Ep #15: Oliver Rudin: What Does It Take to Build a Choir That Genuinely Surprises People?

A choir can sing accurately and still leave an audience cold, so what actually creates a performance that feels alive? We sit down with Oliver Rudin, a Basel-based artistic director who works deeply with youth ensembles and the Basel Boys Choir, to get practical about the decisions that make a choir sound confident, expressive, and genuinely surprising.We talk choral programming across styles, including how to introduce contemporary choral music to singers and listeners who prefer familiar repertoire. Oliver’s answer is not “pick safer pieces” or “market harder”. It is clarity: build a strong artistic idea, create bridges between styles, and choose music you love enough to lead with conviction. That authenticity, he argues, is the quickest way to get singers to commit emotionally, not just intellectually.From there, we go into rehearsal craft. Oliver shares fast ways to unite a large group, including simple listening-based warm-ups like finding a shared pianissimo hum, then expanding towards harmony. We also unpack intonation as a focus and body issue as much as an ear issue, plus why stepping back can help singers listen, breathe together, and self-correct. Finally, we explore choir competitions and the World Choir Games: what adjudicators listen for, how repertoire choice can highlight a choir’s strengths, and why you “cannot fail” if the real aim is growth.Subscribe for more practical choral conducting conversations, share this with a fellow choir director, and if it helps you, please leave a rating and review so more singers and conductors can find the show.***More about Oliver Rudin:Website: www.oliverrudin.comInstagram: @oliver.rudinContact the StudioSupport the show***Resources:The Choir Director Podcast — helping you build stronger choirs, run better rehearsals, and create outstanding musical experiences.Website: thechoirdirectorpodcast.comMailing List: Join our NewsletterFollow Russell Scott:Website: russellscott.orgInstagram: @russellscottofficialFacebook: facebook.com/russellscottofficialX: @russellscottuk(c) Russell Scott 2026.  All rights reserved.