ONLINE COURSE | 7 MODULES | OVER 100 VIDEO LESSONS | EXERCISES AND WORKBOOKS
Choral Conducting in 90 Days
In 90 days you will receive the tools and a clear path to specifically develop your conducting, your ear and your rehearsal management.
🕔 Pilot price valid until October 31, 2026
🇫🇷 Bientôt en français | 🇪🇸 Próximamente en español
You're standing in front of a choir and hoping that nobody notices how insecure you actually feel?
→ You raise your hands, and you doubt whether what you are showing is even understandable.
→ The piece has been rehearsed, but the music just doesn't come together.
→ You hear that something is wrong, but you are overwhelmed by the task of figuring out where the error lies at the moment.
→ At the end of a rehearsal, you are exhausted and don't really know what you have achieved.
❓Perhaps you have been leading a choir for years and feel that more is possible.
❓Maybe you're just starting out and wondering how to learn this at all.
❓Perhaps you come from a different artistic field and are standing in front of a group that you are leading for the first time.
The common thread is almost always the same: a feeling of insecurity.
And the realization that good choir conducting is more than just beating the horn correctly.
Good choral conducting doesn't come from being perfect
It comes from:
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perception
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clarity, and from your willingness to grow
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the ability to hear what your choir needs in the moment and to respond to it
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rehearsals, that follow a clear structure
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a presence that gives people security without aksing you to be someone you're not
That's exactly what you'll learn in this course.
→ It doesn't force you into a rigid method.
→ It gives you tools, and how you bring them into your own work is up to you.
In 90 days you move from your first gesture to leading your choir with confidence.
Seven modules, one clear path, at your own pace.
Who is this course for?
You're just starting out
You want to learn how to conduct a choir from the ground up, without getting lost in theory. You want to work practically and confidently from the very beginning.
Are you getting back into conducting or do you already have a musical background
You have musical experience, but standing in front of a choir is new to you or has been a while since you did. You want to order your fundamentals and gain confidence.
You already conduct choirs and want more depth
You've been doing this for a while, but you feel that your technique, your rehearsal leadership, or your impact on the group could become clearer. You're no longer looking for basics, but more substance.
What you should bring:
You don't need any conducting experience, no management experience, and you don't even need your own choir!
What you should bring is a musical foundation:
✅ You can read sheet music and find your way around a choir score. 🎵
✅ You are familiar with the treble and bass clefs. 🎼
✅ You have a basic understanding of the piano, know where the notes are located and can play choir-voices or simple chords. 🎹
✅ Most importantly: You have experience singing in a choir!
The more, the better. 🗣️
Everything else, from the first gesture to leading the rehearsal, you will learn in the online course.
Course structure
The 7 Levels of Choral Conducting™️
The course guides you through seven modules that build upon each other.
Each module consists of several chapters with videos, workbooks and an assignment that you can optionally submit and receive personal feedback from me.
Module 1: Your role as conductor
What conducting really means, what you don't have to be, and how to deal with uncertainty. Your foundation.
Module 2: Conducting as a Language
Posture, beating point, basic beat patterns, cues, entries, dynamics. The technique, clearly and practically explained.
Module 3: The Choir as an Instrument
How voices work, how to warm up your choir, how to listen and shape sound. Your ear will become your most important tool.
Module 4: Score & Preparation
How to open up a piece, develop a musical concept, and turn it into a rehearsal plan.
Module 5: Systematic Trial Planning
How to structure rehearsals, manage time and energy, make effective corrections, and plan an entire season.
Module 6: Presence, Language & Rehearsal Leadership
Who you are when you lead. Your impact, your style, difficult conversations, and the independent choir.
Module 7: Group Dynamics & Musical Community
How groups work, what creates community, and what really happens at a concert.
Finally, you have the option of a one-time personal 1:1 coaching session with me, in which we will specifically look at your situation.
What you get
✅ Over 100 video lessons, clear and practical, available at your own pace
✅ A one-time 1:1 onboarding session at the beginning of your course
(in the "Premium" version)
✅ Each module includes a workbook that takes you from theory to practice
✅ Tasks you submit will receive personal feedback from me
(in the "Feedback" + "Premium" option)
✅ A unique 1:1 coaching session at the end
(in the "Premium" version)
✅ 90 days access, giving you enough time to truly internalize each module
Three options for the course
"Choral Conducting in 90 Days"
🇫🇷 Bientôt en français | 🇪🇸 Próximamente en español
Why now is the right moment
The course is currently in the pilot period. This means for you:
First: the founding price. You'll be part of the very first round and pay less than the course will cost from November on. In return, your feedback shapes the final version.
Secondly, the feedback + premium option is limited to 10 places. Personal feedback and 1:1 sessions are only available in limited numbers. Once the places are gone, you need to wait untill there are free places.
The pilot phase runs from 20.09.2026 to 31.10.2026 at reduced prices.
You have 90 days of access to the course from the date of your registration.
Who guides you
I am Sarah Hänggi, a choir director and music teacher from
Basel/Switzerland. I have been conducting choirs for over 15 years,
and I know from daily practice what really matters in front of a group.
I completed my Bachelors and Master's degree in Choral Conducting in 2014 at the Basel Academy of Music under Raphael Immoos , followed by studies in specialized choral conducting under Anders Eby at the Robert Schumann University of Music in Düsseldorf.
I furthered my training through masterclasses, private lessons and internships with choir directors such as Grete Pedersen, Nicolas Fink and Stefan Parkman, including at the Sibelius Academy Helsinki and the Royal College of Music in Stockholm.
Today I conduct several ensembles, from the Basel pub choir with a focus on a cappella pop to the Kleinbasel chamber choir and the choir of the Münchenstein Gymnasium.
With my professional vocal ensemble Tradiophon, I have been performing romantic, contemporary and experimental programs since 2016, which are regularly recorded by Swiss Radio SRF.
For many years I conducted the Intercantonal Men's Choir with annual Swiss tours and the Reveille Choir of the traditional Basel Liedertafel.
Since 2019 I have been the artistic director of the international singing festival enchanté in Riehen, which explores the possibilities of the voice with vocal artists such as Simone Felber and ensembles such as Tuuletar.
At Theater Basel, I was responsible for the choir direction in Antu Romero Nunes' production of Antigone during the 2023/24 and 2024/25 seasons, and in 2018 for the music theater production Dependency Declaration at Theater Kampnagel in Hamburg.
For my work as a conductor, I received the cultural promotion prize of the Canton of Solothurn in 2018.
I know what it's like to be a young woman in a field where competence isn't taken for granted, and to have to prove yourself again and again.
That's exactly what this course is about: leading the choir as the conductor you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
❓ Why exactly 90 days?
90 days is the frame for the seven modules, with enough time to practise and absorb.
You work at your own pace, not on a rigid schedule.
The 90 days are your access period, not a source of pressure.
❓ I've never conducted a choir. Is the course still for me?
Yes.
The course starts with the fundamentals and builds step by step.
You don't need any prior conducting experience, only the willingness to try things out.
❓ I've been conducting for a long time. Will I still learn something?
Yes, if you're willing to look at your habits. The course goes beyond technique, into perception, rehearsal dramaturgy and presence. That's often where experienced conductors gain the most.
❓ How much time do I need per week?
That's up to you.
Because you work at your own pace, you can move through intensively or take more time.
The course has around 70 chapters, each with a video and a workbook.
The videos usually run between 5 and 15 minutes, so you'll work through a chapter in about 30 to 60 minutes.
A few chapters are longer.
If you set aside three to four hours a week, you'll move through the 90 days at a good pace.
Some modules include additional exercises, and how much time you spend on those is up to you, since real practice takes repetition.
❓ What's the difference between the two tiers?
Self-Study includes all videos and workbooks for independent learning.
Guided adds personal feedback on your submitted assignments, a 1:1 onboarding session and a one-time 1:1 coaching session with me.
❓ Which language is the course in?
The pilot runs in 🇩🇪 German and 🇬🇧 English.
From 1 November, the course will also be available in 🇫🇷 French and 🇪🇸 Spanish.
❓What prior knowledge do I need?
No conducting or leadership experience, and no choir of your own.
You should be able to read music and scores, know the treble and bass clefs, find your way around a piano at a basic level, and bring your own experience of singing in a choir.
You'll learn the rest in the course.
Ready to feel more confident in front of a choir?
Seven modules, one clear path, your own pace.
The pilot project starts on September 1st, and the 8 coaching places are limited.
Pilot phase from 20.09.2026 to 31.10.2026 - 90 days access to the course