A choir conductor's duties can include everything from choosing or auditioning the choir members, to assisting them with techniques and warm-ups, and most importantly, directing them through the interpretation, rehearsal and performance of choral music.
The choir conductor is more than a conductor. He is also the choir's leader and interpreter, and, often--at least in rehearsal--its accompanist. A good choral conductor is typically a trained singer himself, and shows a deep understanding of the skills to enhance vocal performance on both a solo and group level. The choir director must also be a good teacher, music theorist and conductor.
A choir conductor begins the performance process by choosing a piece of choral music--not just the piece, but the arrangement--and then analyzing the piece of choral music to be performed, considering all aspects, from dynamics, to tempo and more.
One vital aspect of the choral conductor's role is to conduct a choir through the music and to ensure that the singers maintain a steady tempo. As with an orchestral conductor, the choral conductor uses his hands to mark time for the time signature of every piece, beating the time in a pattern through the air, whether in two, three-four, four-four, five-four, six-eight, or any other time signature.
To mark the tempo, such as a two-two tempo, the choral conductor marks a simple up-and-down motion through the air as a visual representation of the tempo, with an up and down beat. For three-four, four-four, and other tempos, that air-pattern will change, from up-and-down, to a triangle shape for three-four, to a cross pattern for four-four, and beyond.
However, the choral conductor does more than keep the choir to the desired time signature. Thanks to her intimate knowledge of the music and its performance, she also signals a multitude of key moments within the music, from important entry points within the piece for the different voice sections, to varying the dynamics and more. A truly good conductor is a ultimately a vital key to bringing a choral performance to life.