Choir meetings

We meet on Tuesday evenings from 7.30 pm to 9.30 pm at the latest. Meetings are structured, but the atmosphere is informal. We work hardest when learning new material, but there is always humour to lighten things and we all ensure that we enjoy this part of choir life. We work through a number of songs depending on what performances we have in prospect.  Every week we warm up with a variety of pieces from all genres. All voices: soprano, alto, tenor and bass are welcome to join us at any time of year. If you love music………come and sing!

If it’s your first meeting, someone will spot you and make sure that you feel welcome. We will quickly work out whether you are a soprano or an alto (the ladies), a tenor or a bass (the men) and introduce you to your section of the choir with whom you will sit and who will take you under their wing. There is no audition. If you want to sing, then we want you to join us. It’s as simple as that.  

Our Director, Gary, is very good at easing us into new material. For example, if it’s a long and tricky work, he will pick out sections that are more easily learned and chip away at the piece until, before you realise it, you know a good deal of it and it feels quite familiar.  He is very patient and hugely positive. Please don’t worry that you might know less than others. We are all at different points. Some have been in other choirs and some haven’t sung since they left school! The most important thing is that you enjoy singing with us and feel motivated to carry on.  

Each choir meeting has a break when we can get to chat to others and some long-standing friendships are made. Socialising is an important part of choir life and we hold a number of social events each year, eg a Christmas do, a Supper Club and perhaps a BBQ.

Cost of membership/Involvement

We do all we can to keep costs to a minimum. Choir members are asked to pay £37 per term (3 terms / year). We would hate these costs to be a barrier to anyone who finds this commitment too great. If you feel unable to meet the fees please do speak to one of us either at a rehearsal or by email or phone as you prefer. The important thing is that people continue to feel able to attend and enjoy singing.

The preferred method is via direct payment or standing order to the choir's account - Swan Singers, account number 52324857 and the sort code is 40-27-06 at the HSBC. Please include your name in as a reference so we know where the payment has come from. Cheques can be made payable to 'Swan Singers'. Members can continue to pay in cash as at present if they wish.

One of our principal outlays is for our fantastic accompanist and for music. Where possible, music is loaned from library sources, but we have been successful in securing a number of grants allowing us to buy a significant amount of the music we need. Members have bought their own books of carols for use at Christmas concerts, but we have copies that can be loaned if that is required.

For our Membership Form and Gift Aid Declaration click here.

To read our Data Protection/Privacy Policy click here.

Commitment

The choir meets on a Tuesday evening throughout the year with a few breaks for holidays, etc. On top of this, we give two or three concerts each year.  We understand that people have other commitments and that they will not be able to attend all rehearsals and performances. Being a fairly big choir of over 35 singers, helps us to cope with this.