Membership: You are cordially invited…

A letter from our chairman

If you have navigated to this point you will presumably be interested in joining us.

Let me say here and now that if you are uncertain, you will be most welcome to come along to a rehearsal or two, meet us, sing with us and decide whether you like us enough to join permanently! The Secretary and I will look out for you and introduce you to your Section Voice Rep who will look after you.  They will also check with you before you depart that you have been well looked after.

We have a talented conductor who has high standards and who makes rehearsals both challenging and fun. He has taught us so much since he joined us. We have a very active committee with lots of new ideas and have for the first time produced a three-year concert plan which takes into account the wishes of members.  Our membership has doubled over the past two years and now exceeds 120, so we presumably are doing something right!

Although we do not audition new members, we do have a few rules and requirements – hopefully, none of them onerous. You will pick up some of them at various points on this site but here are some which might be important to you right now:

• Members need to be able to read music and sing in tune.
   
• Rehearsals are every Monday from 7.30pm to 9.30pm at the Methodist Church Hall, Northbrook Street, Newbury.
   
• No more than three rehearsals should be missed in one term. There are three terms in the year.
   
• In the two weeks preceding a concert there may be additional rehearsals on other evenings.
   
• There is always a rehearsal in the afternoon, at the concert venue, on the day of a concert, typically from 2.00pm to 5.00pm.
   
• Concert dress for ladies is usually long black skirt with long-sleeved black blouse, or long-sleeved long black dress, together with black tights and black shoes. For men it is usually DJ with white shirt and black bow tie.  Concert dress is sometimes altered depending on the concert programme.
   

• We currently sing three concerts per year, which we hope you would attend because absenteeism weakens the choir.  However, attendance at all three is not compulsory.
   

• The annual subscription, presently £110, is payable at the beginning of each new season (September) or upon joining.  Under 25’s pay half and full time school students join for free.

Do please take that first step and make contact.  There is no obligation but I am sure that, like the rest of us, you will be glad that you did. 

I look forward to meeting you.

Liz Wallace