"Every single workshop I give is all about excellence, singing well, singing properly, and achieving the very best we can achieve. Why do we it? We don't do it because we'll be paid millions and millions of pounds. It's not cash-motivated. We do it because there is a higher purpose, a higher calling that makes us do it. I got offered a graduate scheme at university, so I could have been a corporate sellout. I'd probably arguably work less hours than I do in music, but I didn't do that. I don't have any regrets, because on an evening, I go home, I look myself in the mirror, and I can say to myself, 'we did some good stuff today.'"

Caius Lee began as a chorister at Bradford Cathedral at 11 and became the Cathedral Organ Scholar at 15. At age 17, he joined Leeds Cathedral, concurrently holding the Idlewild Conducting Scholarship and Cathedral Organ Scholarship, and was appointed Assistant Organist a year later, where he was the Diocesean Organist & Director of Music for the Lourdes annual pilgrimage and he studied Music as the Neville Burston Organ Scholar at St Catharine's College, University of Cambridge. While at the university, he founded the Florence International Singing Programme, which holds several courses yearly and has sung at prestigious churches, including Westminster Abbey, St Paul's Cathedral, Saint Sulpice, Florence Cathedral, and the Vatican.

For the Addamus Choral Programme Caius Lee conducts the internationally acclaimed College Choir and Boys' Choir as well as The Jericho Youth Choir and the All Sorts Community Choir. He is also responsible for a wide range of collegiate, community, and outreach initiatives, curating Music at Worcester College at the University of Oxford, including The Oxford Choral Experience, a groundbreaking instrument learning scheme, and guest lecturer as part of Institute of Sacred Music run by the University, St Stephen’s House, and The Royal School of Church Music.

He has worked with choirs, festivals and played solo recitals in Europe, Asia and South America.

Caius's musical journey is marked by numerous collaborations that have enriched his work and excited audiences. He has conducted, played, and sang on BBC Radio (1, 2, 3 & 4), and made numerous TV appearances on BBC's Songs of Praise, and live Christmas and Easter TV broadcasts on BBC1.

His commitment to community engagement and choral excellence has been recognised with a Royal Society of Arts Fellowship and a keynote speech at the 2022 National Music Teachers Association Conference.

To get in touch with Caius, you can find the Addamus Choral Programme on Facebook (@addamuschoralprogramme) or Instagram (@addamus_official) or email him at caius.lee@worc.ox.ac.uk.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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“Burnout is when you reach a point where there is no mystery in the music making anymore and you’re just redoing what you’ve always done. You’re reheating it. Self-exploration should be the goal of every musician. The idea of staying connected to sound through listening and really fantasizing is essential. You have to believe there’s magic in the room, and then magic happens. What a gift it is to share music with other people in that room at that time.”

GRAMMY-nominated conductor James Jordan is recognized and praised throughout the musical world as one of America’s pre-eminent conductors, writers and innovators in choral music. He was described as a “visionary” by The Choral Journal, which cited his book Evoking Sound as a “must read.” His more than 60 books explore both the philosophical and spiritual basis of musicianship, as well as aspects of choral rehearsal teaching and learning. His latest book, The Conductor's Triangle, will be released in January 2026. He served as director of the Westminster Conducting Institute for 12 years and is Director of the Choral Institute at Oxford to be held this summer at Worcester College Oxford. He is also Conductor and Artistic Director of The Same Stream Choir and conductor of The Nexus Choral Artists.

He is founder of The Choral Academy, an online resource offering courses in Pedagogy, Conducting and Private Conducting Study. He has also created The Evoking Sound Virtual Classroom that houses his lectures and teaching as a resource, with contributions by Simon Carrington, Weston Noble and others.

James Jordan holds a BM from Susquehanna University, a MM in choral conducting and a Ph.D in the Psychology of Music from Temple University where he was a student of Edwin Gordon. He is a conducting student of the legendary teacher Elaine Brown. He holds several conducting certificates from Chorstudio Wilhelm Ehman earned in St. Moritz, Switzerland. He has attended the Laban Institute of Movement Studies in New York. He was a finalist in the Stokowski Conducting Competition sponsored by The Philadelphia Orchestra.

James Jordan’s research beginning in 1980 regarding applications of Laban to rhythm pedagogy and conducting are pioneering. His books regarding the Application of Music Learning Theory to the Choral rehearsal have revolutionized choral teaching and Learning. His most recent book on this subject, Intonational Solfege (GIA) presents an approach for teaching Intonation skills to choirs. Dr. Jordan is exclusively published by GIA Publications.

James Jordan has been the major author regarding the application of vocal technique to the choral rehearsal. He was a student of Frauke Haasemann and has continued and advanced her work. He explores connections into voice science in the book, The Anatomy of Tone and most recently in the extensive text, Essentials of the Choral Warm-Up (GIA).

Dr. Jordan has recorded over 20 CDs with the Westminster Williamson Voices, The Same Stream, and The Westminster Choir. James Jordan is also one of the hosts of the nationally syndicated radio program Sounds Choral on WWFM.org.

Dr. Jordan’s career and publications have been devoted to innovative educational changes in the choral art, which have been embraced around the world. His residencies, master classes and guest conducting have taken him throughout the United States, Canada, Europe, Australia and China.

To get in touch with Jim, you can visit thechoralacademy.com, email him at jevoke@mac.com, or find him on Instagram (@wckonductor) or X (@jevoke).

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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"Singing in a choir, you're trying to about five things at the same time, and sometimes you're not even doing it in the language you have spoken your entire life. Sometimes I had to just start with rhythm on one pitch and then build that step by step by step. In the process, I was always trying to teach voice. If the voice mechanism shuts down, that's where you get into problems and they stop engaging. You have to let people in rehearsals make mistakes, especially early on. It's so important. If you think rhythm, tone, rhythm-tone-text, rhythm-tone-dynamics, rhythm-tone-articulation, rhythm-tone-expression, that's six times I should have gone through that section. Then I saw that these kids were actually digging it, getting into it, and they felt that they were learning something."

For the past 40 years, Richard Zielinski has taught at five universities, worked as a music director in numerous churches, and has conducted orchestras, choruses and stage productions throughout Europe, Asia, and North America. Zielinski recently retired as the Director of Choral Activities, Chair of Graduate Choral Studies at the University of Oklahoma and as Director of Music Ministries at McFarlin Memorial United Methodist Church in Norman, Oklahoma. Prior to his appointment at the University of Oklahoma, Richard directed choral programs at University of South Florida (Tampa), Indiana State University (Terre Haute), Mercer University, (Macon, Georgia), State University of New York at Plattsburgh.

He has also served as Music Director for the Master Chorale of Tampa Bay, Elgin Choral Union (IL), Vermilion Festival Chorus (IL), and Terre Haute Masterworks Chorale (IN).

In 2005, Richard founded and serves as conductor of the Zielinski Singers. This 40-voice professional chorus combines the talents of the finest choral singers in the United States producing performances, tours and recordings of choral works by American composers.

Richard currently serves as Artistic Director and Principal Conductor of the 51st Classical Music Festival and Orchestra located at the Esterhazy Palace in Eisenstadt, Austria. He is also a recipient of the Gold Medal of Achievement for his artistic achievements and musical contributions in Eisenstadt, Austria as principal conductor and artistic director of the Classical Music Festival. In 2025 Zielinski was awarded the honorary badge “Meritorious for Polish Culture” from the Minister of Culture and National Heritage of the Republic of Poland for his 32 years of artistic work in Poland.

In 2012, Zielinski and members of the city of Norman, Oklahoma, founded a professional orchestra, The Norman PHILharmonic. The PHIL’s mission is four-fold: to be an innovative and standard-setting orchestra, to commission new works from American composers, to collaborate with area arts programs, and to excite the youth of America about symphonic music.

Throughout his career Zielinski has collaborated with composers Norman Dello Joio, Libby Larsen, John Mackey, Michael Daugherty, Samuel Adler, Eleanor Daley, Marek Jasinski, Rosephanye Powell, Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, James Oliverio, Stephen Paulus, Krzysztof Penderecki and has commissioned numerous works from many of these composers.

To get in touch with Rick, you can find him on Facebook (@richard.zielinski.77) or visit richardzielinski.com.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.

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Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson