What I do
choral conducting
Hi, I’m Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl, a norwegian conductor, educator and author.
Have you asked yourself why you sometimes are able to create magical moments in concerts, and sometimes not? Are you interested in exploring how you can work with yourself and your singers to create contact in the moment? To aim towards being genuine and true? I believe that this ability can be trained through your way of conducting and your way of being a leader. I can teach you about musical leadership and interaction through your gestures. Contact me if you need some advice, coaching or a masterclass!
Connect with me:
That moment. How does it arise? What is it? How can we train ourselves to evoke it?
Can we learn to create artistic moments where we suddenly feel a strong sense of unity with each other, with the music, and with existence?
The general notion is that only a select few possess the ability to create these intense artistic moments. That they are magical and therefore incomprehensible. I aim to demonstrate that this isn’t the case. I believe it’s a skill that can be developed, much like many other things in the world. Everything can be learned if one knows how!
“It was as if an arrow pierced my heart. I can’t put it any other way.”
Singing together gives us a sense of community, of being a meaningful part of something larger than ourselves. Where each small voice is significant in the larger context, where we merge into a collective “we.”
Occasionally, we get to experience moments where we are touched by love and feel an intense sense of joy.
With this book and with my teaching, my hope is to describe how you, as a conductor, can train yourself in this kind of communication. Because I believe that everything can be learned – even this! I also hope that the book can serve as inspiration for other types of leaders, since the same mechanisms are likely in play in all forms of leadership.
When we get everyone moving in the same direction, great things can happen!
“Conducting With a Bird on Your Hand” is available at Amazon.com as e-book and Print on demand. Check it out! https://www.amazon.com/dp/826938710X
Saeideh Rajabzadeh writes this about the book: “One striking aspect of the book is the author’s incredible ability to put into words the aspects of music and leadership that are most inexplicable.”
An arrow through the heart, a moment of painful revelation of time, music, and shared human experience. Experiences of power and meaning. Community. Connection.
What folks are saying about the book “Conducting with a Bird on Your hand”
I wholeheartedly recommend this book to all my conducting colleagues and students. It is utterly refreshing and brilliantly insightful about the art of directing ensembles. Avoiding laborious descriptions of ‘ what’ we should be doing, this gem’ s focus is on the much more interesting issues of ‘ why’ and ‘ how’ we practice our art. The fact that it’s written by someone whose own conducting is so inspiring, beautiful and powerful lends it all the more authority. Do read it!
–Sarah Tenant-Flowers, conductor
‘Conducting with a Bird on Your Hand’ is an invaluable resource for conductors in practice and aspiring choir directors. Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl examines aspects of music-making that are rarely discussed in depth within the established literature because they elude definition: for example, connection, meaning, intuition, balance and flow. Dahl’s extensive conducting experience places her ideally as a convincing authority on these subjects, and I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in choir leadership.
– Orla Flanagan, conductor
“Writing a book about how you can train yourself to achieve experiences of power and meaning through music is no small task. ‘CONDUCTING WITH A BIRD ON YOUR HAND’ by Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl is a multifaceted and holistic guide to the art of conducting. With an understanding of the importance of body language and mirroring in the conductor’s work, the book offers an insightful journey with practical examples and personal reflections that take us readers through various inspiring aspects of conducting and leadership.”
– Lone Larsen, professor in choral conducting and conductor/artistic leader for VoNo.
“‘Conducting with a Bird on Your Hand’ is a precise and beautiful way to convey the combination of will and caution in choral conducting. In her book, Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl describes seven different perspectives, ranging from the existential to the concrete. As a prominent and well-loved conductor, she draws on her deep and extensive experience in an attempt to put into words the magical moments and the choral work that can lead to them. The text contains anecdotes, reflections, and recommendations. Perhaps the most important aspect of the book is its emphasis on the conductor as a whole person and the necessity of self-reflection and personal development.”
– Dag Jansson, Professor of Cultural Management at OsloMet
Tone Bianca Sparre Dahl - conductor 