Useful information for potential new members
There are no auditions and new singers can attend three rehearsals before making a commitment to join. This gives an opportunity for the Musical Director to assess if the new singer is fitting in, but more importantly for the new singer to decide if they like singing with us. They usually do! And then they'll be invited to become a fully paid-up member for the remaining season. The subscription is £105 for the 2023/2024 season.
The only other financial commitment is that we ask all members to buy their own copy of "Handel's Messiah" (Watkins Shaw edition) - something that we sing quite regularly - and "100 Carols for Choirs" (Willcocks/Rutter - pub. OUP) for the Christmas Concerts.
Concert attire and music folders
Each member is responsible for their uniform which is normally:-
- Ladies: full length black skirt or trousers and long-sleeved black top, plus optional black jacket or cardigan if cold, or a full-length black dress with long sleeves; black hosiery and shoes. Please note that ‘full-length’ means to the floor or the top of the feet, not mid-calf.
- Gentlemen: black dinner jacket with black trousers, white shirt, black tie, socks and shoes; or if instructed by the Concert Manager, black trousers, shoes and black shirt which will be worn open necked. This latter alternative is usually for the summer concert.
For some concerts singers will also need a plain black folder to hold the music. Such folders can be purchased from any good stationery store.
