Choir

Part of a series on
Music education
Major methodologies Kodály method Orff Schulwerk Dalcroze Eurhythmics Suzuki method
Instructional settings School band Choir Concert band Marching band Youth orchestra
International organizations International Society for Music Education International Association for Jazz Education
US national organizations National Association for Music Education Music Teachers National Association American Choral Directors Association American String Teachers Association
v t e

A choir (/ˈkwaɪər/ KWIRE; also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin chorus, meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words is the music performed by the ensemble. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which spans from the medieval era to the present, or popular music repertoire. Most choirs are led by a conductor, who leads the performances with arm, hand, and facial gestures.

The term choir is very often applied to groups affiliated with a church (whether or not they actually occupy the quire), whereas a chorus performs in theatres or concert halls, but this distinction is not rigid. Choirs may sing without instruments, or accompanied by a piano, accordion, pipe organ, a small ensemble, or an orchestra.

A choir can be a subset of an ensemble; thus one speaks of the "woodwind choir" of an orchestra, or different "choirs" of voices or instruments in a polychoral composition. In typical 18th century to 21st century oratorios and masses, 'chorus' or 'choir' implies that there is more than one singer per part, in contrast to the quartet of soloists also featured in these works.