confidence, and employ effective sight-singing strategies.