This article reports a qualitative study investigating the factors affecting confidence levels amongst adult amateur choral singers. Three focus groups (involving a total of 18 participants) and 16 individual interviews were carried out with experienced choral singers, and over 40 hours of recorded verbal data were collected. The research aims were to explore the lived experience of choral singers; to examine the main influences on choral singers’ perceptions of their voices and performance ability; to identify factors affecting their confidence as choral singers; to extrapolate confidence-building strategies for amateur choral singers. One of the major emergent themes was choir configuration, which encompassed the spacing between singers, the layout of the choir, the position of the individual singer within the choir, and the position of the choir within the venue. All of these elements reportedly had effects upon the confidence of choral singers during rehearsal and performance. These findings have practical implications for leaders of amateur choral ensembles, as choir configuration may be used as one of the tools for building collective and individual choral confidence.
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