Choir Risers
Choir risers are integral pieces of furniture for any choir to be effective in being orchestrated, as well as to add to the overall look and feel of the choir singers, leading to a pleasant ambience and professional experience for the audience. Most choirs only sing sacred music in a place of worship, but there are also ensembles of singers (similar to that in a choir) that are used in musical productions and operas as a chorus. Most choirs consist of about eight singers, and sometimes a few more, although there are also concert ensembles with fewer singers, such as in quintets, quartets and trios. There is of course also the choirmaster or the conductor, whose job it is to lead the choir and ensure that each separate part sings in tune and when they are supposed to.
The choir will always stand on the choir risers, and within a group according to the type of voice the individual has. The orchestra, the piano or organ (in the case of most churches), depending on what the choir is accompanied by, will usually be located below them in a concert setting, or else behind them in a church or house of worship setting. Choirs that prefer to sing without any instrumental or musical accompaniment is known as a choir that sings “a cappella”. Some choirs are either entirely male or entirely female, while others are a mixture of both male and female singers, and the various types of voices that are usually included are soprano, alto, tenor and bass. This may differ according to the type of choir, especially that of a show choir (which includes dance routines), a vocal jazz choir or a symphonic choir.
The way the singers are arranged on the choir risers depends on the stage organizer, but the choirmaster has a big say in this arrangement, to ensure that the voices are used to their best ability, with regard to placement. Many choirs are arranged in a specific order going from the highest voices on the left right down (in sequence) to the lowest voices on the right, while other arrangements are worked out so that all the male voices are in the back row and the females in the front (as the sound is better with the bass voices coming from behind the soprano voices).
Choir singers need to be trained in many different faculties to ensure that the entire choir works well together and sings in perfect harmony. Therefore, all the singers need to have a voice that blends in ideally with the other singers, and also be able to have the unique ability to sing softly at some points, and then loudly at other points and be able to effectively interchange between the two when necessary. Choir singers also need to be able to follow the conductor or choirmaster perfectly from their position on the choir risers, and listen to his or her instructions and then follow them in an articulate and well-informed manner.